I don't think any boss or family was the reason LCN isn't what is used to be. Like I said in the Castellano/Gotti thread, I think Gotti actually helped the families prosper into the 21 century. He not only was a role model for Italian gangsters, but for gangsters and from all different races. Think of how many rappers use Gotti in their stage name or in their lyrics. There is only a few other gangsters that have that kind of name recognition. Gotti, Capone, Pablo Escobar, maybe Chapo Guzman?

The main reason for their decline, is that Italian Americans (Irish and Jews, too) have assimilated into a higher social economical status. Wikipedia says that in 1990, "more than 65% of Italian Americans were managerial, professional, or white-collar workers." Think of what the percentage would be today. Most Italians don't live in the hood anymore, and in NYC, thanks to gentrification, neighborhoods that used to be low-income are now some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Most Italians in America live on the East coast, the most wealthy part of the country.

Another reason, is that LCN is actually a fairly small gang. Most of the members were actually families. Part of the reason they are so publicized and romanticized, among other things, is the fact they pretty much created the model for modern gangs. By the '70s, other groups were expanding the on the platform they created and taking it to the next level. Since then, they haven't been able to keep up with these more young violent gangs.

Thanks to Nixon declaring "War on Drugs," and Reagan expanding it to an unprecedented level, we now have more prisoners the any country in the world. This gave rise to prison gangs and a prison culture. LCN was scared of prison for the most part. That was the main reason they killed anyone. The goal was to make money and stay out of the can. These days, kids want to go to prison. Its like going to college for them. You can't be in most gangs if you have done time.