We actually agree on something. Thanks for calling me a clown instead of an asshole.

I hear what you are saying Ville about Salemme working "with" Whitey, but let's face the facts...When Patriarca died in 1984 the Family had considerable internal trouble with the Providence and Boston factions and once Angiulo went to prison in 1986, a power struggle occurred. Even when Salemme took over, his reign was not a peaceful one and was marked with that "film crew" sting operation that he got caught up in. He was close to Steven Flemmi for years so of course he forged an alliance with Bulger and company. Russo should have been made boss, but he wasn't. It wasn't until Baby Shacks took over that the Patriarca Family "regained" their dominance in the rackets, and by that time, Whitey was on the run.

But to say that Bulger had more control than the Italians is way off based on the facts. Did he make a boat load of money, sure...but the Mafia had a much larger Army than Whitey's guys and if the old man Patriarca "saw a need or had his power threatened" by Whitey Bulger, Whitey would have been buried in cement shoes. Whitey was in his prime once Patriarca died and he took advantage of the internal problems the mafia was having, but his control was NOT as expansive as the Italians, never was, never will be.