""Fifth question: You said that the existence of the mob in Buffalo is not a secret, and people know what they do. Then why would the area's two leading news stations consistently report, complete with backed up sources, that the family is defunct. Why would acclaimed mob experts and journalists be trying to cover up the existence of this family?""""
Coppolas article in 98 is a great example. Dead in 98, then died in 06-07 then died again last year.
Ok, a few things wrong there. They did not "die" in 1998, and nobody was saying they did. They were in the process of dying. "Weak pulse." "Expired." "But he admits the Buffalo mob has a weak pulse and resuscitation seems unlikely without strong leadership and profitable criminal enterprises."
06 was the last time the FBI considered them alive.
They did not "die" in 2017 "again." The article simply reported how they came to their demise. Nobody was saying "last year the family officially died."
Here's the timeline, which I believe is pretty accurate: 1998 - Withering. Almost dead. 2006 - The feds finally give up on them. 2012 - Joe Todaro's now dead, but journalists doubt anyone will take over. 2017 - Feds and journalists REINFORCE the notion they are dead.
I don't consider that to be a conflicting timeline of events. Of course there was a period of uncertainty. I imagine that it was around 2006 when people became not so sure of the family's activity. The 2006-2012 period was probably when most people, including LE, really didn't know what was going on.
