The original poster asked what makes a good Boss. The top bosses

a) ruled through terror, and b) had great government connections.

I's not enough to have politicians, police, and judges in your pocket. You need to be connected to US.GOV

That's my opinion.

If you went against Carlo, he'd put you in a grinder. If you went against Profaci, he'd throw you in a furnace. If you went against Luciano, you ended up in the electric chair being executed by the state. It's as simple as that. The original charter members of the Commission weren't playing games with anybody because they knew they were delicate brainy men surrounded by big brawny serial killers, thousands and thousands of serial killers. They knew they had to get these people's attention, and that's exactly what they did.