Does it really matters how many madrguys they have? Powerful associates can play the same role as mademan in business i think, so when outfit had more associates,whats the difference?
In a previous thread we talked about this, meaning in the old days a high level associate of the Outfit can be considered almost as the same level as made soldiers in other families. You have many examples where non-Italian representatives for the Outfit attended meetings with high level made guys from the NY families for example. I remember one convo between Murray Humphreys and Frank Ferraro, where Humphreys is talking about the calling of an urgent commission meeting regarding some problem. Obviously he wasnt going to attend that meeting but still he had the right to push for one so his or the Outfits problems can be quickly solved.
Toodoped, could we say that the made man status only really mattered outside the Outfit? Like when they had interaction with other LCN families in the nation, but when it was about strictly Outfit business it didn't matter that much? For example, Gus Alex was acting boss of the entire Outfit at one time I read..
Well thats my belief also B, meaning when it came down to LCN stuff, the Outfit had their own made representatives, which were obviously in much smaller number.(which might be the answer to this whole thread) But when it came down to Outfit related activities, sometimes the duty was given to anyone who was highly trusted by the Italian bosses, such as Guzik, Hunt, Humphreys, Alex, Pierce, Larner, Kruse, Dworetzky, Lederer etc. Of course the most mysterious of them all was Alex. He was seen even in Rome talking to some "unknown and suspicious" individuals from European descent. For example regarding the Bonanno problem, made guys such as Ricca and Giancana were called upon to give their thoughts and opinions. Or regarding the Colombo problem, again made guys such as Accardo were called to give their votes. But when it came to the Outfit's share in Florida or any other place inside or outside the country, anyone from the non-Italian big shots had the right to talk for the whole organization, no matter the status of the individual infront of him.
As for Alex being the acting boss, actually there was one situation in which the whole top administration wasnt available (Accardo was on vacation, Aiuppa had some health problems and I dont remember regarding Cerone\s situation, but it was a few month period where Alex personally received messages from Aiuppa who was in hospital at the time, and delivered them to his capos. This is separate from the fact that previously Alex was also a member of the Outfit's top ruling panel.
