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The New Mafia: Less Violent, Lower Profile, But Still Making Money

Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 9:00 am
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John Gotti not long before his death
​Popular opinion says the Mafia is no more -- or at least not what it was in its heyday. That theory says it's been reduced to a collection of informants, poseurs, and expired HBO shows. But the New York Daily News makes an argument that it's alive and well, reincarnated for a changing economy.

Though the mob has lost juice in its traditional fields of union racketeering, construction and garbage, it's making up for that by basically following the criminality of Wall Street. The paper points to scams involving hedge funds, mortgage securities, and house-flipping. Mobsters are also heavy players on the web, running porn and off-shore gambling sites, not to mention swiping credit card numbers.

One member of the Gambino Family even owns an energy drink company called American Blast, presumably used to launder money.

The difference with today's mob is that it's not composed of preening sociopaths like John Gotti Era. These days, it's less violent, more quiet, and quicker to commit mortgage fraud than hijack a truck.


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