I was wondering if someone could help me figure out what La Cosa Nostra's role was in the drugs trade was or still is?
Back in the day they ran the heroin in the US but eventually got busted and South American gangs took over. What role did the LCN have in the drug business after the French Connection era? Did they supply other organized crime gangs or did some just distribute to other wiseguys who sold it on down the line to neighbourhood dealers until it hit the street. And lastly I hear from Jerry Capeci that most just sell drugs--i think he means by that, that they are street corner dealer. If anyone has any info please reply thanks
For years heroin was pretty much the only game in town. Through it's trans-Atlantic connections with the Sicilians, the LCN was able to dominate that trade; either by direct involvement or collecting a tax from Sicilian traffickers. It was mainly importing and/or wholesaling.
As I've mentioned before, the big shift came when cocaine and marijuana came on the scene on a big scale. Geographically speaking, the LCN was never in a position to control those drugs and they eclipsed heroin in popularity.
After the fall of the Pizza Connection, the Chinese became dominant players in the heroin trade for a while but would soon edged aside themselves by Colombians and later Mexicans who begun refining their own high-grade product, along with trafficking in other drugs.
Today the LCN is still involved in the drug trade, especially the New York families, but it has been marginalized.
