Originally Posted by NYMafia
Lol...Colonel, We don't need to get testy. We're only having a friendly chat here. Am I correct here or what?

A "crew" is NOT only composed of made men. Far from it in fact. That is a fallacy that's been perpetuated. Not to get off the subject matter at hand, But there are many crews, in fact make that many many crews, that only had 1, 2 or 3 actual made guys. 95% of the crew were associates of different calibers. In a regime of 25 guys, it's not uncommon to only have 2 or 3 good fellows. Did you know that?

Of course there are other crews that have had 20-30 made guys and literally hundreds more associates in particular crews. That is the beauty and uniqueness of Cosa Nostra. A capo does what he likes and designs his crew as he chooses many times. Other times he is "assigned" made guys and associates alike by the boss. But not always.
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That said, Arthur Avenue is not the end all of the Bronx. There are so many others sections that indeed have made guys and associates alike operating in them. And thats only one borough. Let's not forget Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan (Upper, Lower, and Midtown), Staten Island, Lower Westchester, Nassau County, Suffolk County, and right over the bridge in Northern NJ. All the above named areas are but a few miles away from one another. And they are ALL part of the greater Metropolitan area.

There are VERY FEW social clubs around today in any borough. Did you think that because wise guys closed their clubs that they just evaporated? Of course not!

When I say there are tons of guys, I mean exactly that. Tons of guys. There are presently (according to the FBI) appx 200 Genovese, 200 Gambino, 175 Bonanno, 120 Colombo, 120 Lucchese, 30-40 DeCavalcante = thats almost 900 made men. Plus literally thousands of associates of different calibers. (including at least another few hundred or so who are "proposed" for membership - these men ALMOST hold the rank of a good fellow. did you know that?).

Collectively, in my lexicon, where I come from, thats a Ton of guys! .... thats a lot of hoodlums (which by the way is a distinct compliment to call a street guy. A "Hoodlum" does not hold the same bad connotation to knockaround guys as it does to the general public. To be called a hoodlum is a compliment.

There are at least 55 to 60 "regimes" or crews between the 6 families operating within the NY/NJ area. Maybe more. But I'm being conservative here because the crews have shrunk and some have been condensed in recent years. But they have at least that many.

BTW: thats not even mentioning other "out of town" families (from other states) who also have individual guys operating in NYC. There are also Sicilian, Calabrese, and Napolitano born guys who also have formed regimes here. If we count them then we are talking about even more guys....... Tons!

Where do you think they all stay? At home watching TV? Or hiding under a rock in the Bahamas?

They are each doing their own thing (whatever that may be) alone, and in concert with each other, all over the city of NY and its immediate outer areas. Makes total sense no? Everybody is just keeping their heads very, very low, the exact way that Cosa Nostra should have been from day one, and used to be, before the John Gotti's of the world....with any luck, and proper leadership from up top, thats the way it'll stay.



You are half correct. Crews , historically were made up of a Capo and ten soldiers. But those soldiers could have hundreds of associates under them. Also a Capo could have a top moneymaker associate directly under them and that associate could have say 50 guys in his crew, some of Italian heritage that rose above the crop could be put on record and rise above that top Associate technically. It's not like if Tommy DeSimone(who was part of Jimmy Burke's crew) would be Jimmy's boss if he was made. If Tommy got made he would have been put into Paulie's crew or another Capos crew. Jimmy Burke wouldn't be put with a Soldier. He would always be direct with Paulie, Paulie's replacement, another Capo if the Administration decided or direct with the Administration.