Which Mob Family is Currently the Strongest in your opinion?

Gambino Crime Family

Lucchese Crime Family

Genovese Crime Family

Bonanno Crime Family

Colombo Crime Family

I am currently running a poll on my blog, be sure to vote to input your two cents on this matter.

http://fivefamiliesnyc.blogspot.com/

The Genovese family is unanimously considered to be the strongest Mafia family in the U.S. The Gambinos are #2.

Of the Five Families? Sure.

But the Rizzuto Family (and by proxy, the Bonnano's, though not really)
is very active with a huge range of territory across North America.

But of the Five Families? It would seem the Genovese, i guess. That is my opinion also.

The Rizzutos are no longer considered part of the Bonanno family. And the Genovese family is considered the strongest in the entire U.S., not just in New York.

Yeah the Rizzuto's apparently disassociated themselves with the Bonanno's after Bonanno Boss Joe Massino flipped. The Genoevse are definietly the strongest and comparatively to the other families pretty hush hush in terms of staying out the headlines. they learned well from Chin Gigante.

The following are the results of the poll: 70 total votes

Genovese Crime Family: 43 votes - 61%
Gambino Crime Family: 15 votes - 21%
Colombo Crime Family: 6 votes - 8%
Lucchese Crime Family: 4 votes - 5%
Bonanno Crime Family: 2 votes - 2%

No Surprise here as the FBI describes the Genovese as "the Rolls Royce of the American Mafia." Surprising is the war-plagued Colombo Family is third on the list. The Bonanno's were literally decimated especially after Massino flipped and have a long way to go to rebuild.


Make sure to vote in our new poll!!!

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It does show how misinformed some people are. Why would anyone think any of the three smaller New York families are the most powerful now? One could forgive those who might think the Gambinos are, even though they are also wrong.

From the early days of the Mafia to the present, the Genovese family has always been the wealthiest and most powerful Mafia group in the nation. They have always controlled the largest gambling and loansharking operations in the New York/New Jersey area. They have always had the most influence in labor unions and legitimate industries. And for years they represented many of the smaller east coast families on the Commission.

The Gambinos simply rivaled the Genovese in some respects, as well as slightly surpassed them in overall size, during the 1970's and 1980's but never replaced the Genovese as the top family.

By the way, good idea on the new poll.

Personally, I put Turncoats/Informants and Changing Demographics under the same category of General Attrition. The first simply deals with quality of recruits while the second deals with quantity.

General Attrition has weakened the mob more than anything else by far. Law enforcement would be second and ethnic gangs would be third.

The following are the results of the poll: 58 total votes

Turncoats/Informants: 28 votes - 48%
Law Enforcement (FBI, Justice Department, etc): 12 votes - 20%
Changing Population Dynamics: 12 votes - 20%
Drug Dealing: 4 votes - 6%
Rise of Other Ethnic Gangs: 2 votes - 3%

A vast majority of our readers feel that informants such as Sammy Gravano and Joe Massino have contributed the most to the decline of the the Five Families. The old school vow of "omerta" no longer promotes the insulation and protection for the Mob like it once did. Law Enforcement and Changing Population Dynamics are tied for second. Increased surveillance sophistication by agencies have caused a headache for the Mob from day one.

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The Gambino's maybe had more influence in the days of Don Carlo but in terms of number of guys on the street, the Genovese has ALWAYS been number 1

At his peak, Carlo Gambino was the most powerful boss. But the Genovese have always been the country's most powerful family. The Gambinos simply rivaled them in many respects from the late 1960's to early 1990's and actually surpassed the Genovese in slightly in size for a time.

The "Genovese family" for many years and many reasons.

Also the Genovese Family was allies with many other families outside of the N.Y.C./N.J. area that helped keep the Genovese envelopes full by there Power and by going into rackets with other families who were there allies in which they provided what the other couldnt such as political influence,investement$$,muscle,etc.
The Genovese from what i can see had more LCN allies then any other LCN family.?

That's true. Back in the day the Genovese represented a number of the east coast families on the Commission, as well as the Cleveland and Detroit families from the midwest. They also had close ties to Chicago and even had an official position of "il messaggero" who's duties, among others, included acting as a messenger between the Genovese family and the Outfit. They had the closest ties to the Irish and Jewish groups in the early years and today are said by law enforcement to have the closest ties to other groups like the Russians, Cubans, etc.

whats your definition of strongest????

money, members, fear, ?????



"strongest" family isnt even on your list and its not based in new york...


basically blendid in to mainstream business.....years ago...but still run things....

legalized casinos..outside of vegas and atl city, real estate.. and post katrina....billions of dollars made...

you guys think dope gambling and sex is still what its about????

living in a time warp my friends.......

legitimate business interests and investments is what its about... what family are you talking about?

No offense but just what are you rambling about? If you're going to offer your 2 cents on this, at least know what you're talking about. There really is no debate who is the strongest Mafia family in the U.S.



"The Genovese family is a very, very strong family. They're the most efficient family because they're so secretive. People within the family don't even know who each other are. They are very disciplined in their criminal plots and they keep their hit teams small. Infilatration by law enforcement is very difficult. They continue to use violence to ensure compliance. We haven't had widespread disruption of the Genoveses like we had with the other families. Gigante's secrecy permeated the ranks and it still exists. If someone in the Genovese family slips up, they're dead before you know it." - Dave Shafer, Head of FBI Organized Crime Program (2009)


"The Genovese family is the most secretive, criminally diverse, and powerful family in the country. Their power stems from control of unions and major industries."
- Michael Campi, FBI Organized Crime Dept. (2006)


"The Genovese crime family is still the best organized and has the deepest bench."
- Daniel Castleman, Chief of Investigations - Manhattan District (2006)


"The (Genovese family's) members and rackets surpass all others."
- Jerry Capeci, Gangland News columnist (2006)


"The Genovese crime family is the the most organized, most powerful, largest organized-crime family existing today."
- Eric Snyder, Assistant U.S. Attorney (2006)


“The Genovese family is the most prolific and most powerful of New York’s five organized crime families.”
– Mark J. Mershon, Assistant Director FBI’s New York Office (2006)


"The Genovese Crime Family is widely considered by law enforcement as the most powerful of the mob families in the New York Metropolitan area, if not the entire country."
- Jim Kouri, National Association of Chiefs of Police (2005)


"It has the most sophisticated operations. The Genovese family has always been considered the Ivy League of the Mafia."
- Selwyn Raab, New York Times columnist (2005)


"Still the most powerful and influential is the Genovese family."
- Bruce Mouw, Former FBI Supervisor (2005)


"The Genovese family is the Rolls-Royce of organized crime."
- Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney-Brooklyn (2003)


"I consider the Genovese family to be the Ivy League of the underworld. They more or less invented labor racketeering."
- Joe Coffey, New York Police Dept. (2003)


"The Genovese family remains the richest, most powerful and least damaged crime group."
– Time Magazine (2001)


The Genovese family is the most powerful and most secretive crime group."
- Barry W. Mawn, FBI New York Office (2001)


"Despite a two-decade-long crackdown on organized crime that had decimated other Mafia families, the Genovese family has flourished. It is the largest and most financially successful crime family in New York."
- U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White (2001)


"The Genovese crime family is widely known in law enforcement as the Ivy League of the underworld. The family that gets it right."
- John Miller, FBI media spokesman (2001)


"The Genovese family has probably been the most powerful La Cosa Nostra family of the last hundred years."
- Ask Andy, Gangland News (1996)


"The Genovese family has become dominant among New York's Italian Mafia."
- Peter Maas, Author (1995)


"If anybody survives it will be the Genovese."
- Anthony Accetturo, Lucchese LCN family Captain (1994)


"If there is a major trend, it is the consolidation of power by the Genovese family."
- William Y. Doran, Head of the FBI's New York Criminal Division (1994)


"I have always considered the Genovese Family to be the most powerful LCN family in the United States."
- Al D'Arco, Lucchese LCN family Acting Boss (1994)


"The Genovese family is the most stable, the best counseled and the most diversified business-crime group in the country."
- Lee Brown, New York City Police Commissioner (1990)


"You keep hearing all this crap about Gotti being the boss of the bosses, but the Genovese have always been the country's most powerful family."
- Richard Ross, FBI (1990)


"The Genovese family is the most sophisticated, cautious, secretive, and powerful Cosa Nostra family in the United States."
- Phil Leonetti, Philadelphia LCN Underboss (1989)

It's about a lot of things...



"While centered in the New York metropolitan region, the Genovese family also maintains a presence in portions of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, and California. The family has strong connections with other traditional and non-traditional organized crime groups throughout the United States. Of all the traditional LCN families, the Genovese has the most contact with non-traditional criminal organizations and the money and power they command. Not only is the Genovese family the strongest LCN group in the nation, but it also is the most unique. Elements of this group persist in the solid waste industry, on the waterfront, in organized labor and in public construction. It runs the largest bookmaking and loan sharking rings in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. The family’s other major criminal enterprises include extortion and labor racketeering in the construction, demolition, asbestos removal, carting, recycling, trucking, and waterfront industries; theft and kickbacks from pension funds; insurance fraud; narcotics trafficking; infiltration of legitimate businesses; and public corruption. Its influence is particularly strong on the Port Newark/Elizabeth and Hudson County waterfronts. While the organization continues to commit traditional crimes such as murder, extortion, racketeering, loan sharking and illegal gambling, it has evolved into committing more sophisticated crimes, such as computer fraud, stock/securities fraud and health-care fraud. Many of these crimes are committed with the assistance of non-traditional organized crime groups, such as those with Russian and Cuban members. Of all the traditional LCN families, the Genovese group has the most contact with non-traditional criminal organizations, and the money and power they command. The Genovese family has a proven record of resiliency that has enabled it to maintain a grip on lucrative segments of the legitimate economy despite repeated assualts by law enforcement."
- New Jersey Commission of Investigation on Organized Crime (2004)


"The Genovese family is now involved in a catalogue of crime: murder, extortion, loansharking, gambling, drugs, stock fraud, money-laundering, bank robberies, obstruction of justice and shaking down unions. While other families have been kicked out of the carting industry and the Fulton Fish Market, the Genovese family maintains a stubborn presence, investigators say. And an ongoing FBI investigation has found the Genovese family has ventured into new territory, becoming immersed in "pump and dump" stock scams and controlling the hot marijuana market in parts of the city." - New York Daily News Article (2001)



"According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and state agencies, the Genovese mobsters are the country's largest Mafia faction, with 200 to 250 active members. The gang is also supported by about 1,000 associates who assist its illegal activities in the metropolitan region, New England and Florida. The family's financial bedrock is illegal gambling and loan sharking in New York and New Jersey; the authorities say this business generates hundreds of millions of dollars in profits each year. The family is also entrenched in labor racketeering and extortion in the construction, waterfront and trucking industries in New York and New Jersey."
- New York Times article (1998)


"F.B.I. agents and state investigators say Mr. Cirillo controls 200 to 250 made, or initiated, soldiers and capos, mainly in the New York City region, and about 1,000 associates, people who knowingly work or cooperate in the gang's rackets. The Genovese family's financial bedrock is illegal gambling and loan sharking, which bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year, according to Federal, New York and New Jersey law enforcement officials. Other illegal activities in which the family is said to be entrenched include extortion for labor peace in the construction industry and from businesses at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth in New Jersey."
- New York Times article (1997)


"The Organised Crime Task Force believes the Genoveses have now forced the other Mafia families out of the trucking business, the meat market, gambling, construction and shipping. The Task Force estimates that if it were a legitimate business, the family would report annual revenues of more than $2 billion for its East Coast operation. That buys a lot of influence and a lot of firepower."
The Independent article (1995)

Great Post.That about answers it.
They also are very selective when it comes to making a guy into there family.Not just anyone becomes "Made" in the Genovese Family.

I dont doubt that the Genovese are the undisputed kings of organised crime BUT if I was a mob guy, I'd wanna be made into one of the smaller families.
More chance of advancement in later years

i am all for lively debate....obviously you guys are centered on the five families that control new york and the surrounding areas....

since i am rambling....

the point i was trying to make is this...the one family that is outside of new york...has never suffered the... "rats/turncoats"..."bloodshed" that has decimated the traditional families over the years..they have always stayed under the radar cept for jfk conspiracy theories..

this family has controlled politics for decades...(just like the traditional 5)...gambling...real eastate ect..when casino gambling was legalized throughout the south...the biggest gambling boom every...(before the vegas corporations came in)....they owned it...

like i said... post hurricane katrina construction...you think new york city has $$$ in construction contracts??..again they own it..


the simple fact that the reason most of you discount them as powerful is plain and simple...they have never had the infamous reputation of the five families...because they chose to make money... not news....out of site out of mind i guess....


the family is named after carlos marcello..


current estimates put their numbers at only a handful...and that is quite alright with them....

jmo...

ivyleague that means --just my opinion...;)

"rats/turncoats"....and in general federal indictments over the years...

Greater chance of you being caught by the Feds cause of Rats,etc

There is absolutely no truth in what you said above. The New Orleans family is all but extinct. It was never a big family, even at it's peak. Marcello kept it relatively small on purpose. By the early 1990's, when he died, the FBI had the family near extinction anyway. Mobsters from New York were caught on tape talking about how the Marcello family was finished. That's when the last remnants of the family partnered with the Gambino and Genovese families in that video gambling racket that got busted up. Marcello's sons, if any of them are still alive, were left a lot of money and real estate but that doesn't equate to a viable crime family. Beyond that, there might be one or two remaining members left. Come here with the facts. Not with made up fantasy about a dead crime family making millions off legalized gambling and Katrina contracts.

Hi ya Gat1968, hows it?
You know, its funny; ive read a bunch of pieces that state how "most believe the New Orleans LCN Family is extinct, though some contend that it is actually amongst the strongest of all now".
Your the first dude ive come across who actually supports the latter claim, that is part of the "some". You got some articles or press releases to support your hypothesisisis (er, spl?) mate?
Sounds a little dubious, truth be told.

About my earlier post, too - while i definitely rate the Rizzuto's amongst the most powerful Familes, it was a mistake to still link them to the Bonanno Family. I was trying to point out that they once had a connection, but that is long in the past & it seems as if i am endorsing the Bonanno Family as the strongest, which is severely not the case. I should have left their name out all together.

*Ahem* The Rizzuto Family. & the Genovese. & the Outfit.

...um....by the way...typing like this...it's kinda annoying...

The Chicago Outfit has always been pretty big

Not with made up fantasy about a dead crime family making millions off legalized gambling and Katrina contracts.

You got some articles or press releases to support your hypothesisisis (er, spl?) mate?
Sounds a little dubious, truth be told.


as far as news articles...the most recent that comes to mind was governer edwards being indicted under ricco violations...(casino kickbacks)


just so you know i have never put much stock into people that go by what they read and not actual experience....


plus most of you are probably fbi....

i give up you guys are obviously the authority...on this subject....

The Gambinos would be #2 behind the Genovese in the U.S. And at this point, I'd also put the other the other three New York families ahead of any family outside the city as well. And that includes the Outfit.

For me, the jury is still out on the Rizzutos. There are two schools of thought on them. One being that they are just a Bonanno crew that operates in Canada. The other being they are an international powerhouse that can rival, if not surpass, any family in the U.S. I think the truth falls somewhere in the middle.

The Rizzutos do have international ties to the Mafia in Sicily, as well as for drug connections in South America. They are different because they are sort of a hybrid group made up of guys made into the American mob but said to have loyalties to their clan in Sicily. This is a glaring contradiction for anyone familiar with how things work between the Italian and American Mafias.

At the same time, former Bonanno underboss Salvatore Vitale testified about a meeting he had with Vito Rizzuto where Vito told him they had 18-20 members and mostly kept to themselves, though they were well respected. Of course, this wasn't counting all their associates. Over 90 guys were picked up in Operation Colisee back in 2006. More recently, Vito was said to have sent the message to the Bonannos that he didn't recognize Salvatore Montagna as his boss since he was a "lightweight." The question is, if the Rizzutos were completely broken off from the Bonannos as is thought after the Sciascia murder, why would Vito feel the need to say that at all?

It's also interesting to see the reaction of some authors who have all but mythologized the Rizzutos in the past after the recent killing of Nick Rizzuto Jr.



Today they are a mid-sized family, similar in size to families in New England, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

According to information collected by FBI wiretaps, representatives of the Philadelphia family contacted ageing mobster Frank Gagliano, the underboss to Carolla, for permission to move into casino-styled gambling operations and cocaine trafficking.

"Sure, go ahead," Gagliano is supposed to have said, "come on in. You won't get any problems from the Marcellos. They're finished. They don't mean nothin' around here any more."


----------------------------------------


By the time Marcello left prison in 1989, he was in ill health and unable to run his far-flung empire - or what was left of it. He died in 1993.

About the time video poker machines started coming on line in Louisiana in 1992, the FBI was running a court-approved wiretap on a pay telephone in a French Quarter deli where bookmaking was suspected.

Illegal bets on professional sports have always been a mainstay of organized crime. But there wasn't much worry about organized crime at the time: as far as the federal government was concerned, the Marcello family had fallen so far that New Orleans was just about an "open city" - not controlled by any particular gang.

But what the feds heard on that pay phone stunned them - various mob figures in Louisiana talking with their counterparts in the East about infiltrating the video poker businesses through "front organizations."

And the conversations revealed that Anthony Carolla - who had lost out in the 40s to Marcello as boss - was now leading the family and would be aided by Joseph "JoJo" Corrozo, described by prosecutors as a captain in the Gotti-dominated Gambino family.

"We had the advantage of being up on a wire, watching and listening day to day the mob literally re-emerging in New Orleans. It was unprecedented," Letten said.

Bally Gaming Inc., a major slot-machine manufacturer, had fallen behind in the game. Its video poker machines were outdated compared to competitors who had beaten Bally to the budding Louisiana market.

Then, as prosecutors would later allege, a former New Jersey casino executive named Steve Bolson and Christopher Tanfield, a rock concert promoter, linked up Bally Gaming with two Louisiana companies - Worldwide Gaming of Louisiana and Louisiana Route Operators to place Bally machines in restaurants, bars and truck stops.

The deal was a disaster for Bally Gaming. The company terminated its relationship with the two firms and later claimed a $25 million loss from the deal.

That was only the start: In May 1994, a federal grand jury alleged that Worldwide Gaming and Louisiana Route Operators were nothing more than fronts for the Marcello and Gambino crime families, with the Genovese family also along for the ride.

Prosecutors debriefed Gravano and found out about the 1990 meetings between the Gotti and Marcello families, learning for the first time that the scheme was concocted even before video poker was legalized. By the time the pay phone gave away its secrets, the plan was nearly three years old.

The government convicted 25 people of involvement in the scheme. Those included Corrozo, Carolla and Salvatore, along with John "Johnny G" Gammarao, an alleged soldier for the Gambino family, Eugene "Noogie" Gilpin, an alleged Genovese associate, and Carlos Marcello's brother, Joseph Paul Marcello Jr.

One Louisiana legislator lost his political career. Buster Guzzardo, who served in the House, pleaded guilty to accepting $1,200 in cash and a fax machine from Tanfield, the concert promoter.
Bally Gaming was eventually bought by another company.

In local referendums held in 1996, 33 parishes banned video poker. But casinos survived and the Legislature later approved slot-machine casinos at race tracks.

Gotti was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. He died in June 2002.

Gravano confessed to roles in 19 murders when he testified against Gotti and was released after only five years in prison. He eventually left the witness protection program, lived openly in Arizona and taunted the mob during interviews in 1999.

But old habits die hard: Gravano is now serving a 19-year sentence in Arizona for masterminding an ecstasy drug ring.

As far as organized crime goes, Letten says from what he sees, New Orleans is again mostly an "open city," at least as far as traditional La Cosa Nostra goes.

"I think we struck a killer blow to these guys and dismantled a re-emerged family," Letten said. "By the grace of God, we were able to do that."