Comments by "voteZDLR" (@voteZDLR) on "The Economics of the Mafia" video.

MOST Mafia families have actually switched to mostly or entirely legitimate operations now. They still make some of their money illegally, but for the most part it's harder than ever to get away with the crimes they traditionally got away with. So the old heads either died or went to prison and now they're most likely engaged in high level, white collar crimes, where the profit margins are higher and the crimes are cleaner than they used to be. The Mafia as portrayed in most films or whatever doesn't exist anymore.
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@thewarriors3048 Like I said, they still do exist doing illegal shit somewhat just not nearly on the scale they used to. If anything they're more into like credit card fraud and shit like that than ever before, and the violence aspect of it is finally newsworthy it's so rare. It's not around like it used to be, the glory days for them are far from being over, but no they are already probably making more money legally than they ever did illegally but it's all from blood money to begin with. I know someone whose grandfather was into that shit and owned like basically every gas station in the entire county and he's long since being passed but his kids and grandkids all live in mansions to this day, and basically like dedicate their lives to whatever weird and/or wonky desires they want. Like the one in particular I know stays home all day, watches TV, tends to her personal weed plants and paints. And this isn't even a mob family from New York, I am talking one of the old ones from New Orleans. Not really as much of a presence around here anymore as they used to have but the legacy is still very much there and the money is still very much being made.
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@Ekip-jz9qc OK? They're still infiltrating legitimate businesses on the same level as LCN if only to launder their money. I never said they were completely legitimate, but traditional crime is becoming harder and harder to get away with. To be clear I was mainly speaking about the Mafia in America, but the same is true for these groups in Italy as well but maybe not on the same scale. I was talking primarily about the Mafia as it relates to America, but it's not like the same thing isn't happening with those groups as well even in a country like Italy where it's not as equipped (or willing) to fight organized crime the same way that the Justice Department in America is. Nitpick much?
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Dude, no. They don't have you murder someone to "make your bones" because it's some collateral they can hold over your head in case you start to deviate from "the plan" or otherwise make them question your loyalty. They do it because if you are an undercover cop, you're not allowed to kill anyone. Some people think the same thing applies to drugs, which is why in movies you see sometimes when they're meeting a new contact or supplier the person will have them use some of the drugs themselves first. Undercover cops are allowed to do most anything to get the trust of the people they're investigating, but murder or otherwise hurting other people is not one of those things. They're not supposed to anyway. That doesn't mean it's never happened, just that they're not supposed to, but honestly that's the advantage criminals have. They're not only allowed to break the rules, they're expected to. Cops on the other hand have to follow the law, to a fault.
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@mariolisa2832 Holy shit some random guy on YouTube doesn't believe me? Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. /s Doesn't change the facts and it really doesn't effect my life or bottom line if you believe me or not.
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@Ekip-jz9qc Yeah. I've heard of them. So?
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It used to be that you had to be full blooded Sicilian to join the Mafia. Nowadays they've eased up on that, to be a made guy you simply have to be Italian on your father's side. You can still work for the Mafia, but you'll never be an official member and you'll never hold a position of real power. The only thing at the end of the day the mob cares about is if you can make them money or not, which is why sometimes people who are just associates and allowed to hang around but never receive official membership end up making more than full-fledged members.
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It's really not that hard of a concept to grasp. If something is illegal, the value of that commodity goes UP. It's artificially more expensive because the person selling it is assuming a risk in providing said commodity. The only reason they don't allow their members to sell drugs (or they're not supposed to anyway) is because the sentences for drugs are so stiff. Not to mention if they're selling, chances are good they're using too, and that's bad for the organization because they are already taking a risk by employing you anyway and in the back of their minds they're worried about you getting "pinched" (arrested) for any reason. More likely you start talking, and more likely they have to do something drastic (like kill you) to stop you from talking. But that's just it, it's a lifestyle where you're in and out of prison your entire life to such an extent it's just the cost of doing business. You don't worry as much about going to prison though because a lot of your friends are already there and as long as you don't rat anyone out, you won't be a target inside because everyone knows you're a part of LCN.
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