This is an interesting article in Today's Chicago Sun-Times. (re-designed too)

Personally I am holding onto the notion that LCN members have some sort of sense of patriotism. Then again, that may be my naiveté.

October 2, 2006
BY PAT MILTON
WASHINGTON -- The FBI's top counterterrorism official harbors lots of concerns: weapons of mass destruction, undetected homegrown terrorists and the possibility that old-fashioned mobsters will team up with al-Qaida for the right price.
Though there is no direct evidence yet of organized crime collaborating with terrorists, the first hints of a connection surfaced in a recent FBI operation.

Agents stopped a man with alleged mob ties from selling missiles to an informant posing as a terrorist middleman.

That case and other factors are heightening concerns about a real-life episode of the Sopranos teaming with Osama bin Laden's followers.

''We are continuing to look for a nexus,'' said Joseph Billy Jr., the FBI's top counterterrorism official. ''We are looking at this very aggressively.''


Money is money
Pat D'Amuro, a retired senior FBI official, said a mob boss once acknowledged that the mob would help terrorists.
''I am aware of a high-level Mafia figure, who was cooperating with authorities, being asked if the Mafia would assist terrorists in smuggling people into Europe through Italy,'' D'Amuro said. ''He said, 'The Mafia will help whoever can pay.'''

Organized crime syndicates could facilitate money transfers, human smuggling, identification fraud or explosives and weapons acquisitions, officials said.


Take your pick
The options are many for terrorist groups.
There are the five reputed La Cosa Nostra families in New York, Russian criminal enterprises from Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, and the emerging Asian crime syndicates that operate in many Islamic countries with al-Qaida offshoots.

I would say No..They might be Evil people but,i don't think they would help the terrorist aganist there own people and Country.They are proud People and would be against this

Today's mafia? Proud people?
WW2 mean anything to you? New York Docks? Lucky Luciano? (I know he didn't "help" the enemy explicitly but still..)

If the price is right they would do anything.

i posted this article in 'general discussion today'

How could the Italian mafia really access a friggin' nuke?

Now the Russian mob is kinda scary since....oh yeah, Russia has a bunch of 'floating' nuclear war heads since the end of the cold war!

Not to worry though, we are in Iraq, and I'm sure the war on islamic terrorism there will prevent any mega billionaires from acquiring one of the ex-Soviet Union's out of date piece of crap nuclear bombs. :rolleyes:

Mob guys would sell their grandmothers' kidneys if they had the chance. Terrorists? "Show me the money" would be the extent of their "patriotism."

They would, not only for a right price, I guess they fear the terrorists.
A terrorist organization is more powerful than any kind of Mafia all over the world(even if all of them would join to fight against the terrorists).
I think ONE terrorist group(and only one) could blow up all the gangsters together...

Al Qaeda has more sofisticated weapons and techniques than the Cosa Nostra, the Red Mafia, the Yakuzas, the Chinese triads, or whoever all togheter...

They would have to find them first!!!

I disagree Don Pappo, you overestimate the power of organizations like Al Qaeda, and you underestimate the power of the crime cartels.

De Niro, don´t worry they would do the favor to find the gangsters sooner than they start looking for a track!

Enzo, do you think the Mafia has the chance to beat a terrorist group? The gangsters would fear these people than the FBI...

There is an important difference, the terrorist don`t care about their own life, they don`t mind if they have to die to get the point, and the Mafia...They try to save their own life first...
These people, if they want, they could send all the Mafia to jail, they have powerful weapons, communication system and strong source of income.
I don´t think the 5 families together have a chance, despite they need very much money to rebuild their own empire...And they can get it from these people...

Tell that to JFK.

When you talk about "the mob" if you are including the Russian mafia then I would say absolutely they would, especially in helping terroriosts get their hands on nuclear materials from Russian scientists.