Even in 2026, the mafia remains involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities. Traditional mafia presence and activities have waned since the late 1990s, but the families still exist, keeping a low profile.
In certain industries, such as gambling, drugs, restaurants, and bars, they maintain significant influence. Today's mafia families and their businesses are far more brutal and calculated than the fictionalized versions depicted in shows like Tulsa King or Mobland.
The Gambino family has long been the most powerful of all mafia families. They have been in the headlines multiple times in recent years, with two major stories standing out: the release of Gene Gotti and the murder of family street boss Frank Cali.
Street boss has become the new title for the highest-ranking family member not behind bars. Gene Gotti is now 75 and back on the streets. The brother of John Gotti Sr. went to prison for heroin trafficking three decades ago and was released in September 2018.
Immediately, rumors of a possible mafia war began to swirl. Sure enough, on March 13, 2019, Frankie "Boy" Cali was shot to death. It appeared that the Gotti era had returned with a bang, but not quite.
Cali was killed by a young man named Anthony Comello after an incident that had nothing to do with mafia business. Domenico "Little Dom" Cefalu is the boss of the family at this time, but he has been semi-retired for the last several years.
Meanwhile, Gene Gotti knows that with his last name, he will be under a constant microscope with state and federal authorities. If he plans on seizing power, he has not made that known publicly. At the current time, it is unclear if anyone has been named the new street boss.
The Gambinos are not even 50 percent of what they were in their golden days. But even what is left of them equals a mafia family that is nowhere near extinction. They still have their hooks in local construction and various other industries, both blue-collar and information-age crimes. There is likely to be fierce competition for power among the Gambinos over the next couple of years.
The mafia rarely kills its own in today's society, but a battle for control over the country's top mafia family could produce a street war. Whoever takes over the family, not everyone is going to be happy.
With all the attention surrounding the Gambino family lately, the Genovese family is sure to capitalize. They are involved with low-hanging fruit like narcotics, but they also have a well-diversified stream of income.
They have significant money invested in bookmaking, and a good number of their higher-level guys operate freely. What helps the Genovese family is that they tend to have more peaceful leadership changes than the other families.
When the other families are spending time infighting, the Genovese continue to grow, staying under the radar as much as possible. With the Gambinos in turmoil, the Genovese family appears poised to become the top mafia family in the country, a spot they have held before.
Their current acting boss is Liborio Bellomo, a man who was around back during Chin's reign. Chin originally picked Bellomo as acting boss, but then Bellomo went to prison for a decade. He was released in 2008 and again took the spot back after acting boss Danny Leo went to prison. Bellomo and the Genovese are operating strongly in the shadows.
The Colombo family is now turning a page after four decades with an imprisoned Carmine "The Snake" Persico as boss. Or so it seemed. Longtime imprisoned boss Persico died in 2019 after pulling the strings for 30 years behind bars.
In an expected but greedy move, Persico named his son Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico acting boss. Allie Boy is serving a life sentence, so the decision only makes sense in that he was keeping the power within his family.
Along with an acting boss in prison, they also have a street boss, Andrew Russo, known as Andy Mush. They still operate in factions, but at least they are not currently at war, something the Colombos know too well.
The family has seen multiple internal conflicts over the decades, making any period of peace a welcome change. The Colombos remain smaller than some of the other families but continue their operations in traditional rackets.
The Bonanno family currently is a bit larger than the Colombos, but only half the size of the Gambinos and Genovese. Their current boss is convicted murderer Michael Mancuso, who served 10 years for killing his own wife in 1984.
He pleaded guilty to a mob-related murder in 2006 and got 15 years. He was released on March 12, 2019. The Bonannos have always benefited from a close relationship with the Gambinos, and that still exists today.
Several Bonanno and Gambino members were charged with narcotics trafficking and loansharking in an FBI sting in November 2017. It is not as often these days that two mafia families work so closely together.
Mancuso has Joseph Cammarano Jr. as his underboss, who was acquitted of racketeering and extortion charges in March 2019. The consigliere, John "Porky" Zancocchio, was acquitted in the same case.
It is likely that the Bonannos are going to prosper since their upper echelon are all free men. With leadership on the streets rather than behind bars, they have more flexibility to conduct business and adapt to law enforcement pressure.
The Lucchese crime family was founded nearly a century ago and continues to operate today. They have had more than their fair share of setbacks but survived because of their ability to operate mostly in the shadows.
The Gambino and Genovese families have traditionally drawn far more FBI attention over the years. Lately, however, the Lucchese are feeling the heat. More than 30 of their members and associates have been nabbed in federal stings since 2017.
The boss is still "Little Vic" Amuso, who has been in prison since 1992. Amuso is now the longest-reigning boss the family has had. The family has at least seven crews with significant territory in Long Island, Manhattan, the Bronx, and New Jersey.
Amuso has named Michael "Big Mike" DeSantis acting boss, and the underboss is Steven "Wonderboy" Crea. Crea and his son Steven Jr. run the Bronx faction. Amuso informed them in 2017 that DeSantis was their new boss and that if they did not cooperate, they would be killed.
This kind of direct threat from an imprisoned boss shows that even behind bars, these leaders maintain iron control over their organizations. Despite the arrests and prosecutions, the Lucchese family continues to generate income through construction, garbage hauling, and the traditional rackets that have sustained them for decades.
The activities of these families continue as we speak. They may not command the same fear and power they once did in their heyday, but they remain active, dangerous, and profitable.
Federal and state law enforcement continue their pressure, but the mafia has proven remarkably resilient. They adapt, they evolve, and they survive.
The five families of New York remain the most powerful La Cosa Nostra organizations in America. Their influence extends beyond the city into New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Florida. They have connections with other crime families across the country and international criminal organizations.
The modern mafia operates differently than it did in the days of John Gotti or Lucky Luciano. They keep lower profiles, avoid the media attention that brought down previous generations, and diversify their criminal enterprises to include white-collar crimes alongside traditional rackets.
But make no mistake, they are still here, still operating, and still dangerous. The code of silence, the oath of loyalty, and the willingness to use violence when necessary remain central to their existence. Organized crime is not just history. It is happening right now in cities across America.