Whether its questioning the titles or thinking the feds are using Capeci to put out disinformation, I dont know why the knee-jerk reaction of some is to always ignore what Capeci has passed on and start trying to figure things out on their own. Is it an ego thing? Is the new info not exciting enough?

The feds dont just pull these ranks out of thin air. They use them because the mob uses them. Underboss, of course, is part of the traditional 3 man administration. It's a permanent position unless the guy dies or steps down. Acting boss or street boss are often used interchangeably. The circumstances vary, ie running things on the street for the official boss who is trying to insulate himself (appears to be the case here), running things on the street because the official boss is in prison, or running things because the last official boss died and he has not be officially replaced yet. Yes, some of the duties of an underboss and acting/street boss may overlap. It's not rocket science and we shouldn't try to make it more convoluted than it is.

Also, I don't know where the idea originated that Capeci allows himself to be used by the feds as a conduit for misinformation. Even thinking he does it unknowingly has no basis. The guy is a journalist and trades on his credibility. I think just about everyone would agree he's proven himself to be among the most credible guys covering the mob. If he thought that a source, even one from law enforcement, was intentionally feeding him BS just to "stir the pot," it stands to reason he'd distance himself from them pretty quickly since it's his job and reputation on the line. Some people on the forums need to quit with the conspiracy theories.

The last bit if news we did receive on Bellomo was that 2009 article that said he was part of a rotating panel of recently released leaders that included himself, Benny Mangano, Ernie Muscarella, and Larry Dentico. In 2011, it was reporeted Tino Fiumara had been on a 3 man panel running the family. And as recently as 2014, it was reported in a WSJ article the family was believed to still be using a panel. So this is obviously a significant change and perhaps is due to the health of some of those guys above. It should also be pointed out that DiChiara is from Bellomo's crew. Much like it has in recent decades, that crew seems to be the almost automatic, go-to leadership in the family.

Edit: Confused DiChiara and Falcetti. DiChiara is from the Gangi/Aparo crew.