It also depends on turf--both physical territory and claims on specific rackets. Where there's competition among families (i.e., in NYC), one or two families may have an agreement to share, say, thefts at and around Kennedy Airport, while another may have exclusive claim to a local racket (i.e., shaking down vendors at a street fair, or securities fraud for a particular area of trading). Some really big rackets (like the garbage disposal and concrete rackets) are shared by most or all of the families.

In general, if the racket is big enough, all the families will want to "wet their beaks." Carmine Galante declared that he, not Rusty Rastelli, was the don of the Bonannos, and that he would make Carlo Gambino "s--t" in the street." But he was whacked because he refused to share his highly profitable Sicilian heroin connection with other families.