A common defense of the Italian-American LCN is that they protect the community. The idea is that if the Mafia governs a neighborhood, petty street crime is curbed because the Mafia bosses protect their own. Here is one quote from a Bensonhurst resident in November 1992, published in the Charlotte Observer.
"We don't like dead bodies with holes in their heads turning up in front of our homes. But in a way the Mafia keeps the neighborhood safe. There aren't half as many burglaries here as in other places. So their presence is kind of good because they give a kind of fear to people."
What are some examples of this? I imagine the Mafia's role as "community leaders," however exaggerated that may have been, probably waned later into the 20th Century, as demographics changed and the Mafia no longer had the connections in place to "police" things.
The most notable example that comes to mind is Joe Profaci, when he secured the return of shrine jewels stolen from St. Rosalia's Church in Brooklyn. Apparently, on the orders of Profaci (a benefactor of the church), the thieves returned the crowns by mail eight days after the theft. A similar instance occurred in 1973. The jewels were stolen again, but a tip to the FBI from a "gruff-speaking" man tipped off the jewels' location in a coin locker at the East Side Airlines terminal, in Midtown, Manhattan. Police also believed organized crime to be involved in that case.
Wasn't a (Bonanno?) mobster arrested a few years ago for trying to obtain a loansharking debt on behalf of a widow? (Maybe I'm remembering that wrong). I remember reading about it in Gang Land.
"Mafia Justice"
Moderator: Capos
Re: "Mafia Justice"
Elmwood Park was relatively crime-free because of Jack Cerone and other Outfit guys that lived there. The "don't eat where you shit" principle.
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johnny_scootch
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Re: "Mafia Justice"
It’s ‘don’t shit where you eat’….and you especially don’t shit where I eat.
Mob guys definitely protected their neighborhoods in certain ways. They made sure they were the only ones who robbed and pillaged, everyone else be wary.
Mob guys definitely protected their neighborhoods in certain ways. They made sure they were the only ones who robbed and pillaged, everyone else be wary.
Re: "Mafia Justice"
And your parent’s anniversary party, it’s going to be at Vesuvio.johnny_scootch wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2024 6:20 pm It’s ‘don’t shit where you eat’….and you especially don’t shit where I eat.
Mob guys definitely protected their neighborhoods in certain ways. They made sure they were the only ones who robbed and pillaged, everyone else be wary.