I wanna modify my previous statement to a degree. IMO, at the 1950s-1960s peak, Ray Patriarca probably had closer to 60, or 70, or so formal 'inducted' members with him. I do think he had more than the 50 that I had first stated.

What makes NE, and other crews for that matter, seem so much larger was the large amount of top associates they also had. Many of which were mis-identified as "made" members but were actually not. But because many of them were well entrenched in rackets, with some even leading sub-crews, LE often thought they was members.

And many of these same fellas did in fact later get inducted in later years. But at any given time, although they were mob guys, not all of them were members at the same time. And therein lies the difference.

In later years, the NE crew has in fact had much less than 70 members. Probably closer to 40 or 50 made guys. But back in the 1960s? I think 60-70 at any one time is a decent guesstimate.