POWER

Who do you guys think was the most powerful Boss from their city?

Carlos Marcello...his power wasn't limited to his city but to the entire state and right into the governor's office...he had no rival in his time....possibly Frank Costello.

Frank Costello would be my pick as well oldschool - although I'm sure there were others.

Gotta like Joe Batters in Chicago....,although K.C., L.A., Minneapolis, were separate families, when you got down to where the rubber met the road, they answered to Chicago, and everyone in Chicago answered to Accardo and Ricca. The Sam Mooneys and Joey Doves came and went, but were bosses only on Joe and Pauls sufferance. An interesting book that coves Chicago in the day is Roehmers "Man against the Mob". Although full of the usual F.B.I. self glorification and juvenile swagger, it has some interesting insights.., i.e., Mad Sam DiStefano killed by his own brother.

Gotta quibble with you a little on Frank. Although Luciano hated Genovese, when he was deported, Genovese was the obvious choice for boss..., Vito had to bail out after that little business with the "Shadow" and the "Hawk". leaveing Frank boss by default. As I understand it, Frank was much more interested in his gambling operations, and was very much a hands off boss. His real power lay in his relationship with Willie Moretti and and Albert Anastastia, so much so that when Vito returned he was forced to tread very carefully.Once he engineered Moretti's and Anastasia's assassinations, and almost got Frank, Frank retired PDQ. This is not to disparage Frank, as I don't think he particularly cared if he was boss or not, and his business relationships with Marcello and Trafficante were much more important to him than his family affiliation. If Gambino was the crafiest of the old school guys, Costello was the smartest - even more so than Lansky, who I always thought was much overated. I may be out to lunch on this, but what do you think?

I say Frank because he was in with the politicians. To me that means power - especially over other bosses who may not have those connections.

As far as Lansky goes I don't know too much about him and never really saw him as a boss but more consigliore to Luciano and others.

Good point about Franks political connections, they were not only a protection, but an asset he could trade on..., apparently, he used to meet J.Edna on a park bench in NY.., and doesn't THAT raise a lot of interesting possibilities! As for Lansky, I see him more as a sort of comptroller or glorified accountant. Since everyone trusted him ( he knew any cuteness would be fatal), he was often tasked with disbursing the profits in complex deals. In the book "Little Man" by Robert Lacey we see a pretty pathetic sort of guy, an abysmal failure as a husband and father, ratted out by his own daughter, despised by his youngest son, and so broke at the end of his life his eldest handicapped son died in a cut rate nursing home

Al capone had the most power...He had politicians, judges, police as well as others on his payroll...He was the first mobster outside of new york to kill a mobster that's in new york on thier own soil...and there was no retaliation

Vito Corleone LOL.

Don Carlo.