The comparison to Cleveland is relevant to how the top administration has gone to prison and there is a leadership void. JoeRusso says that there are 20-30 made guys in Providence that nobody knows about. Due to the amount of informants New England has had, do you really believe that the federal government knows "nothing" about alleged made members? They took down the last three bosses, flipped a few high ranking members and sent a lot of their Capos to prison. Do the Feds know everything? No...but if there are 20-30 made guys in Providence that have flown under the radar for this long, then they've made history and I doubt very much that in this day in age that is even remotely possible.
I agree with your statement that outside of NYC, they will be the last to go...but outside NYC, the only viable families left are Chicago, Philly, New England, Detroit and New Jersey. I don't hold a "grudge" against Philly, they are just a truly dysfunctional and disorganized family since the Scarfo years which has been over 30 years ago. In regards to New England, when has a boss from Boston held the big seat for an extended period of time? Boston definitely has more made guys left than Providence and until 20-30 made guys are identified, how can you hold any validity in JoeRusso's statement? Mob guys today don't stay under the radar...people know who they are and law enforcement are watching these guys constantly and have enough inside information to have an idea of what these guys are doing. Do you really think that mob guys are so smart and reclusive that nobody knows who they are? When the regional director of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney say that Providence has been decimated, they have 50 men underneath them conducting surveillance on key players 24/7. They know who they meet with, who that person meets with and so forth. Since the early 1980's when the government first used RICO on James "Jack White" Licavoli in Cleveland and then the infamous Commission case, they have dismantled 15 out of the original 24 mafia families with one powerful law. Even a few of the NY families are limping along (Bonanno and Colombo). Chicago is still operating, but severely reduced.
You say they are "actively" making new members? Where is that information coming from? When was their last making ceremony? How do you really know they are "actively" making new blood. They don't even have a boss, an underboss or a consigliere at the moment. Do you really believe Baby Shacks made a guy with the last name Jenkins?
