I saw an article saying the mob making a comeback and that crews now are isolated so if one guy snitches he cant take down the rest of the families.I know people always talk about the golden era bosses like gambino,luciano costello.But i really think that todays bosses are more advanced than the 80s bosses.

Genevese-I know that the chin was a great boss but if Barney is todays boss hes doing a great job.He is probably the most powerful gangster in the country But there is no info on this guy and only like 5 photos on him.Noone can ever deny that this guy is brilliant he probably has the FBI following him all day but he is still able to control the most powerful crime sydicate in the country

Gambino-Gotti in the 80s now you have 2 guys with contacts in Italy do i really need to explain

Luchese-Vic and gas were probably the worst of the 80s bosses This steven crea seems like a buisness man who is more with the modern times

Colombos Bonnanos-who knows whats happening with these 2 families they reaally need to put someone in charge who can turn the family around im sure that there are guys better than Teddy Persico (if carmine lives another 20 years teddy will be boss)who can lead the family

So what has Barney exactly done to be praised this highly except take the reigns of an already successful criminal organization?

I mean it just sounds like what you read on Wikipedia that your complete opinion is based after..

What did Gigante or Phil Lombardo do but take the reigns of an already successful family? You could say the same thing about every Genovese boss since Charlie Lucky.

Keeping a family strong today is a success. Look at what Gotti and Amuso did to their strong families. Look at what Persico did to his strong family.

That's just it. Chin made him the acting boss of the family at a very young age. That speaks volumes. Even the law enforcement guys who tracked Barney for years talked about how the guy is very smart and capable of running the family.

Today's hierarchy seems to be more clever and connected to Italy than the 80s so maybe they are doing things the right way

For anyone understanding Italian, here is a very good article posted today in Italian news regarding tiger84's post.

http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/20140301...i-new-york.html

mafia nuova di New York

di Domenico Ferlita - 1° marzo 2014
La mafia non è più come una volta. Cerca sempre di riorganizzare il proprio esercito, i modi di comunicare e soprattutto le sue espansioni. E con le nuove tecnologie messe in circolazione, le organizzazioni mafiose non faticheranno molto a provare i cambiamenti anche se dovranno prestare molta attenzione.
A New York, per esempio, per affrontare i tempi nuovi, la mafia cerca un’organizzazione ancora più forte, soprattutto per sfuggire la problema che tanto l’attanaglia, ovvero la famosa Legge Rico (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). Si tratta della legge più temuta dalle organizzazioni criminali presenti in America che consiste nell’introduzione della responsabilità oggettiva di una persona come reato. Secondo tale legge, infatti, un individuo facente parte di un’organizzazione criminale, può essere accusato dei reati commessi da un altro soggetto appartenente alla stessa associazione.

Più volte, l’FBI aveva dato per morto il fenomeno mafioso, in quanto la mafia newyorkese aveva smesso da tempo di reclutare nuovi soldati. Ma tutt’ora, il fenomeno sembra essere in netta ripresa.
È lo stesso FBI ad affermare in una critica di aver sottovalutato il fenomeno: “Cosa Nostra a New York non è più potente com’era ai tempi d’oro, ma è riuscita ad adattarsi e ora è più potente di quanto sia stata da anni» spiega l’agente speciale Richard Frenkel.
Parlando poi, della famiglia più importante di New York, ovvero il clan Genovese, uno dei più potenti e del suo nuovo sistema del boss a rotazione.
Così facendo, ogni organizzazione malavitosa, ha il compito di concentrare i poteri non solo ad un boss bensì a più persone in tempi prefissati. Alcune famiglie, addirittura hanno deciso di delegare i poteri ai cosiddetti street boss, ovvero i boss di quartiere.
L’altro importante cambiamento consiste nel non utilizzare più la legge dell’omertà. Se, come avveniva negli anni ’80, un “picciotto” veniva ucciso per aver tradito la famiglia, raccontando tutti segreti di Cosa Nostra ai magistrati e quindi, pentendosi, adesso non è più così. Adesso, una volta arrestati, i mafiosi hanno l’autorizzazione di collaborare seppure parzialmente con la polizia, concordando con l’avvocato su quello che può riferire ai magistrati. Soltanto così, la famiglia può continuare a fare affari e guadagnare denaro.
Adattandosi alle nuove regole, Cosa Nostra sembra essersi ripresa continuando a diffondersi non solo a New York ma anche nel New Jersey e in molti stati del Nord America.

Well the guy was put in charge of the most powerful crime family in the country obviously chin saw something in him and he was proving himself along the way they wernt going to put some untested knockaround guy to control the family

And unless you know barney personally were else are you going to get info on him other than the internet??Even made guys who are flipping have no info on this guy.So you sound like an idiot.Even before gravano flipped everyone knew about Gotti that he was a gambling addict a truck hijacker and whacked castellano.

Ignore him, all he does on here is try to start shit.

The bosses today are not as rich but not doing to bad. Crew multi mills. Cefulo has heroin money probably still hidden around from the 70tys and being with pat conte was worth 100mill. Look how good Massimo did. In cape I article Michael persico got like 10 mill in real estate around NYC. Could you imagine the rentals in Brooklyn are making guys super rich. This probably a different thread but did genefication help the mob its reverse white flight. That guy westside guy Sammy meatballs had a contract for all the plumbing in a 90 unit building. There were 3 brothers from the westside drug dealers who owned tons of rentals brownstones its a new mafia. Allie persico would have been a great boss he didn't get life. They run Brooklyn.

We can say one thing for certain:

The Colombo boss now is just as much of a doofus as the Colombo boss from the 80s. Guess why...

The mafia is no longer as they once were. Always Trying to reorganize its army, the ways to communicate and above all its expansions. AND with the new technologies developed in circulation, the mafia organizations not toil much to try the changes even if they should be very careful.

In New York, for example, to deal with the new times, the mafia search an organization even stronger, especially to escape the problem that so much that the grips, the famous Law RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). It is the law most feared by criminal organizations in America that is the introduction of strict liability of a person as a criminal offense. According to this law, in fact, an individual is part of a criminal organization, can be accused of the crimes committed by another subject belonging to the same association.

Most times, the FBI had given for dead the mafia phenomenon, as the new york mafia had stopped for a long time to recruit new soldiers. But still, the phenomenon seems to be in net recovery.

It is the same FBI to affirm in a criticism that it had underestimated the phenomenon: "What Our New York is not more powerful com was at the time d'oro, but failed to adapt and now is more powerful than it has been for years," explains the special agent Richard Frenkel.

Talking about then, the family more important than New York, or the clan Genovese, one of the most powerful and his new system of the boss in rotation.

In doing so, each organization informant, has the task to concentrate the powers not only to a boss but to more people at predetermined times. Some families even have decided to delegate powers to the so-called street boss, or the boss of district.

The other important change is that you do not use more than the law of silence. If, as happened in the years '80, an "s" was killed for having betrayed the family, telling all the secrets of what our to the rulers, and then, by repenting, now it is not so. Now, once arrested, the mafia have the authorisation to work although partially with the police, agreeing with the lawyer on what may report to the magistrates. Only in this way, the family can continue to do business and earn money.
Adapting to the new rules, what our seems to have resumed continuing to spread not only in New York but also in New Jersey and in many states of North America.

Its honestly hard to go past Barney.

This day and age of FBI presence and he's is still a ghost.

Reasonable to say he stands alone.

bosses in the 80s said "fuck it, i had a good run"

bosses in the 00s wear recording devices to making ceremonies and sit-downs

The bosses of the 80's were incredibly wealthy, I bet that isn't the case today...

The Barney loves on this site always cracks me up, heck we don't even know anything about the guy. All I have ever seen is like 2 or 3 pictures.

Is he never seen around the NYC city area...?

I think thats his legend and mystique a guy as young as him being in control of the most powerful crime family who is never seen and none knows anything about

I would of thought massino probably met with some Genevese and he would of had a meeting with guys high up but when he flipped he said nothing of barney,So this guy wasnt even meeting with other bosses.So noway an average made guy would ever have any contact with him or know anything about him

That argument doesn't hold any weight because Bellomo was in prison for most of Massino's reign.

Lol. That damn Persico loves the old days and don't want to give up the power.

Persico will step down wen he leaves prison in a box , he has to many people loyal to him . The colombos r more like a blood family than a mob family , bill cutolo is possibly the only guy who could have overthrown the persicos and they knew it . Hence why they killed him

I get your point, Tiger. But that's not entirely true. At one of his proffer sessions with the Feds, Massino claimed that Barney approached him at the MDC and offered to take out Vinny Basciano for him because Vinny was strutting around the Bronx and keeping a high profile. And that part's true (Vinny and Barney are POLAR opposites), so there might be some truth there. That proffer is somewhere in the public record, but I wouldn't know where to look for it (that's for our researchers, like Ivy and Hairy ).

And just one more thing about Barney: The guy isn't a complete "ghost." You guys have to remember that he was made in the late '70s and he's been on law enforcement radar since at least the early '80s. He has a heroin conviction, and he did ten full years Fed time. And if not for a sweetheart plea to mail fraud a few years ago, he'd probably still be locked up today.

So yes, he's an exceptionally bright and very low key guy. But he's also been a bit lucky. That mail fraud plea saved him quite a bit of additional time behind bars. But that goes for the entire Westside. When you're that far out in front, you tend to get luckier breaks than the guys in the back of the pack. But no one should be shocked if time catches up with them, too.

@ carmela
thanks for the input.

@ mulberry
thanks for the effort. I read the article in the original version and, sadly, it's even worst than its google/bing translation.

Don't get me wrong: It's sure cute to finally read Italian journalists attempting to describe Italian-American LCN, but such cuteness doesn't justify their lack of basic facts, and this Domenico Ferlita guy is the perfect example:

American LCN families never stopped making ceremonies. There might be fewer of them and everyone is more cautious about it, sure, but ceremonies never stopped.

American wiseguys can't cooperate with the authorities without being labeled as rats, unlike what he stated. They can take a plea-deal, but I doubt that he even know what that is.
Or he was told about it but didn't fully get it so he jumped to that conclusion… "me no speek inglish very good sorri"

He confused the "street boss" with a captain, since that he labeled it as a "neighborhood boss". Each family has just one street boss, or underboss. They certainly don't have one for each area/operation. Captains do that.
Ferlita could have also mentioned the "ruling panel" strategy but noooooo. How the hell would he even know, right?

Lastly, he goes as far as claiming that NY families started to expand in NJ recently. (!)

For all those of you who are unfamiliar with the Italian media: articles as his are the least biased crap you can read over there regarding Italian-American OC.

By far.

I didn't have time or energy to translate the article I put up in Italian. I could have thrown it into google translate for others on the board that don't understand Italian, like mulberry did, but it butchers the whole thing. As you can plainly see by reading his translation.

I think today a boss off 1 of the families doesn't have to be from the 5 boros. The bonanno boss tommy d is a long island guy. Has there been a nj boss yet Dan. Leo lived there think that changed. Has there capo ever been a boss from Staten island besides big Paul. Wonder today has the most clout on Staten island I would have guess t.g. before his kids mob wives show but there's tons of mobster there. Probable some unknown westside guy.

Thanks to Carmela for have found this interesting article, I tried to translate at my best, hope I haven't made mistakes



The New York's New Mafia

Domenico Ferlita - 1 March 2014

The Mafia is no longer as it once was. Always it try to reorganize his army, the ways to communicate and above all its expansions. And with new technology put into circulation, the criminal organizations don't toil much to try the changes, even if they have pay close attention.

In New York, for example, to face the new times, the Mafia search an even stronger organization, especially to escape the problem, thta worry it so much: the famous Rico Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). This is the most feared law from the criminal organizations present in America, which consists in the introduction of the strict liability of a person as a criminal offense.According to this law, in fact, an individual belonging to a criminal organization, can be accused of crimes committed by another person belonging to the same association.
Several times, the FBI had given up for dead the Mafia, as the New York Mafia had long since ceased to recruit new soldiers. But still, the phenomenon seems to be in net recovery.
Is the same FBI to assert in a critique, that had underestimated the phenomenon: "Cosa Nostra in New York is not more powerful as it was in its heyday, but it is able to adapt and is now more powerful than it has been since years, "bsays the Special Agent Richard Frenkel.
Speaking of the most important family in New York, ie the Genovese family, one of the most powerful, and its new system, the bosses's rotation.
By doing so, every criminal organizations, has the duty to concentrate the powers not only at a boss, but to most people in pre-established times. Some families have even decided to delegate the powers to the so-called street boss, or the boss of the hood.
The other important change is to no longer use the law of omertà. If, as happened in the '80s, a made man was killed for betraying the family, telling all secrets of Cosa Nostra to the judges and then,becoming a rat, is now no longer the case. Now, once arrested, the mobsters have permission to cooperate with the police, even if only partially, agreeing with the attorney about what can be referred to judges. Only in that way, the family can continue to do business and earn money.
Adapting to the new rules, the Cosa Nostra seems to have recovered by continuing to spread not only in New York but also in New Jersey and in many states of North America.