How present was the mafia in the post WWII era?

by _JackWilshere

Admittedly, I am very uneducated on this, which is why I am asking, but be warned, the question might be a little vague.

Anyway, reading the (fictional) works of James Ellroy and other noir books or movies, I always got the impression that mobsters like Mickey Cohen were day-to-day superstars, almost like celebrities and somehow I have trouble imagining this. Sure, the people probably knew about him, but was he that present in day to day life? Did people like him have that much influence and power that they were untouchable? Any insight would be great.

Thanks.

TommyFX
  • Mickey Cohen was kind of unique in that he lived in Los Angeles, and hob nobbed with famous people and movie stars. So his name and picture often appeared in tabloids and scandal rags. He was, in a way, a local LA celebrity. Al Capone was widely known in Chicago, a city that was dominated by political corruption and organized crime. Capone was, in fact, nationally famous.
  • Post World War II in places like New York and Chicago, big mobsters like Carlo Gambino and Sam Giancanna did their best to avoid the press. It as one of the reasons why the mob was so powerful from the 40s until the early Eighties. They kept a very low profile.
  • One of the things that killed the mobbed in New York was John Gotti and his love for publicity. Gotti became a staple of the New York tabloids like the Post and the Daily News. Supposedly Gotti was obsessed with getting his name and picture in the paper. One interesting story about that... before he was boss, the Gambino family was very low key. A guy like Carlo Gambino shunned publicity, stayed out of the spotlight, often acted through several layers or intermediaries, and very seldom ever met face to face with anyone in the family other than maybe a high ranking captain. But after he whacked Paul Castellano and became boss of the Gambino crime family, Gotti demanded every made guy in the organization, plus every big earner an associate come to the Ravenite Social Club (his HQ), to kiss his ring and pay their respect. The FBI and NYPD OC Task Force had the place under surveillance and the meetings and grand standing were an intelligence boon for law enforcement, who took a million pictures and wrote down every license plate. There were guys who showed up, big time mob guys, who before that day didn't even have a file on them.