Good thread Neo! And you're right, for the amount of money most of these guys make it's not worth it. But if you're some street kid who grew up in poverty or close to it, then it's certainly appealing.

That's the biggest reason the mob in the US has been dying out: attrition. Most middle class Italians are not going to risk their necks for that amount of money when they can instead get a decent paying blue collar job, let alone a white collar job if they can afford college. Of course there's outliers, Carmine Persico apparently grew up in a nice, middle class family but was drawn to the streets. But he grew up in a different era where seemingly every block of Brooklyn had a gangster on the corner.

And MightyDR - That is interesting about Massino but it makes sense he'd take a flat rate. It lets his capos and soldiers earn. Sounds like he got it from The Chin who was famous for letting his guys earn (even associates like Ponte who's supposed to be worth hundreds of millions) and only demanded 100% loyalty in return. The West Side has had so few problems because everyone eats... why start a war against the boss for power if you're already rich?