Patriarca Jr. was an ineffective leader, and he was the target of an attempted coup led by family consigliere Joseph "J. R." Russo of the Boston faction during the late 1980s.

Patriarca Jr., Russo and numerous others were imprisoned on RICO charges in 1992, and Boston mobster Frank Salemme subsequently emerged as boss of the family.

[13] In 1924, Messina stepped down as boss of the Boston family, assuming a businessman's role while working with Frank Cucchiara and Paolo Pagnotta from a grocery store on Prince Street in the North End.

[14] A power struggle ensued within the Boston mob as rival gangs fought for illegal gambling, bootlegging, loan sharking and rackets.

[11] On April 27, 1952, Buccola held a party in Johnston, Rhode Island, to celebrate his retirement and Raymond Patriarca's ascension to boss of the family.

[13] In 1956, Patriarca made drastic changes in the family, the biggest being the relocation of their base of operations to Providence, using the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business on Atwells Avenue, as a front organization.

Patriarca was a strict and ruthless leader; he ran the family for decades and made it clear that other Mafia organizations were not permitted to operate in New England.

During his reign as boss, Patriarca formed strong relationships with the New York-based Genovese and Colombo crime families,[18] deciding that the Connecticut River would be the dividing line between their territory and his own.

In 1957, more than sixty of the country's most powerful Mafia bosses, including Joe Bonanno, Carlo Gambino and Vito Genovese, met in Apalachin, New York.

Patriarca was also in attendance and was subsequently arrested when the meeting was suddenly raided by police, drawing much attention to him from the press, the public and law enforcement.

[20] Law enforcement agencies worked to develop informants within the Mafia and finally succeeded in 1966, when Joe 'Joseph The Animal' Barboza, a Patriarca family hitman, was arrested on a concealed weapons charge.

In 1978, Vincent Teresa testified that Patriarca had participated in a 1960 attempt by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to kill Fidel Castro that was never carried out.

The indictments included underboss Bianco, consigliere Joseph Russo, and lieutenants Biagio DiGiacomo, Vincent Ferrara, Matthew Guglielmetti, Joseph A. Tiberi Sr, Dennis Lepore, Gaetano J. Milano, Jack Johns, John "Sonny" Castagna, Louis Fallia, Frank and Louis Pugliono, Frank Colontoni and Robert Carrozza.

However, Bianco was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1991, while eight other family members were convicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges.

[25] On December 11, 1994, 25-year old drug dealer and Salemme loyalist Paul Strazzulla was shot and killed, his body recovered inside of his fire-torched car in Revere, Massachusetts.

[27] Bulger's friend, FBI agent John Connolly, let him run his criminal operations with impunity for informing on the Patriarca family.

On April 3, 1996, 63-year-old Richard "Vinnie the Pig" DeVincent was shot and killed in Medford, Massachusetts, after refusing to pay street tax from Salemme loyalists.

[39] It was revealed after many members of the crime family were charged in several in RICO indictments that two Caporegimes Mark Rossetti and Robert DeLuca[40] had become government informants.

[2][41] On December 17, 2011, family associate Anthony "Ponytail Tony" Parrillo was arrested after a physical altercation at his establishment in Providence, Club 295, and was later charged with two counts of felony assault.

[55][56] DiNunzio reportedly inducted his nephew, Louis "Baby Cheese" DiNunzio and two other members of his crew, Johnny Scarpelli and Salvatore "Tea Party Tore" Marino into the family during a ceremony held in the basement of a North End restaurant and attended by Limone, acting boss Anthony "Spucky" Spagnolo and Providence capo Matthew "Good-Looking Matty" Guglielmetti.

[62][63] When Carmen DiNunzio became the new boss his administration consisted of underboss Guglielmetti and consigliere Joseph "Joe the Bishop" Achille, both members of the Providence faction.

[70][71] He had been the target of a two-year investigation by the Rhode Island State Police into the sale of cocaine and lorazepam, which he reportedly engaged in, in September and November 2021.

[72][74][73] Several evidence files in the case were taken from surveillance records of the Toscan Social Club, an organized crime meeting place for which Guilmette was vice president.

[72][75] On October 27, 2022, Rhode Island State House senior deputy chief of staff John Conti resigned from his post amid allegations that he was a silent partner in a marijuana growing business with Patriarca family associate Raymond "Scarface" Jenkins.

[68][76] A State Police probe revealed the two shared an interest in the Organic Bees marijuana grow operation, which started in 2017 and shut down in 2022 because Conti and Jenkins would not disclose their involvement in the business.

[68][76] The former chief of staff was also mentioned meeting with several other high-ranking Patriarca mobsters, including a 2020 Christmas party at a Providence restaurant attended by Conti, Guglielmetti, and Lato.

"[68][76] On August 23, 2024, family underboss Edward Lato died of natural causes, aged 77, after surviving a heart attack and undergoing treatment for cancer.

Former Massachusetts State Police detective lieutenant Steve Johnson described the family as "a shell of itself" with a membership consisting of "mostly figurehead people and wannabes".