I always liked how they made them out to be a small time crime family past its prime plus the fact that they were NJ and not one of the NY families. Thought it was a more interesting twist than the typical big powerful NY Mafia in its prime story.

Ironically a lot of critics I've heard were saying the show was unrealistic in how it portrayed them to be far more rich and powerful than they would be in real life. But I never got that impression from watching the show.