While I don't want to get into this pissing match, a few things...
Exactly. The Mafia (LCN) still has this reputation in a lot of people's minds as being this all-powerful and unrivaled criminal group that makes every other criminal group run scared. In many guys minds, a made man can walk on water. I mean, I don't worship criminals or extoll the virtues of any criminal group, but to me, the facts are clear: The American Mafia has not been the top criminal group in the USA for a long time. There's way too much competition. Changing demographics played a huge role. LCN lost its influence in the prisons, too. Lewisburg no longer has a Mafia Row. Nowadays, LCN members in the can have to use other ethnic groups for protection.
Getting into who is most powerful is oldest and most futile of discussions on these OC forums. It can depend on any number of factors and which ones you choose to use. So I take it all with a grain of salt. And that includes the recent articles below which still put the Mafia at the top. In my view, while there are strong arguments that could be made for the LCN still being the top criminal organization in the greater New York area, that obviously can't be said in the rest of the country where it just doesn't have the same presence.
http://articles.cnn.com/2008-07-16/justice/fbi.mob_1_traditional-mob-joseph-massino-crime-groups?_s=PM:CRIME
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_Sg70KTTLwQcQykvdx9ftrIhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704115404576096392318489246.htmlYes, in New York LCN is still strong. New York is one of the last areas where LCN is a big force. But they've lost a lot of strength and influence, partly due to law enforcement crackdowns and partly because of the shifting demographics and emergence of other ethnic criminal groups. I never said they were a nobody; I said they are not the top criminal force anymore. If the mob was so big and bad, they would own and run all the major moneymaking rackets and share profits with nobody. But it's not like that. The LCN has to work with other groups; or, on a smaller scale, focus on small gambling and loansharking operations within their own boroughs.
Changing demographics have certainly been a big part of it, though more on the Italian end than on emerging ethnic groups. Italian-Americans entering the mainstream has led to the general attrition, in both quantity and quality, of the Mafia. This, along with law enforcement, has had a much bigger impact than that of rival crime groups.
Furthermore, except for the drug trade, it's a stretch to say that the mob "has" to work with other crime groups. Like the old days, it more often than not chooses to for mutual profit. And one thing that still differentiates the New York families from other groups in the city is that the Italians are not as geographically confined in terms of ethnic neighborhoods. That's probably been the one upside for the mob in being Americanized.
Wrong! Luciano wanted to work with other ethnic groups because it was the best way to maximize profits. That was then. Today, La Cosa Nostra is forced to work with others as a way to "stay in the game" so to speak. There are too many emerging crime competitors for LCN to have a monopoly. They have to work with others mainly because LCN is no longer the absolute top dog. IF they were the top dog, they could get away with dictating to other groups and basically using other groups to do their dirty work. But nowadays, many other groups work as equals with LCN, not just as lackeys, runners, and hired muscle, but as equal competitors.
Again, with the drug trade, this is often true. But where it still maintains a significant presence, especially New York, the mob has been able to keep control of it's staple rackets like gambling and loansharking (which bring in millions over all). And, while the mob may partner with Russians in a stock scam or use Albanians as muscle for robberies or collections, it's not like it needs help from other groups to make a sweetheart contract between a developer and a mobbed up union or run their sports betting operations.
