Fosco is a clown that literally makes certain things up as he goes along. He is a classic troll baiter. You best believe he looks over his shoulder every day of the week.
The idea that people aren't afraid of the Outfit is ludicrous, They still have plenty of numbers & have many suburbs under their thumb.
They just dont have the numbers to control the city proper anymore. None of the families outside of NY have that kind of power anymore. But if you'd like to open up a business or a book out of bridgeview/Addison/Elmwood/etc etc etc, you will not be greeted with open arms.
The fact that the Outfit has very few made members doesn't mean anything. This isn't NY. Non-made foot soldiers & associates a la Mandell have always been the Outfit's way of getting work done.
Of course, the notion that they're now aligning themselves with Russian & Korean syndicates is completely understandably. The Outfit owns the Admiral theatre which is right smack in the middle of one of the heaviest Korean districts in the city. And the Russians have been moving in on Chicagoland whore rackets for quite some time now.
I thought you found Fosco a "very interesting guy " or something like that.
Anyway, yes regular people would be scared of the Outfit.
I doubt most hardened criminals would be, which are really the only people who matter.
And I hope you did not just suggest that every person who opens a business in Bridgeview gets a visit from the mob.
