Getting back to the original intent of this post, I think we all agree that the American LCN will likely never achieve the power and money it had up to the late 1970's and early 1980's.
I think the more relevant question about the future of the LCN is how will morph and adapt to evade law enforcement and what new rackets / money making schemes will be pursued.
One of the most obvious changes in the last 10-15 years is that most of the NY families have moved to a ruling panel instead of the traditional Boss, Consigliere and Underboss administration.
LCN has gotten more savvy with internet schemes and stock / securities fraud.
As long as there is money to be made, the glorification of OC in the media and movies, there will be people interested in the life. They will always continue to try to control unions, run bookmaking and loansharking, deal drugs, extort businesses, etc.
I am interested in hearing other projections on how the LCN will continue to change and adapt.
Interestingly, the Gambinos, Luccheses, and Colombos seem to have gone back to the more traditional three-man administration (boss, underboss, consigliere). Of course, that can change quickly with one indictment. With so much change at the top, I do think acting bosses and ruling panels will be the rule more than the exception.
Gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, labor/business racketeering, and robberies/fencing stolen goods are all still LCN staples. The one "growth" business for the LCN in the last 15 years or so has been various forms of fraud. Stock fraud cases have slowed down compared to the a decade ago but there's still be some in recent years. Other examples over that time have been health care fraud, real estate and mortgage fraud, telecommunications fraud, computer fraud, and ID and credit card fraud.
