by gohnjotti » Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:19 am
Independent bookmakers/loansharks/card games, particularly of Italian-American descent, will be extorted by the Mafia if they come into the Mafia's orbit. This is why it is crucial for independent criminals to find a suitable Mafia representative to be "on record" with - typically, this independent criminal is looking for someone who will tax him the least and support/advocate for him the most.
Recent examples from the Colombo family include the attempted extortion from the Amato crew of the Bosco family gambling operation, the takeover of rival L.I. card games by Michael Uvino in the 2000s, Bill Cutolo's extortion of other independent loansharks like John Floridia in the 1990s. The Cutolo example is a little bit dated but I can't think of many other recent examples of independent loansharks; Dom Ricigliano was a special case because he actually took on Tom Scorcia and the Colombos first.
This is not limited to bookies/loansharks/card games. Any illegal racket that the Mafia discovers, they will try and muscle-in on if they can bully and intimidate the other party.
There is less of a culture around taxing drug dealers as far as the Mafia goes in NY, partly because drug-dealing is still frowned upon and there are other criminal organizations that are more invested than the Mafia in the drug supply.
Another example of a "street tax" like you're referring to, Furio, is what Greg Scarpa Jr.'s crew had going on the late 1980s in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, and surrounding neighborhoods as far as Staten Island. Larry Mazza's book details how the crew enforced a street tax on any dealers they discovered.
Independent bookmakers/loansharks/card games, particularly of Italian-American descent, will be extorted by the Mafia if they come into the Mafia's orbit. This is why it is crucial for independent criminals to find a suitable Mafia representative to be "on record" with - typically, this independent criminal is looking for someone who will tax him the least and support/advocate for him the most.
Recent examples from the Colombo family include the attempted extortion from the Amato crew of the Bosco family gambling operation, the takeover of rival L.I. card games by Michael Uvino in the 2000s, Bill Cutolo's extortion of other independent loansharks like John Floridia in the 1990s. The Cutolo example is a little bit dated but I can't think of many other recent examples of independent loansharks; Dom Ricigliano was a special case because he actually took on Tom Scorcia and the Colombos first.
This is not limited to bookies/loansharks/card games. Any illegal racket that the Mafia discovers, they will try and muscle-in on if they can bully and intimidate the other party.
There is less of a culture around taxing drug dealers as far as the Mafia goes in NY, partly because drug-dealing is still frowned upon and there are other criminal organizations that are more invested than the Mafia in the drug supply.
Another example of a "street tax" like you're referring to, Furio, is what Greg Scarpa Jr.'s crew had going on the late 1980s in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, and surrounding neighborhoods as far as Staten Island. Larry Mazza's book details how the crew enforced a street tax on any dealers they discovered.