Sorry if this has been discussed, I can't find the answer if it has.

Can anyone explain why the original west coast bosses (at time of commission) and their families were recognized? Were there some type of gestures or maneuvers pulled by them that were appreciated by the boys back east, or were they just the best of a bad lot? If the latter, why were they recognized at all? I know Dragna was trusted more than than the black handers that preceded him, and that he was connected to Tommy Lucchese, but how about San Francisco and San Jose? The information regarding the formation of these families is scarce. The book written about SF a few years ago was awful. These bosses in SF and San Jose were Sicilian traditionalists who seemed to veer toward legitimizing themselves from the start. Why were they and their families recognized? What did the east coast bosses want or need from them?

"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea