Mafia families today have to be looking over their shoulder now more than ever. On top of the fact that Valachi exposed how a family hierarchy is structured 50 years ago, it was a matter of time before the government gained enough knowledge and learned how to apply the RICO Act (Which was written by Notre Dame Law Professor Robert Blakely, an expert in the field of organized crime). The government is a machine with more money and power to slow down any type of organized crime activity. If the Feds set their sights on an individual or a group of individuals, they will find something. Plus, the baby boomer generation of mobsters for the most part can't do the time, so they turn state's evidence. With all the laws that are used to combat organized crime, political protection and corruption is much harder to achieve from an organized crime point of view. Do you think Carlo Gambino worried about RICO? Tony Accardo? Sam Giancana? RICO didn't exist when they were running the show. It wasn't until the 1986 Mafia Commission case in New York that RICO was applied and was a 100% success against the top mafia bosses. Even though Tony Accardo still had a large hand in the decisions of the Outfit back in 1986, he was really no longer a threat since he was wearing depends!!!
If you really want to credit some mafia bosses who were a success during the RICO era, let's credit Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio from New England, who ran his family since 1995 until 2011 without any problems. Although he was indicted last year for shaking down strip clubs (LOL), it was all the government could get after 16 years of running a tight ship. You can also credit Joey "Big Joey" Massina (now a cooperating witness), as he ran the Bonanno Family for over 13 years without any major hiccups. When the government puts a microscope on a target and they still have a difficult time generating an indictment, I'd say that is pretty significant at this day in age.
For christ's sakes, your local mafia boss (John "No Nose" DiFronzo) drives around town in a pick up truck meeting his crew captains at local restaurants as the local news channel's investigative team is videotaping and taking photos of these meetings. I'd have to say that No Nose has taken one too many bong rips in his younger days to allow that to happen!
