When we lived in New Jersey, my dad was a volunteer firefighter. One of the local pizzerias always had the same people just hanging out in it; my mom swore it was a mafia joint.
And then one night, the plectronwent off with a call for the town’s firefighters. That pizzeria, fully involved. Accelerant was found when the fire was investigated.
It was too bad, because they did make good pizza.
Not in my “normal” life that I know of (although it’s possible with one particular part of the family), but I used to work in a criminal defense attorney office where there were actual mob members being defended, like Frank “The German” Schweihs, so, tangentially and professionally, yes.
I guess it’s an encounter. I was working for a environmental clean up firm in Manhattan in the early 90’s - I had to show up at federal court with some of the higher ups in my firm just in case they asked a certain series of questions that they never did. While I was walking into federal court all dressed up in my nicest suit so was John Gotti and Bruce Cuttler. I had already gotten passed the barriers because I was supposed to be there. Gotti who was on his first or second trial that he got off on was playing to the crowd. As I was walking by and he was shaking hands with random hangers on on the other side of the police barriers I said ‘hi’ as I was trying to pass by him and all his lawyers and entourage. For some reason he grabbed me and hugged me as he was slapping five with his minions on the other side of the barriers. It was a moment in time. I was more annoyed at the time because I was worried that something I I said said to my bosses was important in a federal case. Wasn’t. I got hugged by John Gotti, wierd. Does that count?
There’s probably more to this, but the way it reads it sounds as if you know they have mob connections because they have Italian names. Which I think Italians would generally find a somewhat disappointing attitude.
Tony Accardo and John DiFronzo are allegedly very high level players in the Chicago mob.
ETA: Accardo was, he is deceased
Frankly, I wonder in todays world of WalMarts, Starbucks, and other multi state and national companies, plus all the different rtacial groups, how the traditional mafia would run?
I mean could they shake down a McDonalds like they would some local business owner?
And could or would the Italians go against the black or Mexican gangs?
Ok, basically no, but…while at an almost year-long job, of which thousands open up nationally every ten years, in the northernmost borough of a major US city, I learned (a few months into the job) that my (big) boss’s maiden name was the surname of a very big mob figure of the past. I mentioned having read an article by another woman with this surname, who explained that, while she was unaware of any blood connection, having the name had come in handy a number of times in her life (i.e., when being stopped by traffic cops). So…I asked my boss if she knew her own relation to this past big mob name. She said “yeah”, but went on to express a disliking for the most infamous subsequent leader of the family which still bears the name of her relative(though this successor was admired for his sartorial flair and was often compared to a synthetic substance, used in cookware, for the way nothing seemed to adhere to him), because he killed too many people.
Meanwhile, my immediate boss at this job, had his father or grandfather not dropped the final vowel from his name, would have had the same surname as that of a notorious Midwestern gangster of the 20’s, who was nicknamed for his prominent cicatrix.
My former boss tells a story that some years ago, while she was working as faculty at a college, she took care of a student who fell ill during an evening event. The student was declared fine after a short hospital stay, but my boss was shortly thereafter contacted by a man who identified himself as a representative of one of the Five Families. This man made it clear that he was grateful for her help, even over her insistence that taking care of an ill student was merely an occupational requirement, and assured her that if she ever needed anything, she could count on this representative for help.
Now, my boss is a tough bird all on her own. I wouldn’t ever cross her. But it’s interesting to know that she’s carrying a trump card in her back pocket, just in case.
Oh, I see. Sorry. Carry on.
Possibly. The Japanese yakuza are involved in a number of businesses and once we were asked to go in and give a bid on a project.
The whole thing was almost like a caricature of them. The Big Boss and the underlings. The Big Boss was really nice, until he had to step outside the conference room to take a call. Then suddenly his voice just went off the deep end. If you’ve ever seen an angry yakuza portrayed in a movie, it was just like that.
I nodded to my boss that I wasn’t particularly interested in the account, so we chatted for another few minutes and left.
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And these guys are certainly related. E.g. One of them lives in the same house, another is a nephew of the well known figure.
There’s lots of Italians in my neighborhood, I only mentioned two out of hundreds.
My gf knows some as well. One of her parents neighbors is definitely affiliated. Kind of an odd guy but his old man was the real deal. The mom spoke maybe three words of English in all her life.
No, not me.
After reading this thread, I’m grateful for my boring and uneventful life.
I knew 3 guys who were mob connected in my home town. They were friends of my dad’s rather than friends of mine. Only one of them was a “made guy.” The other two were associates. I went to school with their kids.
Just recently, I found out that one of my great-uncles was tied in with the Youngstown mob. He was a complex, if not particularly nice at times, guy. From what I have pieced together, he seems to have been in collections and been the interface between the mob and workers in the auto parts plants who stole huge amounts of parts and materials and needed to liquidate what they had stolen.
Yes. Some are friends.
How do you handle this? Do you politely ignore the fact, entirely? Do related topics ever occassionally arise in conversation or activities? Is it part of your everyday interactions?
One of my first girlfriend’s father was an associate of Carlos Marcello (head of prostitution in New Orleans) or so my father told me.
As an adult, I’ve never had any encounters with the mob.
Teenage-me figured that too.
A few years ago someone I knew pointed out an “Ice Cream Shop” near his work in an industrial area that apparently was open all winter and always had Lincolns and Caddys parked out front.
My paternal grandmother’s father was a detective on the Galveston police force in the 1930s during the “Free State of Galveston” days, and he was basically fired for pressing too much on an investigation that would have exposed some mob-related corruption and embarrassed some people.
That’s about it- the rest of the family was familiar with the offspring of the original gangsters of that era (Sam & Rose Maceo)- I think my grandfather may have dealt with them professionally as a banker (legitimately), and I think my mom may have gone to school with one of their grandsons.
Russian, Italian, Jewish and some Columbian; nothing more exotic than that. Back up in the mountains the cops would occasionally get help from this one “family” that had the stereotypical compound-like house and the whole nine yards. It was odd how sometimes people who had done really bad things to really innocent people would sometimes turn themselves in or get caught in funky ways. There has always been some suspicion that some of the “diplomats kids” at the Wyoming Valley Seminary were mob kids but never even coming close to going there, I couldn’t say for sure.