Originally Posted by JackieAprile
Hey,

I have some questions regarding the Decavalcante Crime Family upon which the Sopranos are partly based:

1) When would you say the peak of this family was, and how influential/respected was it at that point?

2) The Sopranos are called by the New York Family they're associated with nothing more than a "glorified crew." Would such a statement have ever been accurate of the Decavalcantes?

3) At their height, how much freedom did they have?

4) Lastly, at their height, how many made guys approximately did they have?


1)Under Sam Decavalcante,the family made tons of money with the construction rackets and unions but the Genovese controlled the NJ docks so what remained to decavalcantes was few;
2) Gotti used the Decav like his private murder squad and imposed to repeat 2 induction ceremonies,so wasn't a "glorified crew" but never had the same respect that the Philly mob had in the same period;
3)The same freedom that had the small family respect the big families in NY;
4)There is a 1965 chart (44 confirmed members but was likely almost 60)
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