I know that the 5 Families operated all over NYC and NJ but were any area's significantly dominated by one family?

In days gone by there was always a large Lucchese presence in the Bronx.
Bensonhurst had a large Colombo and Gambino population
Williamsburg (Brooklyn) had a strong Bonnano following

Comments?

Whatever mob presence is left in New York City (and it's getting even smaller as I type this) is pretty well divided up today.

You're right about the Lucchese presence in the Bronx, but only because they had a disproportionate amount of their businesses here. And by that I mean that the much larger Genovese family was always here, too, yet the Luccheses were in almost as many businesses as the Genoveses were.

But as I said, today everything is all over the place. The larger families---like the Gambinos and Genoveses---might very well be in business with, say, a small Bonanno or Lucchese crew in one of the outer boroughs, because in their minds it's better that they stick together than to get into business with another ethnic gang all together.

Technically speaking, each of the five families operate throughout New York and New Jersey to one degree or another. No area is specifically dominated by one family, however. The mob moved beyond purely geographic lines a long time ago.

Of course, each family does have a strong presence in certain areas, compared to other places where it may not be as much. For the Genovese, it's Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. For the Gambinos, it's Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan. For the Luccheses, it's Brooklyn, the Bronx, and New Jersey. For the Bonannos, it's Brooklyn and Staten Island. For the Colombos, it's Brooklyn and Long Island.

is there a map of america where it shows which states have LCN family? and showing the influence of the 5 new york families in other states.

If not, we should make one?

Depends on what you mean. Are you talking about when the LCN was at it's peak or are you talking about today? Also, it's debatable whether a handful of remaining mob guys in a given area really constitute a family and are not just remnants of a family that once was. Furthermore, there are states where families are active but they may not be indigenous to that state.

Of what I would consider the remaining viable families, it looks like this:

Genovese - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida
Gambino - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida
Lucchese - New York, New Jersey, Florida
Colombo - New York, New Jersey, Florida
Bonanno - New York, New Jersey, Florida
Patriarca - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
DeCavalcante - New Jersey
Bruno/Scarfo- Pennsylvania, New Jersey
Outfit - Illinois

The New York families and the Chicago family may still have some presence out west, in states like Nevada, Arizona, and California but not much at this point.

Thanks IvyLeague

I assume the mobs vice-like grip on the Teamsters and other unions is a thing of the past?
Likewise I doubt they are still rigging construction contracts in Manhattan like they once did! (if at all).

Perhaps Florida will offer todays mob new avenues to generate income?

The mob no longer controls the "big four" labor unions (ILA, IBT, HEREIU, LIUNA) on a national level. They do still control, or at least have varying degrees of influence over, certain union locals in the New York/New Jersey area; and to a much lesser extent, in other areas like New England, Chicago, etc.

In New York itself, the families no longer control entire industries like they once did. But they remain involved in several of them to one extent or another. The construction industry above all. Bid-rigging still goes on, though not on the same level it once did. Back in the 1990's, after many of it's bid-rigging rings were broken up, the mob switched tactics from controlling bids on projects worth $50 million and more to getting kickbacks on sweetheart deals on smaller projects.

The New York families have been active in Florida for decades. They all have crews there. It's wide open territory where the mob can get involved in any number of things - gambling, nightclubs, drugs, valet services, stock scams, stolen goods, etc.

I'm usually the first to take what the feds say in an indictment as good, but Deleo being the street boss for the New York-based Colombo family, while he was up in Massachusetts, just doesn't make sense. It's true he would come to New York for meetings and even attend making ceremonies. But the whole point of having a street boss is somebody who is readily accessible and able to run things day to day. He simply couldn't do that up in Massachusetts and, if you read through the indictment itself, he wasn't. He was running his own little crew up there rather than the whole Colombo family in New York. My guess is the ones who continue to run the family - the Persicos and those handpicked by them - gave him the title to move attention away from others.

And for the record, there are families who have some guys here or there in a lot of places. The list I made is where each family has a significant presence. For the Colombos, that's only New York, New Jersey, and Florida today.

thanks for the information, we could also make a mafia map. Like example take the US map with its states, and a legenda. With colours and arrows to show where the main italian/american mafia are present etc. like a world map. and could you also give information about todays mafia moneymaking? i know the terms, but not how they work and what a no show job means etc. and how they still get money from gambling?

The closest thing to what you are talking about I can think of, as far as anything fairly recent, is the chart below. It's from the 2009 DEA Drug Threat Assessment Report. However, it's not exactly what you're talking about because it is representing any place where there is some LCN activity rather than where remaining families are based or have a significant presence.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/18862/ndic_2009.pdf

In the documentary crime inc. they show a such a map, only I'm not sure in which episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD4X62i-WdI

A map like you suggest is a very good idea, to be honest I also looked for such a map myself on google.

Here's an example. A mob-controlled labor union makes a "sweetheart deal" with a contractor on a building project. They allow him to not use union labor, or at least less of it, thereby saving him a lot of money since union labor is far more costly than non-union labor. In other words, the union intentionally does not enforce the collective bargaining agreement the dues-paying union members are expecting it to. In return, the contractor kicks back to the mobbed up union. Sometimes through direct cash payments but more often through no-show jobs given out to mobsters and people around them. That way, the mobsters are not only getting a check every two weeks (at union rates) for doing nothing, they have a legitimate source of income they can show, health care, etc.

Gambling remains the biggest over all earner for the mob. The illegal numbers racket is still around, despite the existence of the legal state lottery, but it's not as big as it once was. At least not in terms of what the mob controls. It's still essentially the same thing, however. A bettor can put money down on any 3 digit number they want. Something like the last 3 numbers in the total money handled that day or week from the local race track - something that can't be tampered with or fixed - is typical. Mathematically, it's a long shot. About 1,000 to 1. But still better than the state lotto. And you can put down as little as $1. That's why numbers betting has always been popular in the poor neighborhoods. If their number hits, they get usually get paid at 500 to 1 odds. So, $500 for a $1 bet. $5,000 for a $10 bet. Etc. Today, numbers is usually just an appendage to what is far and away the mob's biggest cash cow - illegal sports betting.

That business has changed somewhat in recent years, with the internet and the use of more offshore websites and phone banks. Bettors will either log onto a site with a name and password, or simply call a number to a wireroom in a place like Costa Rica, and place their bet. That way, the mob doesn't need to run the risk of taking the bets themselves from their own wireroom where the cops might kick in the front door during a raid. The bookie simply checks the website or calls Costa Rica himself and can see what his bettors won or what they owe.

The key to a bookie making money is balancing his books. For instance, if there is a football game, say the Colts vs. the Chiefs this Sunday, the bookie would ideally like to have an equal amount of money bet on both sides. In your typical sports wager, to win $100 you must risk $110. Or, to win $1,000 you must risk $1,100. Risk $11,000 to win $10,000. Etc. If the bookie has one bettor betting on the Colts and the other on the Chiefs, it doesn't matter the actual outcome of the game. He takes the $110 from the loser, gives $100 of it to the winner, and keeps the $10 for himself. None of his own money is ever at risk.

Now obviously this is easier said than done. There is often a clear favorite in any sports matchup and so more money is likely to be bet on the favorite rather than the underdog. That's where the spread comes in. Right now, the Colts are an 8 point favorite. That means, if somebody wants to bet on them, the Colts must win by more than 8 points or "cover the spread." Even if they win, if it's by less than 8, the bettor loses. On the other hand, a bettor can pick the Chiefs to either win outright or at least lose by less than 8.

Often the situation involves more or less independent bookies who form partnerships with the mob in order to have a bigger pool to lay off their bets if there is too much action one way or the other. A bookie may have a "package" of 10, 15, 20, or more regular bettors. It's easy to handle their business but he doesn't want to run the risk of getting wiped out if too many of his players have a particularly good weekend. Going back to the Colts/Chiefs game, if he has $200,000 bet on the Colts and only $100,000 on the Chiefs, he will have a problem if the Colts do in fact cover the spread by winning by more than 8. He'll be owing more to the winners than he's taking from the losers. Which means he's paying out of his own pocket. And a bookie can't stay in business very long doing that.

So the bookie uses his mob partners to "lay off" some of the action to other books who might be too far the other way. In other words, he'll take $50,000 and bet it on the Chiefs with that book. That way, he now has an equal amount of money on both sides - $150,000 - and he stands to make his 10% regardless of who actually wins.

Of course, the nature of the mob being what it is, sometimes these "partnerships" are forced partnerships. An independent bookie grows big enough and he eventually gets a visit from some mob guys who tell him they are his new partners. Or he has to at least pay a percentage of his profits in order to keep operating. The mob makes money from it's own bookmaking operations, as well as taxing others.

A third way the mob makes money from gambling is video poker machines. Through companies they own or control, they put the machines in local businesses like bars, clubs, restaurants, laundromats, etc. They are not like a regular slot machine that dispenses money on it's own. That's illegal and the machines wouldn't last very long. The player simply puts money into the machine, like he's playing a video game, and attempts to rack up points. Whatever they win can be redeemed in money from the business owner himself directly. Not from the machine. This way, the business owner can only do it with players he knows, while those he doesn't know (who might be cops) he can just tell the machines are for amusement only. The mob typically goes 50-50 on the machine's profits with the business owner and they come around every week, sometimes every day, to collect the money from the machines themselves. Of course, like independent bookies, sometimes it's simply a matter of the mob taxing other video poker operators for allowing them to place their machines in mob territory.

Lastly, the mob still runs "floating" high-stakes card games. Or, again, they may tax them. There are still some backroom casinos run by the mob - think the Bloomfield Avenue operation on The Sopranos - but those aren't what they were back in the day before Atlantic City, Indian casinos, river gambling boats, and other forms of legalized gambling.

Anyway, that's the short version tutorial on how the mob makes money from gambling.

Back in the 1960's, Life Magazine had a map/chart of the U.S. with photos of most of the family bosses surrounding it, along with arrows from their pictures to their territories on the map. Not exactly what we're talking about here but I know it's posted somewhere over on the Real Deal forum. But obviously its' way out of date.

Honestly, I don't think such a map or chart would even be necessary today. The mob really isn't nationwide in scope anymore. And in many places where it's still at, it's not necessarily even state wide. For instance, while it still has some activity here and there, most of the the Outfit's activity today is in Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs within Cook County. It's not like they still have a significant presence in other parts of Illinois, in northwest Indiana, or out in Nevada or California.

Here's the old chart I was talking about. Though, it's somewhat misleading because not all of those bosses actually sat on the Commission. Originally, in 1931, there were only 7 official members of the Commission - the bosses of the five New York families, Chicago, and Buffalo. In 1961, the bosses of Philadelphia and Detroit were also added; making 9. But that was it. Most east coast families not on the Commission were represented by the Genovese family and most families west of Chicago were represented by the Outfit.

wow thanks for all the information, i have read many books etc about the mafia. But because english isnt my first language i sometimes have a hard time understanding what it actually means. But thanks for clearing up, its more clear to me now. And what other illegal activities are they in today? So they dont control big unions, but they still have control on the smaller ones? And what about the gas scam with the russians that was going on in the late80s and early 90? With Vic Amuso and Casso?

By the way, excellent maps you have there. The first one is the closest thing i actually mean. But there are other gangs shown there, i will try to make a specific Italian american mafia map.

And that documentary is wonderful, i have the full version. Its really interesting, wish there were more good documentaries.

National Geographic also made some good mafia documentaries which I could recommend, like Inside the Mafia and the Underworld series about the mafia in various U.S. cities.

But they're more focussed on the general public and don't provide as much information as Crime Inc, although they are very well presented.

you are right about the National Geographic documentaries, i watched severel of them. Mostly they were about Vegas, and Chicago outfit business there and in florida. Most complete is still Crime Inc. A&E biographies of mobsters are cool to. Luckily weve got dozens of good books.

Labor unions like the Teamsters or the Laborers are nationwide. But in a given area you have specific "locals" for those unions. Like Teamsters Local 560 in New Jersey or Laborers Local 1001 in Chicago. The mob doesn't control the national unions any more but they still control individual locals in certain places.

For all the families, illegal gambling (mainly sports bookmaking) remains the biggest earner. In fact, as certain families dwindle in size, sports betting and loansharking are often really the only thing they have left. The mob is still involved in extortion, whether it be shaking down an independent bookie for a "street tax" or a trucking company to avoid labor problems. The mob is still involved in drug trafficking, though I'd say all of the remaining families involved in narcotics outside of New York are relatively small players in that respect and have limited involvement. Even the New York families are more involved at the mid-to-lower levels of the drug trade now. The mob continues to be involved in fencing stolen goods, whether it be TV's, marble flooring, designer jeans, or whatever. And it continues to be involved in various forms of fraud. Over the last 10 or 15 years there have been several mob-related cases of stock fraud, telecommunications fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, etc.

As I said before, most of the labor racketeering activity left is in the New York/New Jersey area. Labor racketeering by the mob can come in the form of extortion, bid-rigging, sweetheart deals, no show jobs, union fund embezzlement, etc. Also, the mob continues to be involved in a number of legitimate businesses such as bars, nightclubs, restaurants, construction and trucking companies, real estate, etc.

As for the gax tax scam, that involved all the New York families except the Bonannos. For the mob, it lasted from the early stages in the late 1970's to the early 1990's. Russian/Eastern European gangsters were initially the first ones who came up with the scam. Once the Mafia saw how big of a money maker it was, it moved to take control. Each of the four New York families involved formed partnerships with different Russian/Eastern European gangsters. In fact, each family had a certain guy who was designated to oversee the family's stake in the racket. And they would divy up the money much like they did from the concrete racket. Both the Italians and Russians made millions and millions for over a decade until a number of prosecutions and stricter laws put an end to most of it, at least as far as the mob was concerned.

Nowadays they seem to cooperate more with other ethnic criminal groups, decades ago they didnt do that much often because they had a monopoly on almost all criminal activities. And what can you tell about the window-scam that the genovese family did with the other families in new york in the early 1990's?

Actually, the Mafia has worked with other ethnic groups going all the way back to the Irish and Jewish gangsters in the early 20th century. But it's true that there was about a 50 year window, between the 1930's and 1980's, after the Irish and Jews had largely been supplanted by the Italians and before the rise of the South American drug cartels, Asian and Russian OC groups, etc. where the Mafia held the most sway.

In the late 1970's the New York Housing Authority planned to replace millions of windows throughout the city in order to save money on heating. Over the period of 12 years, from 1978 to 1990, the Genovese, Lucchese, Gambino, and Colombo families, through their control of about a dozen windows companies and Local 580 of the Architectural and Ornamental Ironworkers Union, rigged about 75% of the bids - or about $142 million out of $191 million - to go to mob companies. Any unaffiliated companies who wanted to receive a contract had to pay a mob tax of $2 a window. In other words, it was structured much like the mob's concrete club was. The Genovese family was the main player in the scam but had to bring in the Lucchese family because it directly controlled Local 580. And once the Gambino and Colombo families saw the money involved, they became involved as well. As usual, the Bonanno family was left out of this joint family racket. Genovese family associate Peter Savino was the initial lynchpin in the scam but later became a governement witness.

Among those ultimately charged in the case included:

Venaro "Benny Eggs" Mangano (Genovese underboss)
Dominick "Baldy Dom" Canterino (Genovese captain)
Joseph Zito (Genovese captain)
Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo (Lucchese captain)
Joseph "Joe Cakes" Marion (Lucchese associate)
Benedetto "Benny" Aloi (Colombo consigliere)
Dennis DeLucia (Colombo soldier)
Vincent "Three Fingers" Ricciardo (Colombo associate)
Peter Gotti (Gambino captain)
Caesar Gurino (Gambino associate)
Thomas McGowan (Local 580 business agent)

Thanks again Ivy League.

Wasnt Gerrard Pappa instrumental in the windows racket? (when he was alive)

Why were the Bonanno's left out of inter-family rackets?
Was it to do with Galante and his zips and all the subsquent trouble where they lost their seat on the commission?

As for slot machine rackets, Tony Mirra turned over about $2000 a week from his illegal machines that he stashed in bar/diner/cafe basements or backrooms.
He used to walk into a place and tell them he had their new slot machine and if the owner refused Mirra would say "fine, you go ask about Tony from Mulberry street and I'll come back tomorrow and see if you havent changed your mind".
Sure enough the owner wisely changed his mind and allowed Mirra's machine put in.

Eddie Richardson (Charlie Richardsons brother) used to do that in London too



I assume JFK Airport is now a fortress and no longer easy pickings for mobsters?

Yes, he was involved in it.



The Bonannos began to be cut out of the inter-family rackets as far back as the 1960's, following Joe Bonanno being sent into forced retirement. You'll notice that, with a few exceptions, there wasn't much in the way of labor racketeering involving the family after that. Then, after they lost their Commission seat in the late 70's/early 80's due to internal fighting, excessive involvement in narcotics, etc., they were really the odd family out. Ironically, while they were cut out of the profits involved, it did help the Bonannos to avoid the law enforcement scrutiny that came on the other families as a result.



Truck highjackings (more like give ups) out of JFK were becoming a thing of the past in the 1980's. The Lucchese family, as well as the Gambinos, controlled some of the union locals involved there, by which they were able to shake down companies going into the 1990's. But a series of prosecutions basically removed the mob from the airport.

The american cosa nostra will come with new ways to earn illegal money, its a new century. Sure they got huge blows from the FBI and the government, but still they manage to survive and reorganize. And i am sure new talented soldiers and captains will rise to fill the ranks. And perhaps bosses, not like Gambino, Lucchese or Gigante but they will be there. Internet and other technological things work in both ways, legal and not legal.

And not to forget the size of the current status of the 5 families, they still have above 400 made men.

That's true, Mumrekin, but the fact remains that it's nothing like it used to be.

They are a shadow of their former selves, and they will never be as strong as they were from the '40s through the '80s. American law enforcement just won't allow it. But it's true, gambling and money lending have been around since the beginning of time, so those rackets will always be around.

Welcome to the boards. By the way, I saw you posted that you're Turkish. Are you Turkish American or do you actually live in Turkey?

They are to much romantized, or how you spell it. There will always be people who want to be "made" and serve in one of the glorious 5 families. And enough money to be made:) well see what the future holds.

Thanks pizzaboy, i live in the Netherlands. So that makes me a Turkish Dutchmen, but they dont use those kind of terms here. Either you are Dutch or a Turk thats why i like those American terms. African-American, Italian American etc. Must be part of the American dream:D


btw i like it here, much to read and learn. And meet other people who are also interested in the mafia:)

The combined membership of the five New York families is about 700.

700 Made members? see? thats huge. They are not dead yet.

It's certainly big as far as today's family's go. 70% of the mob's remaining membership is in New York. Any remaining family outside the city is - at most -half the size of the smallest NY family. But even the New York famlies are about half the size they were at their peak.