How old would you have to be, to be in the mafia? Over 21?

There is no certain age. Members have been made in their early 20's to 50's. Most are usually made in their 30's after being an assosiate for several years. Sal Testa was in his early 20's when he was made. He's the youngest made man that I know of

The youngest American LCN guy made that i know of is Harry Riccobene. He was made by Salvatore Sabella in 1927 when Riccobene was 17 or 18.

But how old would you have to be to join, this day in age.

I really don't think there is an official minimum age but i would think that the person would have to be at least 21. After that i guess it depends on the family and the person.

I was thinking 21 myself because mobsters are in bars alot and mess around with alot of women.

persico was in his early 20's. I heard carlo was 19. Another one was Mike Franzese at 24 but his father was the underboss so taht may have helped speed up his induction

I think most associates become involved in their early 20s.

Barney was only 20 when he got his button. They obviously saw something in him, and it didn't hurt that his father was very close to Sammy Santora and Fish Cafaro.

On the other hand, Craig DePalma was also in his early 20's but he did little if anything to earn his button. His father pushed it on him and look what happened to that poor kid. Poor, poor Craig .

In the modern age these guys are exceptions (especially Bellomo in the Genovese family). They both had very powerful rabbis who enabled them to get made quite young. Most guys are mid-thirties and older when they get it.

And Botz? There's no date of birth on the application for made guys. So if you're thinking of joining, fill one out .

Hey Botz when they come over your house you have to go down the basement like tony soprano and talk by the furnace or whatever the washer and dryer

"Fill out the application and include your date of birth so we can send you even more buttons in the mail they come in 52 different colors.

Harry Riccobene was 18. And that was a long, long time ago. 40's or 50's.

Harry Riccobene wasn't a large men but he was strong and had some wit since hes past now and was born right in the hayday of everything it was probably a lot easier for him to get made..I mean he was probably a god damn Gypsy pickpocketing people and stealing from the grocers on the ltalian market.. LOL

I really dont think guys get made in their early 20s anymore.The last generation of made guys has had more rats thatn all the generations put together.I think whats happening now is the families really are going to have to lift the age so that only guys in over 40 het made .This is y the geneves have no rats because they make guys who they have known for decades rather than years.

I just feel like nitpicking a little bit, especially since it has nothing to do with the subject of this thread. But Sonny Franzese was not the underboss to Joe Colombo. He held the rank of a captain from 1962, until he was demoted sometime around 1984.

The underbosses of the Colombo Family during this time were:
- "Big" John Misuraca (demoted in 1963)
- Charlie "Lemons" Mineo (stepped down in 1971)
- Tony "Abby" Abbatemarco (demoted in 1977)
- Carmine Persico (became boss in 1980)
- Gerry "Lang" Langella (demoted, probably in 1988)

In between, there were chunks of periods when the Family did not have an official underboss. But Franzese was in prison, so he could not have functioned as an underboss during these periods.

I thought Carmine became boss in the early 70s around the time Joey Gallo was killed . So who was boss from the time Joe Colombo was shot till 1980?

Carmine was official boss even though he was in jail for hijacking for much of the '70s. I believe that Tommy DiBella was acting boss while Carmine was away during that time.

Thanks

You're welcome. You know you're my favorite 19 year old Scottish kid .

I also thought so until I was proven wrong by a knowledgeable poster over there.
Persico and his faction, seems to have held the ultimate power in the Family. But the official boss , was Thomas DiBella. And this can be found in the Scarpa files.
When Persico was released from prison in 1979, he officially jumped from being a captain to underboss.
The third highest position, the consigliere spot, was being held by Carmine Persico´s brother Alphonse. Allthogh DiBella was recognized as the official boss, the Family was in reality run by the Persicos.

A kid I would assume can start being associated with the Mafia once he's old enough to understand orders to steal cars and do a good job. Thats just one example.

That's what I meant, Hairy. Carmine was the real power. And when Carmine came home in '79, didn't DiBella fall into the consigliere spot without so much as an argument?

That proves to me that DiBella was subservient to him the entire time .

Sorry for the off-topic, but what happened to DiBella at the end? Was he convicted or did he get away?

Yes that is correct. But not only DiBella. All the acting bosses during this time somehow fell under Persico´s thumb. The official underboss, Abbatemarco was demoted in 1977 apparently because he had lost favor with Persico. And Abbatemarco outranked him! That´s how powerful Persico was at the time. He seems to have been extremely respected and feared maybe because of his battles with the Gallos during the 1960s.
It seems that right after the moment of the Colombo shooting, Persico took a firm grip of the Family and hasn´t lost it yet...to this day. Talk about a stubborn guy with a firm mindset!

Dwalin, after stepping down from the top spot and after a while with duties of the consigliere, DiBella fell into obscurity. He died a natural death in 1988.

Thanks that's a true honour .

Caesar Bonventure was a Capo at the age of 28.
I've sometimes wondered what Tony Mirra's reaction (behind closed doors) was when he learned he had to report to a kid half his age!!!