The whole size and influence of the detroit mob today is very debatable guys like scott still see it as a viable family with a hierachy and the feds said in that documentary that they still see the detroit mob as a threat that it is big in legit business. Though your right gambling loansharking and legit business is everything there. Then there is people who say it is a small organization with no hiearchy because there has only been not many indicments but i would disagree with that .......
I suppose it depends on if you want to look at other info in addition to what Scott has said.
Scott's image of the family is one that that has 40-50 members and is extremely hierarchical - a boss, underboss, street boss, consigliere, a few "counselor emeritus," and at least 4 captains.
But does that seem like reality? During the GamTax bust nearly 20 years ago now, the feds had the family at 30 members at most. It was the same in 2001 according to one article. Since then, several members have died. But the family has actually
increased in size? How likely is that?
And we see a relatively basic hierarchy in other remaining families outside NY that actually do have 40-50 members and considerable more activity than Detroit. But Detroit has all these layers and insulation? For an organization that, criminally speaking, doesn't much go beyond bookmaking and loansharking?
I'm not sure how you quantify "big in legit business." Obviously there are members who have legit business interests. Some of the higher ups especially.
As much as I give credence to what the feds
say, I give even more to what they
do. So, sure, they can say the Detroit mob is still a threat. But how much weight I put on that comes down to how much time and resources they put into that threat. And it doesn't seem like much. And, in my opinion, it's because the family today is very small (possibly more than some could imagine), with only some semblance of a hierarchy, and is basically a bookmaking and loansharking operation at this point (along with whatever legit businesses they have).
that borgata indictment i agree was big but do you think they inflated the numbers?
it does have a hierarchy though i agree with you there and is a viable family but it is still very dysfunctional
No, I don't think they inflated the numbers. The $60 million was the
amount wagered by bettors over the course of the investigation which was a couple years I think. It's a lot of money but you have to put it in perspective. There's been several gambling busts in NY that dwarf that. And the actual
net profit from those wagers is something like 5-10%.
