How “wars” work and don’t work

So crews or families are at “war”
It’s not threats, fights, shoot outs and ally to ally gun fights like in the movies, not even close.
Body counts seldom if ever get out of the low double digits. I am guessing for the duration of the A-B-C wars from the prelude to the final skirmishes the body count was less than 30. Mostly its saber rattling and banner waiving. In Utica in the 80s there were two Buffalo social clubs on Bleeker St and the Colombos and Buffalinos had their club literally right around the corner on 2nd avenue. There was a lot more posturing and waiting than “fighting”
The Rochester war came to central NY in 1976 when Al Marrone threatened to “bury” Dominic Bretti and Teeter Nole if they tried to take advantage of the Buffalo families instability and plant their flag, and they whacked him if front of their house on Cathleen St.
Buffalo beefed to the commission and Tony Ducks famously said “I don’t care who runs those cow towns” so the stand off went on for almost 12 years. In all that time, there were 6 killings, (All but one were Columbo’s) two shootings (one Buffalino, one Buffalo) and some beatings. In the end, the Colombos Bretti crew, now down to 4 or 5 backed down and sealed their own demise in Upstate NY with a stupid murder on a woman over a $2000 check, and any influence in Rochester when Sullivan whacked Fiorino and ended up robbing a bank in Utica for gas money to get home to NY.
These were some of the last battles in the ABC wars. The Falange/Carcone crew won the war, but didn’t get to celebrate long, because half of us were indicted a couple of years later.

Explain the abc war to me a little more alwsys been interested. It was 3families fighting

It actually involved a rogue crew from Rochester, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, The Colombos, The Buffalinos, and to a lesser extent the Genovese family
The Rochester crew wanted to break away from Buffalo. It should have been an internal issue easilly settled internally and with the commission, except other familes either took sides or saw the chance to plant a flag on Buffalo areas in the fog of the chaos.
In the end, Pittsburgh balked, the Rchester crew imploaded, the genovese family lost interest, and the colombos and Buffalinos failed to take over and split Upstate NY state east of Rochester as they had planned. Buffalo won the war but it has never been the same since.

So were did mad dog sullivan come in.he worked for the genoves mostly i thought.he took iut some big names up there didnt he.2or3dudes

At least 2 or 3. he was the most feared man in America at that time. Sully was free lance he had no particular loyalty but he made it known he was no friend of Buffalo and supported the Velentis,and he took out Fiorino as a "favor" to the Rochester seperatists. Two days later he ended up in Utica and anyone associated with Buffalo or the LIUNA locals went on full blown defcon He ended up robbing a bank and was arrested not long after. He actually beat the bank Robbery charge but was convicted of the killing of Fiorino