Dispelled preconceived notions on the Mafia.

[johnny_scootch]

this is even strange because several documentaries he even quoted the book of the ultimatum testamente, and even the writer is there to speak ...

Sometimes lies get repeated so often they are eventually accepted as the truth.

[B.]

In the late 90s I was visiting a family friend on the east coast who handled programming for a national television network and he wanted my opinion on some documentaries he was trying to decide on. One of them was about Amuso/Casso, probably one of the first to cover it and not sure it ever aired, but I only remember it because it covered the attempted hit on Fat Pete Chiodo and showed photos of him. It stood out to me because they described him as a "hitman", yet he was this f'n mammoth in nerd glasses. My thought was something like, "Huh, the mob is f'n weird, I should check it out."

When I got back home I hopped online and decided to finally dig into "the mafia", probably did a Yahoo search (keep in mind this is ~1999) and clicked on the first link. I went to a site that gave some basic descriptions of the families and when I read how "few" members each family had, I lost interest, not understanding the distinction between members/associates. I saw something like "the Gambino family has 250 members" and to me that meant this supposedly all-powerful organization only had 250 people doing their bidding and figured, "Ah it's all hype."

Some years later I started to piece things together, how the basic families were set up, how membership was handled, etc. and got more interested.

1) I remember posting on either AM or the RD early on about how Stefano Magaddino started the Buffalo family when he moved from NYC to NF, and I believe Rick corrected me. My idea of many of the families at the time was that the first "well-known" boss of each family more or less moved to a city and planted his flag and that was it: "I'm taking over." No concept of the politics, relationships, existing organizations/groups in different cities, or any of that. That small correction made me re-think the way I thought about the formations/histories of families, including NYC.

2) When Five Families by Raab came out, I bought it and thought, "This has all of the info on the NYC families I'll ever need. Cool." Yeah, 12+ years and thousands of hours later...

3) Philly was the first family I read about with a complete clean slate, I basically knew about the Bruno hit and Scarfo's "bloodbath" and that was it. I read Blood Oath before Blood and Honor and to this day that's one of the best books for understanding the bizarre politics between families and how a crew can operate in a different area from their family's HQ city. Blood and Honor on the other hand is one of the best books for understanding the bizarre politics inside of a family. I don't know that these dispelled anything but it changed my notions for sure.

4) Too much to add, really. This subject has led to so many dispelled notions that almost everything can be revisited when new info comes out. That's what keeps me coming back.

[Ivan]

they described him as a "hitman", yet he was this f'n mammoth in nerd glasses

That actually fits the description of, like, 1 in 4 or so mob killers, now that I think about it. Overweight dudes with weird glasses.

[MichaelGiovanni]

Great Article!!, and for me this is new, there is no "golden age," but it makes sense, since every decade has its own individuality and LCN took advantage of it, one question, why Lucky Luciano's Last Testament is a fraud? This is the second time I read this in the forum and I would like to know, I bought the book, but I have not read it yet and with the staff speaking it is fraud I'm afraid to read.

The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano is how Lucky wanted things to be viewed not necessarily the way things actually happened. It is widely considered self serving and not factual. However, with that being said, It was the first mob book I ever read and I enjoyed it then and I still enjoy reading it on occasion. I don't think it is as bad as all the"historians" make it to be, and I don't think it is more or less factual than most other mobster biographies.

You must be a fan of the 90's Film Mobsters like Pogo and myself. I'm pretty sure he and I could quote that movie back and forth line for line. It was all but lifted from Last Testament.

I try and be careful what I say about Luciano, there's a middle line that needs to be towed because for me to just blurt out that his whole story is bullshit would turnoff other participants and make me look more ignorant than I already am. I think it would be wise to separate Luciano the Man and Luciano the Legend. Because despite history's default into fable around such things as the Sicilian Vespers, formation of Cosa Nostra, the so-called Americanization of the Mob, many people still believe these things and take that away can be a letdown for people. Back in the early 2000's before everyone want to Staten Island there were alot of Italian clubs and whatnot in Brooklyn, not mobbed up but you talk to some of these senior citizens, they'll tell you about Lucky Luciano and the 120 murders he ordered across New York, they talked about this stuff as factual history in a Robin Hood-esque fashion. And agree with it or not, that's a very important part of the story. I'm not out to rewrite history or be disparaging.

You're right I do like that movie and I've quoted that movie myself many times. Mostly "He's a fat, stupid fuck. Other than that I think he's swell." lol
I agree with your sentiments about Luciano. Have you read Tim Newark's book Boardwalk Gangster the real Lucky Luciano? It's been several years since i've read it but I recall it being a pretty decent read. It tries to give an honest look at Luciano at least from what I recall. I need to go back and read it again.

[Confederate]

2) Luciano didn't form anything, families, ceremonies, ranks, hierarchies, commissions all predate him by decades.

Salvatore "Little Caesar" Maranzano created the 5 families in emulation of his hero Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.


Pogo

Remember in Godfather II when Tom Hagen went to see Frankie Five Angels for the last time. He basically said the same thing that the Corleone Family was structured like the Roman Empire. Then Frankie said " Yeh Tom, we was like the Roman Empire, the Corleone Family ".

[UTC]

I see the term "Golden Age" as very real and very accurately depicting when the mob controlled entire industries, had major political (and therefore judicial) clout, were free of advanced governmental surveillance techniques, had no laws that stacked the deck, had intact urban ethnic neighborhoods and mentalities as a feeder source, enjoyed a vastly greater degree of unionization, instilled fear, and had many more members. Sure there were problems along the way, but the term really means NOT NOW.

[Villain]

I see the term "Golden Age" as very real and very accurately depicting when the mob controlled entire industries, had major political (and therefore judicial) clout, were free of advanced governmental surveillance techniques, had no laws that stacked the deck, had intact urban ethnic neighborhoods and mentalities as a feeder source, enjoyed a vastly greater degree of unionization, instilled fear, and had many more members. Sure there were problems along the way, but the term really means NOT NOW.

From Chicagos point of view i think i can also agree with this, meaning during the 20s and 30s the Outfit still wasnt completely established in its own city, not until the late 40s. So this means that we can probably pick one era which we can surely consider it as being "golden" for example the Chi crowd

[John W]

What would be the best unbiased books (just tells it like it was) to read about Luciano and Capone, do such books exist?

[Snakes]

"Capone" by Schoenberg is great. "Al Capone's Beer Wars" by John Binder is another.

[UTC]

West Side Jack! Great guy

[Ivan]

"Al Capone's Beer Wars" by John Binder is another.

I didn't know this one was out yet. You recommend it?

[Wiseguy]

I see the term "Golden Age" as very real and very accurately depicting when the mob controlled entire industries, had major political (and therefore judicial) clout, were free of advanced governmental surveillance techniques, had no laws that stacked the deck, had intact urban ethnic neighborhoods and mentalities as a feeder source, enjoyed a vastly greater degree of unionization, instilled fear, and had many more members. Sure there were problems along the way, but the term really means NOT NOW.

Obviously it would vary somewhat depending on the family but, taking the LCN as a whole across the nation, I think the "golden age" was a 50 year period from the 1930s through the 1970s with the peak in the 1950s. Before the 1930s the Italians were still establishing themselves and had more stiff competition from the Irish and Jewish mobs. By the 1980s attrition had set in, a serious, sustained effort from law enforcement against the LCN began, and there were many more other ethnic crime groups on the scene.

[UTC]

Agree

[Antiliar]

"Al Capone's Beer Wars" by John Binder is another.

I didn't know this one was out yet. You recommend it?

I recommend it and have a copy.

As for books on Lucky Luciano, I recommend Tim Newark's, Chris Cipollini, William Donati and Ellen Poulson. I'd also say that the articles Tom Hunt and myself wrote in Informer Journal are pretty decent: http://informer-journal.blogspot.com/20 ... ament.html

[jimmyb]

Few, if any, social scientists subscribe to the alien conspiracy theory of organized crime.

I'm consulting Gary Potter's "Criminal Organizations: Vice, Racketeering, and Politics in an American City." He argues FBI and the media greatly inflated Carmine Galante's status and just straight making up the narrative about Galante "making a move to take over the rackets in NYC" (pp. 28, 35).