The top 5 guys on that list are going to be whoever is head of the 5 NY crime families at any given time. Individually, they may not be as wealthy or have the clout compared to another mafioso. But as boss or acting boss, their power extends to the entire family. So, by virtue of that, that will put them at positions #1-5.
I would agree with that to an extent. But the bonanno family doesn't have a boss at the moment. And what about a genovese capo who earns more money than the boss of a smaller family? Sure he's the boss, but isn't it possible that a capo from a larger family could hold more weight?
As far as the northeast goes, what Ivy says is 100% correct, in theory. Dems be da rules. But in practice? Meh, who knows?
Best example I can give is here in the Bronx, early 2000's. Vinny had just become official boss of the Bonannos, but Prisco had just gotten out of Jersey State prison on a bullshit technicality (thanks to Governor McGreevey, a gay guy, Ivy
). Anyway, they were both quite active in the East Bronx at that time. Now Vinny as boss of the Bonannos technically outranked Angelo, a skipper with the Westside. But if you polled a hundred street guys, I guarantee you 90 of them would have told you that Angelo was the heavier guy.
But that example is moot anyway. Because I know for a fact that Angelo likes Vinny a great deal. I'll bet if Vinny had it to do all over again, he'd have gone in with Prisco back in the '80s instead of with Patty D and the Bonannos. He and Patty ended up hating each other like poison, and look at the end result for both of them. But again, that may be a poor example. Because Prisco's dying in jail, too.
Moral of the story: Mob guys die in jail. A lot
.
