So is every other mob family. They consists of guys who grew up around each other in the neighborhood, and it's all fun and games and laughs until someone is caught stealing or accused of something by someone who is more liked and then killed. And you really think there's no structure? You do realize a lot of these guys are from different eras, so not everyone wants to hang out with a bunch of guys they thought were punks when they were in the street. Or with a guy who had them on a hit list at one point in time and wouldnt of hesitated to attempt a murder on site. Like I said everything is amicable, nobody under the Philly Mob umbrella is at war or at odds with one another right now. That still doesn't mean things aren't organized and structured, and that there aren't crews. Without organization and structure you tend to get a little thing called chaos. And at the end of the day, despite them all being friends, according to the oath they take, LCN comes first, it's not a side thing, its their life. And whether its legal or illegal business is business, and you interfere with that in any way, you have to face the consequence. It doesnt matter if they all grew up together. The only difference is now, in Phillies case, outside of the rare situation, instead of friend killing friend. Friend now has other friend beaten for whatever discretion he may have made.
Just look at the Narducci's. One guy decided he wasnt going to follow or be apart of the LCN structure anymore. The other brother, went along when he came home and still belongs. While the one who decided to go his own way, is a social pariah. If LCN was just a "side thing", you think they'd really care what Phil Narducci decided to do for himself?
Your definition of LCN seems pretty twisted, brother.
Twisted, huh. This is 2016. The Philly family is essentially an oversized crew of guys. I'm not going to defend what I said because my view of LCN is a bunch of lazy cheats who get by based on the reputation of movies and eras long past. Now a days... YES, it's a "side thing". Did you see the Ligambi trial and the money involved? There's no way that over half of these guys are just getting by with what they earn working for Uncle Joe, Merlino, etc. Most of these guys NEED some kind of day jobs. And not just to hide the illicit money, but to make enough dough to live a decent life. I'm sure there's a technical structure, but as far as "We are A Platoon, that is B Platoon, and those guys over there are C Platoon. You don't talk to B Platoon without first checking with your Lieutenant to see if it's okay!" that seems like a bit of a movie/tv view of modern day LCN in Philly.
As far as captains, boss, under, coonsie... they exist, sure. But Philly LCN now a days is more of a gang then a classic Mafia Family. That's from pulling court records from the Ligambi guys' trials more than it is watching George Anastasia or message boards.
If you think that the majority of these die hard guys are LCN "to the core", ask Ron Previte living in South Philly STILL and walking around a free man without a care in the world. If anything, your view of LCN is not "twisted", but a little childish. There's still LCN, but it's LCN on the rocks with a splash of water.
