Nothing should be taken for granted when referencing south florida in the 1970's and early to mid 1980's.. It was that crazy and yes, completely over the top.
They didnt need the mafia and the mob knew to stay the hell away from the colombians. Pablo Escobar had more money in his back pocket than Paul Castellano made in a life time.
Remember the story about DeMeo killing a Cuban??? You think the Gambino's would of made DeMaio kill one of his guys if they were'nt intimidated by them?
The very serious narcotics people do/did NOT give much of a fu*k about the mafia, insofar as their particular trade. In other words, it's not like I'm claiming they're unafraid of mafia people and would do whatever like trying to take over their rackets, but when one talks about their business, it didn't matter all that much who was making problems, they, or their boss would be confronted and have to pay the monies or find a solution.
