It's tough to say.....

Money- Sinaloa I would say

Connections- another tough one; LCN is still the most connected organized crime group, it's the real strength of the organization

( Yall honestly kill me counting the made guys, if the numbers don't make a street gang stronger than the mob, what the hell would it have to do with mafia strength? That's why it's fascinating to me watching guys try to make sense of Canada. With the small clans and no perfect charts laying out everything for every one. Guys seem to love charts....)

The mob for me is about connections, not manpower. Look at Philly;

Just looking at the guys, it's like, okay this is ragtag shit. Then the indictment comes out and you see the cooperation between the different mafia gangs, you see the connections with crooked doctors, and all that went into the Medicare scam. THAT indictment to me is what the mob is all about... You get a mob street guy, a crooked Doctor, some fake old people or at least some who will play ball, and come out with a 100 million dollar scam. It almost sounds like one of those jokes.

But there are different kinda connections;

Take Sinaloa, now I think most of their power is brought to bear IN Mexico, but I would guess there is not an organization more in tune with STREETS, simply because they deal with so many gangs. So many DIFFERENT gangs, and even different organizations from different ethnicities. They sell drugs, they can't really afford to be picky, EVERYONE DOES DRUGS. And they are EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD NOW, not just a Cali or NY, or Chitown...

But this the US soooo....

Then you got prison gangs, or gangs that are strong in jail. Like sure the mob is the MOST CONNECTED organization, but if you go to jail in NY, it may look like the Bloods are the strongest organization to you. In Cali, probably the Mexican Mafia or again some Blood or Crip set.


For political power, none of these gangs got shit on Corporate America, like please, they can't even compete at a national level, MAYBE you can payoff someone's Mayor, some cops here and there I'm sure. Corruption is endemic everywhere. But LCN still has some Unions like the Teamsters, so I give em the edge there too.....

And then there is just raw street power, like guns in the streets. This is going to be gangs most of the time, but like how bankers control armies, those holding the purse strings can usually control a gang, this is usually the suppliers.
But Sometimes these gangs are able to organize and exert some serious clout with suppliers, like the what was in Canada,the syndicate?


Furio makes a good point about LCN and the fear factor being kinda lacking. But what they have is a market brand no other group can touch, the Mafia is like the criminal equivalent of Budwiser to beer and shit lol.....



I'll say LCN, but only because of the Gambinos-Calabrian nexus in NY. That development couldn't have done anything but make them more powerful in the region...


A street gang has 1000 guys in it, its like okay, They can put 10 guys on 100 corners, they can move x amount of drugs. It's like you can SEE the power, SEE the strength. In jail, it's the biggest motherfucker, the sickest motherfucker, or the biggest, baddest group in there. You can SEE the strength.

Now with a mob guy, he might be overweight, or elderly. He might not LOOK tough. He might even be a terrible fuckin shot or a bad street fighter. But he knows a good coke dealer. He knows a good weed dealer. He knows a good heroin guy. He knows guys who SUPPLY these guys. He knows loan sharks or is one himself so he has access to money. He has a sports book so he knows gamblers. He knows Union people, he knows all the right people at all the right nightclubs. He knows a crooked cop or ten. Maybe a crooked local politician or two who can clear a zoning violation or get you a permit or liquor license or whatever. He knows guys who do ripoffs, or hi jackings. He's friendly with working professionals. He knows whores, strippers, he knows fences who can move stolen shit quick. He's knows a teenager who will steal you a car, or a guy who can be trusted to be a shooter for hire. He knows people who work at the docks, he knows guys in construction, he knows guys that sell liquor, he can get you bootleg cloths and cigarettes. Now you can't SEE any of this initially. But when a guy is doing it right, he's making money from like everywhere at once, he's like a Crime Ambassador, facilitators for criminal activity, that's how I see American LCN. Basically HE IS CONNECTED, this is his strength. (Very different from Canada IMO, the narcotics are the fuel that powers everything else there, same with the Cartels in Mexico)