It seems a common mistake many people make on these forums is equating the Rizzutos with Montreal organized crime. And this leads to them thinking the Rizzutos are the "most powerful Mafia family in North America," "more powerful than any NY family," etc.
Lee Lamothe said the Rizzutos can't be thought of as a "family" or "crew," in the sense those terms are used in the U.S. There is an inner circle of blood relatives - Rizzutos, Mannos, Ragusas, Rendas, etc. - some of who have been made into the American LCN, others not. Lamothe said there was originally a "core" of about 20 members (the original Bonanno crew in Montreal). Later on, this was close to the number (18-20) that Sal Vitale cited when he testified about the Bonanno crew there.
Beyond this, there is what Lamothe called the "Rizzuto Criminal Organization." But he said this included various individuals and groups, including 'Ndrangheta clans, American LCN members, etc. So already we're talking about something that extends beyond the Rizzutos themselves and getting into the larger organized crime scene in Montreal. And, stretching out further, this also included others - "white collar crooks, Natives, Chinese, bikers, etc."
Lamothe also said the Rizzuto organization had no pyramid structure like we see in American LCN families. Though they were the most influential, neither Nick or Vito Rizzuto were the leaders of organized crime in Montreal. But people on these forums have often made it out to be that way. And when it comes to comparisons, they're basically comparing Montreal OC to a single family in the U.S. A better comparison would be Montreal OC vs. New York OC. And New York dwarfs Montreal in any number of ways.
A better comparison to the Montreal Mob structure would be the Chicago Outfit. It historically started off as the Cotroni family and eventually ended up being the Rizzuto family because of the top faction in charge. But to me they're built a lot like the Outfit in the sense that there are different factions and a lot of non-Italian influential associates.
For this reason, when one speaks of the Montreal Mob, it's really one family split into different crews and factions. In NYC it's obviously different since you have separate families. So in a sense, you're correct to say that OC in NYC is certainly bigger than that of Montreal when you add all the families in New York. But lets not forget that NYC is a North American giant in comparison to Montreal, and it seems quite logical that you're going to have more groups operating there.
As for the Montreal Mob being the most powerful family in North America, this is logical based on the fact that they operate in a country that is very lenient along with having very deep international connections. I also mentioned that the Siderno Group operating out of Toronto are probably the only other rival to Montreal in terms of such power due to the same luxuries.
