I live outside of Boston as well. I have over 20,000 files on Youngstown/Pittsburgh/Cleveland. Youngstown was nicknamed "Little Chicago," Bombtown USA and Murdertown USA by the Saturday Evening Post. If Youngstown is the focus, I would recommend talking to some of the older locals and visiting there to see how much it has declined from a once bustling city. Because of its proximity to Pitt/Cleve and because jobs were plentiful, it was a major illegal gambling hub.
Check out a few of these:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/crimetown-usahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZgrXAzH4t0http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/end-of-the-line/Content?oid=1472059**Also, check out Oleans, NY and Bradford, PA as it was a hub of OC figures around the 20's-30's. Also, the big names in Wheeling, WV connected to the LaRocca Crime Family of Pittsburgh were Bill Lias and Paul "No Legs" Hankish. Right across the border in Steubenville, OH were Silvio "Birdy" Pinciaro, James Vincent Tripodi as well as Cosmo Quattrone.
