Also, in my opinion, I'd agree that it's all relative. LCN doesn't control all the crime in the city as much as it may have in the 50s-80s, and of course Merlino was not as powerful as the NY families / bosses - it's all relative. I don't think NYC fams control all the crime in the boroughs let alone as much as they may have back in the day and furthermore, probably don't wield as much power as they once did. My point is both families have experienced decimation to LE and progression of society and other sophisticated criminal groups etc etc. The point being is that the scale of NYC makes their families bigger and more powerful. Even at Philly's height NYC was that much more powerful because of the scale. Big picture here. As a side note, I give Merlino props for being innovative. He's adapting and evolving with the times/LE. He has single handily gone against the stat quo and changed the structure of how LCN operates (in Philly). If Joey came back to philly there would be too much heat and everyone would go down with him. Through various proxies and acting bosses and fronts he has made the Philly family a complete mystery. We have no idea what they do outside gambling and shy let alone who does what. We or the Feds can't even figure out who the actual boss is for sure let alone the admin and capos. I'd say that's what LCN is supposed to be - a secret criminal org. One thing is clear, everyone that we thing is involved seems to be living pretty comfortably so take that for what it's worth...