by jimmyb » Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:01 pm
Chris Christie wrote:jimmyb wrote:Thanks Rick (and the governor) for your trust. I agree with Chris Christie. I don't think the LaMare case was anything like the Bulger situation. At least based on what's in the files. Fascinating note about Joe Tocco. Did I overlook that in the SS files, or is that info somewhere else?
It's in there, late 20's.
Given that most of these 1920 "gang leaders" have lineage from the Giannola group (exception being LaMare who joined later), what are your thoughts on that? I feel all these alleged separate groups was a newspaper fabrication. Had what happened in Philadelphia in 1993 occurred in 1903 you'd be hearing about the Stanfa gang vs the Merlino gang before Don Ligambi merged everyone together.
But without giving away too much details, what can we look forward to in your work? I'm much excited about it. Having spoken with you you clearly know your area and can hold your own, plus you've got the lineage. And I still want an autographed copy.
Well, I'm afraid you may be disappointed to a certain extent. The reason is: I largely avoided your question. I kind of framed by approach around "reception theory." I say "kind of" because the book is meant as a popular history and not as social scientific analysis. But I liked the idea of describing the events and processes based on how social actors viewed what was happening at the time. So when I talk about "mafia" or "Black Hand," I wanted to give the reader an idea of how law enforcement, religious leaders, community leaders, journalists and when possible criminals themselves, understood what was going on in real time. Of course I provide context and place the events against my own narrative. Nevertheless, at the time, most people in the community used terms like "Adamo Gang," "Giannola Gang," "Vitale Gang," and later on Eastside faction, Westside faction etc.
Now some times I felt compelled to demystify the vernacular of the time period, especially when it came to "the Black Hand." In other words, I hope the average reader is able to disentangle the Black Hand from the Sicilian Mafia after reading my book.
[quote="Chris Christie"][quote="jimmyb"]Thanks Rick (and the governor) for your trust. I agree with Chris Christie. I don't think the LaMare case was anything like the Bulger situation. At least based on what's in the files. Fascinating note about Joe Tocco. Did I overlook that in the SS files, or is that info somewhere else?[/quote]
It's in there, late 20's.
Given that most of these 1920 "gang leaders" have lineage from the Giannola group (exception being LaMare who joined later), what are your thoughts on that? I feel all these alleged separate groups was a newspaper fabrication. Had what happened in Philadelphia in 1993 occurred in 1903 you'd be hearing about the Stanfa gang vs the Merlino gang before Don Ligambi merged everyone together.
But without giving away too much details, what can we look forward to in your work? I'm much excited about it. Having spoken with you you clearly know your area and can hold your own, plus you've got the lineage. And I still want an autographed copy.[/quote]
Well, I'm afraid you may be disappointed to a certain extent. The reason is: I largely avoided your question. I kind of framed by approach around "reception theory." I say "kind of" because the book is meant as a popular history and not as social scientific analysis. But I liked the idea of describing the events and processes based on how social actors viewed what was happening at the time. So when I talk about "mafia" or "Black Hand," I wanted to give the reader an idea of how law enforcement, religious leaders, community leaders, journalists and when possible criminals themselves, understood what was going on in real time. Of course I provide context and place the events against my own narrative. Nevertheless, at the time, most people in the community used terms like "Adamo Gang," "Giannola Gang," "Vitale Gang," and later on Eastside faction, Westside faction etc.
Now some times I felt compelled to demystify the vernacular of the time period, especially when it came to "the Black Hand." In other words, I hope the average reader is able to disentangle the Black Hand from the Sicilian Mafia after reading my book.