I was thinking about this a month ago and now I'm posting a thread. In their heyday, pre-RICO statute, during the era so good they could be covered in film and not be arrested, how did each branch of LCN rank in terms of influence? The definition is up to you. That could include membership or be limited to sheer influence (Carlos Marcello had few members and huge national interests). Let's assume there's 26 families. Just an idea: Roughly the 40s to late 60s.
TIER 1
Genovese
Gambino
Lucchese
Bonanno
Colombo
Chicago Outfit
TIER 2
Detroit Partnership
Philadelphia Crime Family
Buffalo Crime Family
TIER 3
Santo Trafficante Crime Family (small but very powerful internationally)
New Orleans Crime Family (comparable to Trafficante)
Patriarca Crime Family
TIER 4
Bufalino
Pittsburgh
Los Angeles
Kansas City
Cleveland
TIER 5
The rest
Genuinely curious to hear other people's opinions. Additionally I've always been interested when mafiosi operate in other states. Years ago we used to talk about the Gambino Maryland (Baltimore) crew. Pittsburgh was active in West Virginia (The south of all places). I know KC in the 50's was operating gambling hotels in Idaho and weird places. Once, it was truly a national crime syndicate.