The Mob Today

Organized crime has changed dramatically since the days when Whitey Bulger's Winter Hill Gang terrorized the city with mob hits, firebombs, and powerful underworld muscle.

The old Mafia dons, as well, are now just that... old and out of power.

Last year in Providence, one of the last big New England Mafia kingpins was sent to jail for six years for extortion.

So the cosa norstra has lost its power; Whitey Bulger is on trial. But are there other organized criminal groups taking their place?

Beverly Ford, a freelance journalist covering the Whitey Bulger trial for the New York Daily News, she's a former reporter at the Boston Herald, where she covered crime and legal issues. She's the co-author of The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts.