I think he meant to elaborate more on the current structure of the Outfit.

With that said, I'll give my interpretation as to the Outfit's past and present structure based on what I've read over the years. A lot of this is educated conjecture so please don't take offense if it doesn't jive with your notions on how the Outfit operates or operated.

As far as the present is concerned, I don't think they operate with any traditional LCN organizational structure and, with the possible exception of the Aiuppa/Cerone era, never have. From what little information I have gathered, DiFronzo has taken a backseat and is more or less retired, acting as an advisor in much the same way as Accardo and others before him.

There is still a top boss, (and who it is is up for conjecture, although I have heard D'Amico mentioned many times) but no underboss or consigliere. Below the boss is a committee or panel who function more or less as decision makers and a buffer zone between the street crews and the boss. Guys like Andriacchi, Pete DiFronzo, Solly D, and Inendino (older guys who are more or less retired from street operations) would be here. Below them are the street crews, three or four depending on who you ask and at what time of day, Elmwood Park (Tony Dote), Cicero/Melrose Park (John Matassa, Jr. or Sal Cautadella), Grand Ave. (Albert Vena), and South Side (Toots Caruso), presumed capos in parentheses.

When DiFronzo took over he more or less just had a circle of guys he trusted (Andriacchi, D'Amico, his brothers, Lombardo before he was locked up) who collectively acted as his underboss and consigliere. Jimmy Marcello's position was never definitely stated at any time, although he has been mentioned by the feds as a street boss, the definition of which could mean anything from the boss of Cicero to the top boss on the streets. We will probably never know for sure unless somebody else talks.

When Aiuppa was the top boss, the family functioned more along the lines of traditional LCN, with Aiuppa as boss, Cerone as under, and Al Tornabene as consigliere. From the seventies until Aiuppa's and Cerone's imprisonment in the eighties, the Outfit was as close structurally as it would ever be to the Five Families, with their current administration structure and the institution of the traditional making ceremony. As far as the latter is concerned, I tend to side with Calabrese's testimony as well as Frank's admittance on tape as support of the existence of a making ceremony in this time period.

Prior to Aiuppa, Giancana was more or less by himself at the top of the Outfit with Ricca and Accardo as advisors on an "upper echelon" panel of sorts, which probably included guys like Murray Humphreys and Gus Alex. Making ceremonies may or may not have been in place in some areas of the city under certain crews, but I don't believe it was a requirement - if a guy like Giancana or Battaglia or Buccieri said you were with the Outfit that was good enough. Depending on who you ask, Cerone may have operated as UB towards the end of Mooney's reign.

Before Mooney, during the Nitti/Ricca/Campagna/Accardo reign, the Outfit was, for lack of a better term, a melting pot of criminals of all backgrounds but with a strong Italian core. Guys like Ralph Pierce, Eddie Vogel, and the aforementioned Humphreys were basically the level of LCN capos and were afforded respect as such. This was basically a holdover from the Capone era and non-Italians would continue to play a big part in Outfit operations for the next several decades - although on a gradually reduced scale. Sometime around the late fifties, the Outfit's leadership structure became exclusively Italian, although Hump and Gus Alex were still kept on for their political and financial acumen.[/quote]

Well stated