I think you seriously need to put yourself in that situation first before you start thinking you are Sonny Corleone and Tom Hagen rolled into one. When you get a little bit older you realise it's more about money and survival than honor and integrity. People like Sonny Franzese are men of integrity and respect but we don't have many of them left. I think you've watched the Godfather too many times

LOL

Ralphie needs 2 see a doctor of some sort or have what Francis Farmer had done 2 her.

LOL...clapping involved..LOL...

No he just thinks he's living in the 1950s after watching the Godfather. After he watches Scarface he probably texts all of his friends to see if they are interested in buying some drugs, thinking he's the kingpin of his town because he bought a gram of weed

************ removed personal slur *******************

R.I.C.O. and WIT-SEC is what did in American LCN.

There is literally a line in the sand to whereas you can see after the successful implementaction of these two LCN as we knew it ceased to exist.

I think it is the mentality of the people involved. In the early days of LCN they would die before ratting, then as the generations changed so did the Mafia.

All this talk about being rats , while posting on Rat a board , That's right folks where all rats by using this site,

I don't understand your logic but feel free to sit at the cheese eater's table if you like.

I think you might have a bit of a warped understanding of the term "rat". Most of us just post info that can be found all over the web and in books if you search for it. We don't throw out names that haven't been made public. Law enforcement isn't gonna get a major breakthrough by scavenging this site.

It's not as simple as that.

@ strococs

How is any of this ratting? We aren't in the mafia - some of us clearly want to be, but aren't - so we can't rat by definition. In ten years I implore you to show us any man or woman who has been defamed by someone wrongly saying they're a gangster or a mobster on this site.

We know what these people are. These people know what they are.

If you're an accountant and you rat on another accountant, that's more like ratting than Joe Public talking about John Gotti.

If you choose to be a scumbag criminal than you should forfeit any right to live a private life.

A small price to pay for raising taxes for everyone else and overall being a bloodsucking leech sucking on society.

yes plenty of wannabes on this site ,
all your comparsions are apples and oranges moe

If you don't understand how this is a form of ratting , I don't think I would waste my effort explaining it because you will never get it

Nevertheless, I'm dying for some clarification how this is a form of ratting.

Gossiping, dry snitching, etc, I suppose. Sure. No more than mob reporters like Jerry Capeci and Selwyn Raab. We're basically like the kids in Bronx Tale who watch the mobsters from the stoop and identify them. Except we're adults. It's kind of sad, but it's really fun. Plus you learn stuff. To me, the mob is like westerns. Some people are into cowboys and indians, I find the mafia interesting. It's impossible to tell the story of America in the 20th century without including the mob. It's great reading, great cinema, and great journalism.

Those damn altar boys. Ratting on all those priests and breaking the omerta of the Catholic church.

While it's certainly true that lots of gangsters become informants , the claim that almost every one of them does so when faced with a major felony charge is rather absurd . For starters many gangsters , especially high level ones , aren't even offered the opportunity to become informants due to them being the ones law enforcement wishes to bring down . After all if everyone had the chance to become an informant , then it would become all that much harder to put people away for a long stretch , which would result in law enforcement losing face in the eyes of the public for being too lenient .

Furthermore while it's true that more LCN members are becoming ( at least out of the closet ) informants these days , it's not like almost all of them start singing after being taken in . I mean its not as if the most recent busts confirm that assumption .


And while we're on the subject , there are plenty of countries out there where gangsters don't face much reprisal from the authorities as long as they don't tip the scales too much .

Spot on 2a.

I'd like to add to this Greg Scarpa's status as a top-echelon informer, as written in his documents.
First of all, Greg Scarpa was attributed by Colombo squad case agent Lin DeVecchio as being the one behind most of the Title III wiretaps on the Colombo's hierarchy and capos. If "half" of all mobsters were cooperators, then there'd be a lot more people than Scarpa that could secure the Title IIIs.
"Over the course of the past five years, this source had furnished vast quantities of singular information concerning the Colombo Family which has directly led to 17 affidavits in support of Title III intercepts, and 50 re-authorizations of these intercepts. As a result, the NYO in October, 1984, arrested the boss, underboss, three capos, the former boss, three members, and two associates of the Colombo Family (NY 183-2836 "Eclipse Star", NY 183A-2636 "Starquest")."

"This matter involves the indictment and subsequent arrests of all the bosses of each of the five LCN families in New York who compose the "Commission" as well as two underbosses, a consigliere, and a high ranking soldier. This investigation and subsequent predicate violations are based upon Title III intercepts which have provided the necessary facts to support prosecution. These intercepts particularly from the Colombo and Genovese wires are directly attributable to the probable cause initially provided by this source. Therefore, not only has information directly from this source caused the arrest of at least 30 major members of organized crime, but has resulted in the arrest of every boss of all five LCN families in New York.
"The above represents only a small portion of the quantity of significant information provided, which if fully documented would require a lengthy summary report. The source has been paid, over time, relatively small sums for this information. In fact, since re opening, the source has only been paid a total of (redacted) for services and expenses. The overall sum of money is certainly not commensurate with the high quality of the information, considering the numerous indictments, arrests, and sheer amount of singular information which would not have been available from any other source. The result is the saving of countless thousands of man hours in investigative time, and window into the inner workings of the most significant organized crime group in the country.
"Furthermore, the amount requested represents the FBI's appreciation of not only the information, but the high degree of risk assumed by the source at every contact while so doing. Sources of this caliber are extremely rare in the FBI and serve as a tribute to the Informant Development Program in the Organized Crime Field."
- Greg Scarpa's file.

There's no question that Scarpa was, without a doubt, one of the highest ranking cooperators of his time, at least in the Colombo Family, and crucial to the Commission Case. If, as OakasFan has always maintained, "half" of all mobsters throughout history were cooperators, than Scarpa would have no way received the amount of recognition in the Commission case.
Scarpa's accolade and recognition in the Commission Case (spanning all Five Families) pretty much disproves the notion that the top-levels of all five families were swimming with undercover informants.

Do you see what I'm saying, Oak?

A real man like Ralphie Cifaretto would let the priests loose on his own kids before he'd become a rat

If you aint snitchin', you aint tryin'. - Lucky Luciano

I never said "half". I said nearly all. Wiseguys are narcissists. They'd give cops information in a heart beat about someone who's a threat to them.

Still reading "Deal w/ the Devil"..taking forever , but Lin is def imo a scumbag,,especially after framing that Simone detective.

I agree Oak..most of them are narcissits. Whatever is yours is theirs. I been there, they love to feed off you.

Feel free to actually read my post about Greg Scarpa. It's obvious you didn't. Lin DeVecchio repeats, on multiple, multiple occasions, that Scarpa's information on the upper echelons of all Five Families is "singular" and unavailable from any other source. What part of that don't you understand?

Still getting through it now, hoodlum. Great book but not a light read.

Great post, and it puts everything in perspective. Nice find too.

Cheers Jace, and there I'm sure there are a helluva lot more accolades for Scarpa. All of this was taken (by me) from a relatively small section of Part 05 of 07 of his FBI file.

There is no need for that, If other religions are off limits catholics should be too. There are tons of Muslim sex scandals involving children gong on currently and in the past, if we discuss them we get called bigots or haters.

I 2nd that Jace.

I read it. It's boring, and not very informative.