The Harbinger

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I'm about to introduce you to the biggest and baddest weapon ever seen in the game of Mafia Wars.  If you see this item in someones inventory, be very afraid because they will annihilate you.  Your mafia can't help you with this one.  To get your hands on one of these bad boys, you need to reach Diamond Status in the Loyalty Program.  Via the Mafia Wars Wiki, I present to you THE HARBINGER!

In my article The Mafia Wars Loyalty Program, I give you all the details about the program but only 3 status levels were published by Zynga.  Where did this Diamond Status Level come from?  I don't really know the answer because Zynga is keeping quiet about it.  Bossy Don of TopMafia.Info and myself searched and searched for information and we found a few things.  Read her POST for more detailed information.  I found a Zynga Forum Board discussion thread and got the following image and information from it.
Here is a player sharing his status upgrade with his mafia (the last name has been removed to protect his identity)

This is the message Zynga sent to the player above.  We were also told that the benefits are the same as the Platinum tier, but the requirements to maintain it are higher.  A Minimum of 1,000 LP earned/month are what it takes to keep Diamond Status.

"Congratulations, XXXXXXX. In recognition of your loyalty, you've been awarded the world's rarest Mafia Wars loyalty award, the Diamond status, available by invitation only. You'll receive extraordinary rewards and benefits as a Diamond player.
Earn up to 8x Loyalty Points for every dollar you spend or by playing with your Mafia.
Use these points to buy rare and HIGHLY exclusive Diamond items.
Get access to the best discounts on Reward Points and extraordinary benefits.
Your awards:
Harbinger, little dog and power rifle."

I was in a live chat session with a Zynga Customer Service Representative because my Overall Attack and Defense Score mysteriously dropped 600 points.  That's a whole different story but I asked her for information about the Diamond Status Level and this is the reply I got.
[05:03:43 AM] Jennifer Patterson: Do you have a link where I can find information about the Diamond Level of the Loyalty Program?
[05:05:08 AM] Alicia H.: The Diamond Club is the rarest Mafia Wars status that a player can obtain. It is by invitation only and offers benefits that are only extended to select Platinum players. In order to protect the privacy of our existing Diamond Club members, I cannot disclose the amount needed to join. You may qualify by continuing to purchase Reward Points and being an active player.

Here is something I found that Zynga didn't think through.  As Alicia H states above, Zynga wants to protect the privacy of their "Diamond Club" members.  I think most who achieve this status don't really want others to know that they are extreme credit card players.  Zynga's solution is to give all players the option to make their status level private or public.  Here is my profile and you can see that if I didn't want people to see my little gold M, I could remove it from my profile by clicking on "Make Status Private".

I have quite a few players in my mafia who spend big bucks.  I checked out one of my friends Mafia Wars profile and saw that his Loyalty Program status was private.  I then scrolled down to his inventory and saw the Harbinger sitting there for the world to see.  Now I know he is a Diamond Level player.  I'm sure this will not make players who value their privacy very happy.  Think Zynga!

I asked my friend above what happened when he got his Harbinger and this is what Zynga said.
"Thank you for being a dedicated Mafia Wars player. As a Platinum player, you just received 30,000 LOYALTY POINTS for spending $2,000 within the first 3 months of earning your status!  Use this amazing reward to buy exclusive items in the Marketplace."/Zynga to a Diamond Status Player

Don't worry if you will never get a Harbinger.  It won't effect your gaming experience and those who have one aren't better than you.  Chuck Norris says it best to Steven Zeagal.