Hi. I used to post on this board a lot. I'm not really interested in OC anymore. But I'm going to school for history and I love geography so sometimes I think about the families.

1. Was Reno ever fought over by the mob? Which families were active there?
2. Was the Buffalo family the only one to rival the 5 families in size at their peak? What explains their large size? Finally, were they active in Pennsylvania?
3. Did Joe Bonanno really take 40 men to LA to scare the shit out of frank DeSimone?

Thanks

On number 3 I would think no.

Number 2: the Buffalo mob can rival with the 5 family on 1950s/1960s due the control of gambling and drugs in nordest NY state and Pennsylvania but not with numbers due the rochester decina rebellion and the internal war;
Yes they was active in Erie and Northwest Pennsylvania
here the chart with the men active there:

http://mafiamembershipcharts.blogspot.com/search/label/Buffalo?m=0

Number 3: no,the commission stopped him because the other bosses was afraid that after the arizona the bonanno could had put his flag on L.A. And because bonanno wanted to kill desimone and made his son Bill boss of L.A.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=94876&relPageId=32&search=Bonanno_40

Number 1
For the outfit

 http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=printthread&Board=8&main=29529&type=thread

Reno,Nevada


The Mapes Hotel and casino

Frontmen: George Wingfield,Bil Graham,Lou Wertheimer
Chicago Mob Connection:Al Capone,Murray Humphries
Other Mob Connection:Tony Zerilli,Meyer Lansky,Lucky Luciano
Story:Lou Wertheimer,formerly part of the Detroit Mob and the Chicago Outfit,ran the Mapes casino in the 1940�s.In the 50�s Time Magazine reported that The Mapes Hotel was one the best in Reno.


The Riverside Hotel and Casino

Frontmen: George Wingfield ,Bil Graham,Mert Wertheimer
Chicago Mob Connection:Tony Accardo,Murray Humphries
Other Mob Connection:Meyer Lansky,Frank Costello
Story:Mert Wertheimer worked for Meyer Lansky and was the brother of the mob connected Lou Wertheimer


The Bank Club

Frontmen: George Wingfield,Bil Graham,William Harrah
Chicago Mob Connection:Al Capone,Ralph Capone, John Drew
Story:The Bank Club was Reno's largest casino in the 1930's and 1940's. Opened in 1931, it merged with the Golden Hotel and became the Golden Bank Club in 1952. John Drew, a familiar face in Chicago, represented the Chicago syndicate and came from the Bank Club casino in Reno, which the Chicago mob took over in the early 30�s.


The Wilows

Frontmen: James McKay,Tex Hall
Chicago Mob Connection:Al Capone,Ralph Capone
Story:The Willows offered some of the finest liquor available in the nation. Graham and McKay could always get liquor from their suppliers in San Francisco, or their friend, bootlegger Cal Custer and ofcourse Al Capone from Chicago.James McKay took 20 percent of everything.