Spinning this thread off from another thread "State of the Family."
My opinion is the Colombo Crime Family of 2016 is on par with the DeCavalcante Family. Carmine Persico has waged a 40 year war against his own crime family. He is the Pol Pot of Mob Bosses. Anyone with talent or leadership was killed or is locked away in prison for life fighting him. He's destroyed the family for his own gain and they are a shell of a family.
What is left? 100 members according to some people. My opinion based just what I read is maybe 50-60 members in jail or on the street and "active." Not semi-retired or doing life.
Here is the real question: Who is the future talent? Who is the next boss? Who is the Steve Crea, Barney Bellomo or Frank Cali of The Colombos? I would like to hear.
Seems to me this family is just treading water until Carmine dies. Then who takes over? Another Persico relative? Skinny Teddy is doing life on the installment plan. He's not boss material.
Anyone with talent, leadership or strength was murdered by The Persico's, doing life in prison or a long sentence (Tommy Shots, etc) or is in Witness Protection. Seems to me all that is left are Dumbfellas and Oldfellas. The Columbo's are not the West Side or Gambino's. They are the Philly Mob circa 1991 John Stanfa era.
Yes, I am a new member to this forum. I am a 25 year LCN aficionado and would like to hear the opinions of the seasoned members of this forum. Respectfully, of course.
We can go over this again and again. I have no idea where you could get the idea the Colombos are comparable to the present day DeCavalcantes or Philadelphia in the early 1990s. Nobody said they're on par with the Genovese or Gambino families. But even if the Colombos are the weakest family in NY, and they arguably are, they're still heads and shoulders above New Jersey who is at the bottom of the 9 families still considered viable.
Again, most estimates put the family at approximately 100 or so total members. Yes, a good chunk of that is in prison or otherwise inactive but that applies to every family. I could post a list of cases over the past 15 years - though I resent having to often do people's homework for them - that shows the Colombos have continued to be active in illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, fraud, as well as labor/business racketeering in the construction industry.
