The La Cosa Nostra or American Mafia is entered in the popolar culture like a movie like Godfellas or Casino and tv series like the Sopranos and today every new arrest or trial against members of the mafia is news but I think its importance in the logic of crime is exaggerated.
Since the 1980s, it no longer plays a prominent role in drug trafficking,is confinate in the East Coast,have less than 700 made men lost most of his rackets and are no long a secret society with the members that flip that can easly turn back to his hoods without any danger.
Today are more dangerous the cartels,the black gangs and the bikers but Tony Soprano have more charm that Jax Teller or Stringer Bell of course the mobsters are still respected but the mob isnt so dangerous out NY.

Same old story, the mob ain't what it used to be, blah blah blah. Everyone knows this, I haven't met one person who thinks otherwise. Those other gangs just aren't interesting, who cares about the drug trade and shitty prostitution, where's the loansharking, illegal gambling, union control and legitimate business infiltration. That's right, those shitbag gangs you mentioned don't have any clout there. Who cares that there's more money in drugs and the cartels make more, still not as fascinating. From what I've seen on Facebook on gangster movie fan pages, Gomorrah is way more popular than Narcos, people will never be as fascinated with the cartels as they are with the mob. Just look at all the rappers who steal Mafia names, trying to make their names sound Italian because their own names are dull and boring. Everyone loves to bash the mob, but yet they can't seem to get off their nut sacks.

You are correct Furio. The Mafia as a word alone, and within the mindsets of the general public is much more "sexy" and "intoxicating" than common drug dealers or cafone gangbangers. Few care to read about the crimes of these basic criminals. But most readers are still fascinated with thoughts of this secret society of Italian/Sicilian men who are shrouded in secrecy and rituals. The "honor" "money" "power" etc., is intoxicating to them...And once upon a time much of that was very true.

But in recent years (in recent decades in fact) the world changed and the mob changed right along with it. Today's mob has nowhere near the footprint or power it once did. For those who choose to believe otherwise I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell them for $24

You're kidding, right? All criminals go in for money and power. Not honor, not loyalty, not illegal gambling and union control lol. Where the money and the power lies, the criminals will gravitate towards.

You're saying cartels aren't as fascinating as the mob? The cartels in Mexico literally hold the country. They're more intertwined with politicians than the mob EVER was in the US. They openly kill and appoint their own people in positions of power. The situation is very similar in Italy, but not in the US.

Rappers who steal mafia names? I don't know if you listen to rap, but every other rapper makes a reference to Pablo Escobar or El Chapo at one point of their career.

And not sure if you've ever heard of Narco corridors - a literal genre of music whose only purpose is to sing about different cartel members/leaders and the things that they do.

Another thing I'll bring up, I remember reading in that Russian mob book called Red Mafiya that the Russian mobsters who settled in Brighton Beach were in total awe and starstruck by the Italian-American wiseguys. This was of course in the mid 1980s to early 1990s when La Cosa Nostra still had quite a few colorful characters, and complete psychopaths who didn't take any shit.

True DD

It still stands, Gomorrah and The Sopranos are more popular than Narcos, and if you want I can name the rappers who steal Mafia names and you can name rappers who steal cartel names and see who comes up with more, if you really want to take it there though I think it would be a waste of time and you already know who will win. Anyway, that's Mexico, extremely corrupt and fragile country. Let them come and pull their shenanigans in America, killing law enforcement officials and rolling severed heads everywhere, and see how long they last. Taking over Mexico isn't that impressive, that's like the fat kid picking a fight with the smallest kid on the playground.

By the way, I'm not saying Furio is wrong at all, but everyone who has any clue whatsoever already knows it. LCN is the laughingstock of the underworld.

LCN a laughing stock? Not quite DD. Ya kidding right? They are no where near what they were, but go laugh in a wiseguys face and see how that works out for you.

That's not what I meant, I mean because of all the things that Furio pointed out they're not going to be taken serious anymore, unless they step it up. Of course I wouldn't laugh in their face, lol, I personally respect everyone.

. True.

Well of course there are more rappers who use mafia names - the mafia had been around a whole lot longer than the cartels, but to say that cartels are boring and not as fascinating as the mafia is simply not true.

You speak on Mexico being an extremely fragile and corrupt country as if Italy isn't exactly like that? What the cartels and the OC have done in their origin countries, neither could replicate in the US.

Cartels are fascinating just like the mafia is and any OC group for that matter and Pablo Escobar is just as famous as John Gotti or Al Capone.

Bruh.... first off rappers dont care about like, Italy, or Mexico, or Colombia. I mean this respectfully. They care about image of the powerful GANGSTER, the outlaw. Its modern day cowboy shit. Like.....These guys couldnt name a state in these countries... well... some of em anyway...

Nas named himself Escobar, he wasnt trying to be Colombian. His buddy AZ was Sosa, he wasnt trying to be Bolivian. Sure, you had Capone, but his buddy, Nore is named after Noriega, a Panamanian dictator. You had Tragedy Khadafi, after you k ow, Khadafi. Biggie picked a fictional WHITE GUY, Frank White, because he was KING OF NEW YORK, like,.... he loved THAT image. The Buffalo guys are Griselda, I hope we dont think they want to be a Colombian woman. Rick Ross is Albert Anastasia one minute, and Big Meech and Larry Hoover the next. That little folly apparently cost him 3 million in extortion, lol



Besides, it goes both ways too. I've seen videos of Albanian and Mexican, hell even South American trap, Kids in Italy Woo walking, like.... I dunno. I've never in my LIFE...... seen 2 black guys, walk up to each other and say, " What up my guinea, what up wop?" This is not a thing that exist in the universe. They dont try to TALK Italian, they dont affect an Italian accent. But you can find 2 white, Spanish, hell even ASIAN young guys on the weekend, shamelessly addressing each other, " What up n*****. This is an actual real thing.



When is the last time you heard a rapper talk about union rackets or sportsbooks? Also, loansharking, the bets, unions, dont make as much as the drugs, it's just better money. Less risky.


And Gommorah more popular than Narcos? This a recent development? Since it hit HBO maybe?

What I wanted to say is that the american mob in the criminal landscape are no more dangerous as was in the 1980s because are confinated in NY and in few east coast cities.
Italy wasn't like the Mexico because even in the years of most power of the mafia/camorra/ndrangheta there was people that fought and died for the justice and the fact that only in 1986 there was a maxi trial doesn't means that before there wasn't investigation against the mafias.

The Mexico is another thing:a mexican said "The problem of Mexico is that confine with the biggest junkie of the world".

The Partido Revolucionario Institucional ruled on Mexico like a de facto dictorship until 2000,the biggest bussiness men have ties with the cartels,so the police and the army,they have infiltrated and corrupted the Mexican administrative machine so much that anyone who tries to do something is isolated or killed, The Mexican State has declared war on the cartels and is also losing, even at the time of Totò Riina part of the state rebelled against corrupt politicians.
Italy is the purgatory while Mexico is the hell.

Furio FYI I was not trying to insult you or Italy by comparing it to Mexico - I just wanted to put an emphasis on my point that both countries are very corrupt. And I'm from Croatia which is corrupt as fuck as well!

Yes CleanBandit I know it,but some passed to the weight of the American mafia in crime world to who rappers steal the names from cartels or the mafia.
Narcos and Gomorrah etc

The thing with Mexico and other Central and South American countries, is those cartels have a lock on the cocaine supply because they live right at the source. To me the Albanians, Italians, etc are more impressive because they have to get the stuff across thousands and thousands of miles of ocean. I don't know why they don't try to figure out a way to grow the stuff in Europe but I guess they don't have the tropical climate and conditions to grow it. LCN to me is hardly even worth talking about anymore, unless it's about history, because I mean, what's left? When talking about modern day organized crime, I've moved on to other groups, and have a good laugh at every LCN indictment because they're a joke, like the Three Stooges or Charlie Chaplin, shit like that. They're bumbling idiots these days, but still entertaining.

My apologies then, you're right rappers do steal the names of any notorious criminals because it's all about the image.

Yes is all about the image,the rappers based all on the bling ring,mobey,gold gun,naked women etc for sure there are rappers that made good songs but the others don't.

Not because they doesn want but because they can't do it.
Because you need 375 kilos of leaves to obtain 2.5 kg of coca paste which in turn must be refined.
Given that the countries of Mediterranean Europe are small (compared to Mexico or Colombia) and easily controlled by the police, it is impossible to start a production in Europe.
For the heroi is the same thing,you need very large fields for coltivate the opium and made a profitable quantity of heroin.
In Morocco there are huge plantations for made the hashish.
In Europe there only labs for synthetize the ecstasy,mdma or meth but those arent used as is used the H or the coke and in italy the Camorra made grown forests of marijuana only the small clans that can compete in the drug market against the biggest clans.

Thanks Furio. Your broken English sounds cool by the way, I actually feel like I'm talking to Furio from The Sopranos, and I mean that with respect. No offense.

I got what you meant... no apologies neccessary. I kinda agree, it's why I find the modern day transatlantic clans so interesting.


I also kinda agree on the Mexicans. The border makes it much easier for them.

You're gonna get whacked...

Mexico is a beautiful country with a beautiful county and great food, but the government there is weaker than a wimpy kid trying to work out with big boys. The United States, with all their pussy FBI agents and so on, are still a force to be reckoned with. The cartels will never ever have a touch of control similar to what the lcn had/has over the general American public ever. Period.

A Napule t'avvissero già fatt nu cappot'è legn,DillyDolly.

I lost interest in rap music after about 2005, it gets worse and worse every year.

I always took you for a 2pac fan

Anyway despite my broken english to produce cocaine or heroin you must have large fields and in Europe large fields attire the LE and it's cheaper to import from abroad,in this article is explained why.

https://www.livescience.com/59452-why-opium-is-grown-outside-us.html

Though opium yields vary based on growing conditions, 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of poppies typically produce between 17.6 and 33 lbs. (8 to 15 kilograms) of raw opium, according to the book "Opium: A History" (St. Martin's Griffin, 1999). Estimated yields of heroin from raw opium are between 6 percent and 10 percent. Thus, the acre of poppies found in North Carolina would yield a little more than 13 lbs. (6 kg) of raw opium and 1.3 lbs. (0.6 kg) of heroin in a full growing season in the best of circumstances.

That's not nothing; CBS News reported in 2014 that heroin was going for $60,000 per kg (2.2 lbs.) in New York City, though actual prices vary based on purity and supply. 

This is true, it’s not even hip hop anymore , it’s auto tune bullshit...

I love 2Pac, but believe it or not I like the lesser known Tupac songs better, not so much the huge overplayed radio jams. Songs I like most people probably never heard.