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Historically speaking, Borko always said that Pure Kino is nothing but a glorified Sopranos clipper channel.

People who say little carmine was an idiot must have missed the golf scene where he plays his dad like a fiddle while laughing and provoking johnny sac, hes smarter than people realize and he survived a war by being under estimated and knowing being boss is not everything.

"The Sopranos is fictional." Why would you do this to me? Next you'll tell me Santa isn't real.

Let me tell you a couple of three things: the sopranos are a glorified crew

Tony - the Boss stormed into enemy territory alone just to lay a beating on the schmuck stupid enough to harrass his daughter Phil -the Boss hid behind curtains and shouted insults out his window like a punk There was never any doubt who the REAL gangsters were

You should have put in that joke from Futurama where Fry is apartment hunting goes to all kind of weird places and eventually finds the perfectly affordable apartment but then passes on it because it's technically in New Jersey - saying "not one place remotely livable".

That's what Tony's panic attacks were really about. His subconscious was telling him that everything he recognized as family was dying.

When youre in waste management, everyone thinks youre mobbed up. There is no mafia.

You have to remember that in the series we only really see Tony's 'inner circle', or those closest to him. The actual full crime family would be about 50 made guys (most of whom we never see) and hundreds of associates.

I found it funny that the New York family supposedly didn't care for the Jersey Family, yet hung out with them all the time and was in so many business deals with them. And Johnny was concern enough about them he needed Paulie as a mole to find out what businesses they were in so they can get a piece of the action.

This Kino is an old-fashioned kind of guy, very allegorical.

It's a glorified crew; I realized when Paulie said "fuck her", talking about Carmella and how little he and Vito cared about Tony's family when he was in a coma. In actuality, everyone was for himself, despite them telling to themselves they were a "family", it was just a lie to somehow diminish the guilt they felt for doing what they were doing.

I wanted to be an organized crime family. But I compromised. I chose to be a glorified crew instead.

Jersey crew was definitely a glorified crew. - Carmine Sr. didn't even know who Paulie is, despite him being pretty high on the family's food chain. - When the FBI had Junior by the balls, they instead let him walk in favor of getting Johnny Sack later. Keep in mind, Junior was the boss of Jersey crew while Johnny was the underboss of the Lupertazzis. - Davey Scatino thought he could get away with being in debt to guys like Tony and Richie. If the Jersery Crew was truly feared, a weasel like Davey wouldn't be so casual as he probably saw them as some loan sharks, not mobsters. Tony had to punch him in the face so Davey would have any idea how fucked he was. - They tried to collect a protection racket from Starbuck, only for the manager to politely tell them they know jack how corporations work. - Ade didn't even have a lawyer. Fuck, did Chris even remember the number of a lawyer? Being the girlfriend of a capo and the owner of the mob's hangout spot, you'd think Ade would have her lawyer's number written under her eyelids, but nope. It was on Chris' part as well for not even bother to have 'the talk' with her and they were in 30s ffs. - Tony ended up with like 12 guys on so by the end of the series while Phil had 200 soldiers. The Jersey guys ended up hiding in a safe house, eating takeaway pizza while subtly throwing shades at Tony whenever they could and he couldn't do anything about it. One of them was on the verge of flipping, and Tony couldn't do a thing either. - The only reason Tony was able to whack Phil at all was because the FBI wanted to get the bigger fish.

As a mafia afficinado and someone with an all around interest in organized crime, you did a very good analysis here. One thing I'll add is a good way to think of the difference between a mafia crew and a mob family is a crew is generally a group of guys committing crimes - usually under a leader who might be a made guy (such as a capo or soldier) or a high ranking associate - where as a family is collection of different crews working under the umbrella of an organization usually led by a boss, an underboss, and a consigliere. For example, the Gambino family had/has somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 made guys which could roughly be broken down into twenty crews of soldiers and associates, each crew has a capo as a leader that reports to the administration (i.e. the boss/underboss) and each soldier within those crews usually has a group of guys working under them. Looking at this, you can see how much stronger a family from New York would be over a family like the fictional Sopranos. Even a New York family half the size of the Gambinos or Genovese with just, say, 100 made guys would be more than what the Sopranos could handle. Adding to all this is in real life some of the New York families have a sizable number of Jersey guys as members of their families. The Genovese and Lucchese families in particular have their own Jersey factions within them.

Carmine may have called the Sopranos a glorified crew - but in this video Kino comes out and calls them "fictional" and says they are "not real" ... in my opinion these comments are more hurtful . Especially if they get passed on in front of anyone's girl cousins .

I just wanted to add that Micheal Franzese also thought the show was about him, too. I think that it is a Mobster thing to think so highly about themselves that the media that they consumed was really about them. So many gangsters (Black or Italian) watch media about them and even try to make their own films, music videos, and tv with themselves as the main characters. Just food for thought that the recorded string clips might not mean anything.

The fact carmine had a hissy fit over the money Ralph was bringing in stands to show The Sopranos where a family!

The one factor that didn’t get explored enough on the show was how the NY families giving some legitimacy to NJ provided a buffer from the Philly family (who traditionally owned south Jersey including Atlantic City). That power dynamic would also lead NY to look at them as not being on level terms.

The Bonnano crime family in New York used to call their splinter group in Toronto a glorified crew, until the Bonnanos got hit hard by the FBI and the Canadian group, taking advantage of lax anti organized crime laws in Canada, became just as powerful as them.

Started as a family, became a glorified crew

If I recall correctly, Tony had to check with NY about 'opening the books' to make new members. That tells me they weren't totally autonomous.

DiMeo's was a family. The Soprano's were a glorified but very profitable crew. If Tony could have controlled his temper and impulsiveness then not kill Ralphie. He would have made the entire lot of them rich 4x over. But the difference between a boss and a glorified capo. Is being able to control his crew and he couldn't. Christopher was always screwing up always thought he was entitled to a higher status because he did minor at best work. Tony said it himself Christopher was capable but the ego and drugs kept him from making it to the top. We're it not for Tony and his pushing Christopher would have gotten killed by a harder family. Then later you had a homosexual cappo who wasn't discreet, he had a cappo who beat, berrated and killed pregnant stripper. He also had a cappo who turned states evidence because of Tony's antics, and finally how can you be a boss who's a digenerate gambler, occasional drug abuser, and just a horrible person in general. I loved this show and the characters but Christopher said it himself. He'd follow Tony to hell, well he did and Tony led his family/crew all straight to it.

I'll tell you a couple of three things; As a New Yorker, whoever made the roads over in New Jersey is definitely a glorified architect.

Time to go from watching Sopranos clips to watching Sopranos analysis videos. Good stuff, Kino 👍

NYC just had superiority complex. The money the Soprano family was bringing in, they definitely weren't a glorified crew. One capo alone making 1-3 mil a week (iirc). Also whilst the Five Families exist, there's families all over the States, from NYC to Nevada. In real life though, the New Jersey family is completely opposite to that in The Sopranos. The DeCalvacante's were a bunch of bozo's and got their ass caught by literally getting wire tapped laughing about themselves in The Sopranos. Sopranos lore though, they were a real full fat wholesome mafia family

I must say from a technical standpoint your videos are great... that transition into Nordpass was as seamless as Paulie walnuts trackpants.

I think Carmine Lupertazzi Sr didn’t really think that the jersey crime family was just a glorified crew. He was in distress, and probably didn’t mean it, and even before he said that their families had been doing business in a peaceful manner for a long time and he wants to keep it that way. Tone and the DiMeo crime family make Carmine a lot of money. Carmine Sr was heavy business oriented.

I told ya once and I'll tell ya a fourth time . They're a glorified crew!!! Those funooks aren't a family

Let me tell you a couple of three things: kino never misses

The Sopranos are DEFINITELY a family, officially speaking. You only need to be recognised BY the Commission to be an official family. You don’t need to have a seat ON the Commission. Only the most powerful families have a seat ON the governing Commission. This is why mid-20th Century you had at least 27 official Cosa Nostra families, but fewer than 10 on the Commission. When the Bonannos lost their seat on the Commission, it still recognised them as a family. Equally, you could have a very powerful Italian organised crime group, but if it is not recognised by the Cosa Nostra Commission, it is not a Cosa Nostra family. If the Sopranos were not a family, their members would not be recognised as “friends of ours” by the Lupertazzis, which they are repeatedly. Calling them a “glorified crew” is a way of belittling them as small time hicks, not an actual statement about their official status.

Difference between crew and a family is size. Every family is dividaded into crews. Sopranos have 50 made men and 200 asociates, while Lupertazzi have 200 made men and most likely around 1000 asociates. Which means that whole Dimeo family is just a little larger than one of Lupertazzi’s crews. Thats what Carmine was talking about.

Oh listen to him, he knows everything

If the Saprono’s were a glorified crew Carmine wouldn’t have referred to Tony as a “Don” when he said “A Don Doesn’t Wear Shorts”

.... “And this pigmy thing we got going on in New Jersey.” ~ Phil~

Yay I'm having the worst day & seeing you came out with a new Sopranos video legit made me so happy 😁 you da best Kino! And this was kind of funny to me b/c I was a New Yorker my whole life, born and raised (I actually went to school with the guy who plays Jackie Jr. btw...I know, the shame lol) but I moved to NJ a couple of years ago and couldn't be happier!

"The Commision" only refers to the NY 5 Families. The other non NY families are part of "The National Crime Syndicate"/"The Syndicate"

There's also the fact that despite Jersey's haphazard way of making individuals (where there's no vetting, not observing the proper custom, as per Phil Leotardo), they could only muster roughly 50 soldiers, vs. NY's 200 soldiers, despite being much more stringent (as also implied by Phil Leotardo) in term of selection and customs. So I have to agree with Phil that team NJ is a little more than a pygmy when compared to actual families in NY

So what Phil was an old fashioned kind of a guy, stuck in an era hey maybe 20 years or so past. He must have had to lay low for those 20 or so years- the show never really says what he was doing or where he was for 20 years. They should have just all had a sit down about it---shared some grilled cheese and passed out complimentary boxes of tissues. That would have resolved everything.

Its crazy how close to the Sopranos is to real life. Some of the actors were in the mob and it doesnt surprise me that it bled into the mob world at some point. I always knew while watching the show that it was too good to all be fiction.

Couple of three things, they're a family no matter what metric or standard ya wanna use and there's no debate. We only hear the NY guys say otherwise as arrogant bluster. And note that they say this only in backrooms amongst themselves cause they wanna keep peace with the DiMeo family because they bring in a ton of money and are capable of bringing violence in a real way. They're modeled off a real life family that no one debates is a family and is actually a very legendary one. They're significantly bigger than we see on the show. We regularly see guys pop in and out seemingly out of nowhere yet everyone knows them. The story follows Tony and his immediate circle but MOST OF THE FAMILY NEVER GET SCREEN TIME AT ALL. There's a reason NY doesn't want smoke, they're not all that small and they can reach out. Other families from other parts of the country aren't on the Commission yet are legit families. Back in Southern Italy and Sicily the structure is actually made up of smaller groups. The families in NY and a couple other places are abnormally large. The norm is small, very tight-knit groups, some of which ya actually have to be blood related to enter into. So size is bs too. They honor the codes and the initiation rites vary from place to place, family to family. And I say all this as a Sicilian from Brooklyn 🙃

The sopranos wanted to be a family, they compromised, they became a glorified crew.

I loved the sopranos it's still one of my favorite shows but they were a glorified crew and I think that was the point david chase and co. weren't trying to glamorize that life at all

The DiMeo and Lupertazzi crime families enjoy a symbiotic relationship. With its large Italian American community and rich economic activity in the ports and unions ripe for exploitation, it’s entirely natural that an Italian American crime family would evolve in Northern New Jersey concurrent with but independent of the Five Families across the River. Equally plausible is the notion that said North Jersey family would seek alignment and cooperation with one of the big five in the city. By being ‘with’ the Lupertazzis, the DiMeos get protection from any other wiseguys seeking to encroach upon their territory, specifically from the other Five Families of New York, but also conceivably from South Jersey/Atlantic City, who traditionally answer to Philadelphia. But here’s the thing that hasn’t been mentioned here: the Sopranos mythology makes clear that the DiMeo family’s roots are from Southern Italy near Naples, NOT Sicily like the Lupertazzis. Carmine and Phil Leotardo have Sicilian roots, although I believe that Johnny Sacrimoni’s family history isn’t specified. The differences in the initiation ceremonies of the two families can be attributed to the difference between the Neapolitan (Comorra) and Sicilian (La Cosa Nostra) traditions. This may be part of why the Lupertazzis tend to feel superior to their North Jersey cohorts, despite the benefits of the relationship.

That was the smoothest ad transition I’ve ever seen. Full stop. Not to mention how well it aged and why Artie is my favorite character

The Lupertazzi Family have over 200 hundred soldier and got more buttons than Tony's grandamas corset

I’ve always wondered abt that. Why is the Jersey Mob “farmers” or “a glorified crew” but the Philly Mob a real family? They’re both abt the same size. I think it’s the fact that Jersey is unfortunately next to NY. It’s like a small building next to 5 skyscrapers. Had the Jersey family been next to the Philly family or other smaller families, they’d be more respected.

Carmine seemed to had a good frienship with Junior and Johnny Boy, then Tony and Sack became good friends too. I think the Lupertazzi allowed the DiMeo to exist as an independent organization out of friendship, but in reality, the Lupertazzi always saw them as an extension of their own organization operating in New Jersey. "A glorified crew" of their organization. But once those friendship were gone, the families went to war and yes, Tony was able to take out Phil, but the DiMeos were the ones who recieved the biggest blows, and if Tony actually got killed at the end (which I'm 200% sure of), I'm pretty sure the DiMeo family went to crap and was probably absorbed by the Lupertazzi.

😂 😂 😂 The Varsity Athlete dig was a great ending! 😂

“The sopranos is not real” how much betrayal can my heart take

“Jersey is the suburbs” Lord you did no research at all

I mean, commission is never really mentioned in the series (one exception being when Chris was forced to strip for wire not to pay Paulie for the pool loss), but De cavalcante family (which sopranos are based on) are indeed part of the commission and always have been

I definitely enjoyed that reference from through the worm hole “getting the sopranos” video. Truly am a fan Pure Kino! Been watching since day one

By saying they are a glorified crew, they aren't a real family, just a crew that works for New york. Carmine considers himself the boss of Tony and by extention jersey. They are a family just a small family.

Weather they are a crew or not, they definitely were the most connected, fear and respected family (Dimeo family) of Newark New Jersey.

The last line was a LMFAO moment. You couldn't resist the Varsity Athlete line could you ?? So funny !!

Seamless sponsorship transition, well done.

"They make anybody and everybody over there"

I'd say, the main factor, within the shows logic, us the fact that they share things with NY, they don't directly kick up to them by default, they have autonomy, where as a crew by default has to pay tribute on everything they earn, and is given responsibilities, and takes direct orders.

New Jersey: "What am I, a mirage?"

Me: Borko's got over 461K subcribers... Kino: I'm not scared

I am with Carmine on this one they were definitely a glorified crew.

My main complaint is not adding more members considering irl there would be people from NY who would leave to try and get made by joining NJ

It's not a Panic attack its a glorified dizzy spell

They were a mini-family, that held their position in the mafia world higher than the other families thought of them.

The Sopranos were a glorified crew compared to the Lupertazzi family. But they didn't have as much territory and were basically just operating in North Jersey with maybe a little action in Miami...which is why I assume Ralph was there in the earlier seasons. The thing is I think we are to assume the Soprano family had a lot more made guys than what we were shown. The guys we saw were the people closest to Tony and the captains. I think we were to assume the Barese crew had their own headquarters and a large crew of made guys we never saw along with old timer Ray Curto's crew. I think Tony pretty much let the Captains operate kind of independently as long as they were kicking up good money to him. And I think they all had their own hangouts. The guys who hung out at Satriale's were mostly Sylvio and all guys in Pauly's crew which he took over from Tony when he became boss.

The death of Tony Lip was a big loss. He was a tremendous presence on the show.

Says he's only going to address the fictional crime world in the show, not the real mafia, goes on to talk a bunch about the real mafia. Make up your mind ffs.

You forgot to mention in within the show, that the Jersey family is connected to Naples Family.

it's alot simpler than that. the di meos are simply tiny compared to the NY families. the ny families had 100s of made men. the di meos in the show have a fraction of that. the di meos are also based more on the luchesse familys "Jersey crew" which literally are just a crew - and this relationship is depicted in the show via the lupertazzi/di meo association. the Jersey crew was also founded in Newark, much like the di meos in the show

Kino, please use your investigative powers to tell us the name of the song that plays when Paulie tells Chrissy to strip down to see if he’s wearing a wire. That track sounds so cool and no one on the internet knows what it is. Please!

Phil actually says it to Tony's face when there talking about Vito "a fanuke in his crew, he knew how to handle that".

I agree. Although the Sopranos aren't a big Mafia family, they are a a family as you made several good points.

One other thing Kino. Borko said he watched one of your videos at his house? A Don doesn't advertise for NordVPN...

I'm on my 3rd go round of the series and these videos have been great to watch between episodes. Thanks!

Kino’s an old school guy very allegorical.

Paulie is half a wiseguy with half a family

11:00 Which is, ironically enough, another parallel with the DeCavalcante family. While being smaller than the NY families (at 60 members, haha) because they had complete control over New Jersey, they actually brought in more money than any individual NY family, mostly due to control over the ports.

A decent clue as to whether it's a family or a crew is does it have its own name? Cruise are normally not named though inside the family they may say Jimmy bucket head's crew or something like that but if they were all known as the Buena Vista Family then they just might be a family.

This reminds me of the movie "The Stone Killer." A great film.

We lead the world in computerized data collection !

That ending edit was *chef’s kiss* perfect

Dimeo family was made around in 60s with Tony’s dad and Christopher moltisanti grandfather

Carmine wasn't at the table when Tony pushed back about the Uncle June's varsity comments.

This topic was always my favorite of the show because people looked at my family like that where I was from Southwest Detroit the Reese family…..

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a glorified crew.

Bit of both. Plus and negative sides.

This kino guy is more creative then Spielberg!

Phil complains that the DeMeos "make everybody and anybody", but Tony talks about having to wait for New York to "open the books" to make new guys, so presumably the New York bosses, including Phil, have to approve all the new soldiers. Which leads to another question, of how new members get made during a war. Presumably the warring New York faction could just deny all NJ makings, but maybe Jersey would just start making guys on their own, and New York would review them after the war?

I know this is about the fictional families in the show, but in real life the New York families had 'jersey crews' and if you look up info about them you can see some of the crews were estimated to be about the same size as the family in Jersey, the DeCavalcantes.

Sopranos a Glorified Crew? How much betrayal can i take... I feel like i've been stabbed in the heart.

It's obvious the writers weren't experts because wardrobe put Tony in shorts. A Don doesn't wear shorts.

Both Johnny Sac and Carmine Snr, saw Jersey as hired hit men when needed.

The Dimeo’s were a family under Jackie Aprile, but they became a glorified crew under Tony Soprano.

I would say IRL Joey Gallo and Harry Riccobene were members of a Sopranos like independent crew

I think it just comes down to size of the organization. Tony reminds Chris that the Lupertazzi family has 200 soldiers. A crew might be 10-15 soldiers.

No makings of a varsity athlete at the end was priceless 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

A CN family doesn´t have to be in the commission to be a formally recognized family. I think Cleveland and Philly were also in the commission at some point. Nowadays all of the smaller families have been represented by the Genovese or by the Outfit.

the disclaimer was longer than the video itself lmao