by Wiseguy » Fri Oct 09, 2020 12:59 pm
Obviously extortion is a generic term and it can come in many forms. We see it all the time in mob cases. In the context of this thread, it seems people are talking about the old school, walk into the local mom and pop place and say
"Nice place here, be a shame if something were to happen to it" form of extortion. The kind Patsy and Burt are trying in this scene from The Sopranos -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gsz7Gu6agA
It's not always easy to find out all the details (not even the indictments go deep into them necessarily) but extortion of two restaurants and a strip club from 2012-2018 were among the charges in the January 2018 Bonanno case. Strip clubs, which often operate in a grey area of legitimacy, are probably the most common target for that type of extortion. That's what Sonny Franzese was indicted for, among other things, in 2010. They were also among the businesses Arilotta and the Springfield crew were extorting, as mentioned above. The Gambinos and Bonannos were charged with extorting four strip clubs in the 2011 Trucchio case.
Pogo is right. This form of more in your face, blatant extortion has not been as fundamental to the American mob as it is to the Sicilian mob. The Sicilian mob is a big fish in a small pond and it was part of the culture for a long time that you paid the pizzo. Those extortion payments from local businesses in a clan's territory often were the bread and butter money paid to sustain the families of imprisoned mafiosi.
Extortion of vendors at the San Gennaro festival were among the charges in the 2012 Genovese case involving Conrad Ianniello, etc. But it was more a case of the vendors paying bribes to the mob in order to operate. There's a distinction though the point is the same. You pay or you can't operate, something will happen to you or your business, etc. ILA workers were pretty blatantly extorted in the case of payments given to union officials at Christmas. Other times it was more a case of bribes given for jobs, promotions, etc. In 2011, officials of UFCW Local 348 (Genovese members and associates) were indicted for extorting dozens of businesses to prevent union disruptions. Not much room for misunderstandings there. Point being, it can be done in various ways and doesn't have to be so blatant, but the end result is the same.
To the original post, there's no way this pandemic hasn't affected them financially, including restaurants and clubs owned by mobsters themselves.
Obviously extortion is a generic term and it can come in many forms. We see it all the time in mob cases. In the context of this thread, it seems people are talking about the old school, walk into the local mom and pop place and say [i]"Nice place here, be a shame if something were to happen to it"[/i] form of extortion. The kind Patsy and Burt are trying in this scene from The Sopranos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gsz7Gu6agA
It's not always easy to find out all the details (not even the indictments go deep into them necessarily) but extortion of two restaurants and a strip club from 2012-2018 were among the charges in the January 2018 Bonanno case. Strip clubs, which often operate in a grey area of legitimacy, are probably the most common target for that type of extortion. That's what Sonny Franzese was indicted for, among other things, in 2010. They were also among the businesses Arilotta and the Springfield crew were extorting, as mentioned above. The Gambinos and Bonannos were charged with extorting four strip clubs in the 2011 Trucchio case.
Pogo is right. This form of more in your face, blatant extortion has not been as fundamental to the American mob as it is to the Sicilian mob. The Sicilian mob is a big fish in a small pond and it was part of the culture for a long time that you paid the pizzo. Those extortion payments from local businesses in a clan's territory often were the bread and butter money paid to sustain the families of imprisoned mafiosi.
Extortion of vendors at the San Gennaro festival were among the charges in the 2012 Genovese case involving Conrad Ianniello, etc. But it was more a case of the vendors paying bribes to the mob in order to operate. There's a distinction though the point is the same. You pay or you can't operate, something will happen to you or your business, etc. ILA workers were pretty blatantly extorted in the case of payments given to union officials at Christmas. Other times it was more a case of bribes given for jobs, promotions, etc. In 2011, officials of UFCW Local 348 (Genovese members and associates) were indicted for extorting dozens of businesses to prevent union disruptions. Not much room for misunderstandings there. Point being, it can be done in various ways and doesn't have to be so blatant, but the end result is the same.
To the original post, there's no way this pandemic hasn't affected them financially, including restaurants and clubs owned by mobsters themselves.