well ivy then thats when we can say its deteraited or its damn near dead but unil fbi and prosecutors are saying is a factor and is significant in illegal activities and has a strong image and force in that area then we cant be blind and just assume they demolished
I'm not sure they are saying this. Rather, as it has been for some time now, we've got one author (a lone voice in the wilderness) claiming they're saying it. And even if some of them are saying it, like I said, actions speak louder than words. What does it really mean if they say the Detroit mob is still strong but they don't consider it enough of a priority to do anything about it? We don't hear half the claims about families in New England or Philadelphia and yet law enforcement in those areas has continued to bring forth plenty of indictments. Meanwhile, in Detroit since 2000, we've seen one gambling bust (in 2006) and a handful of more or less peripheral cases. In both size and activity, Detroit seems a lot closer to, say, Buffalo than any of the families still considered viable by the feds.
"In other previous strongholds such as Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh, the LCN is now weak or non-existent." (UN report, 1999)
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/218555.pdf"Even after imprisonment of senior leadership, it survives, and in some places thrives, though most experts agree that its operations are now largely confined to its traditional bases in the Northeast and Chicago." (Wall Street Journal, 2011)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704115404576096392318489246.htmlAgain, there are other links that say the opposite - that Detroit is still viable. However, considering the conflicting opinions, and the relative lack of mob cases in Detroit over the past decade, it's ridiculous for one to claim Detroit is anywhere near one of the more powerful LCN families left. 
