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[The Greek]

As luck would have it, The Greek is from my neck of the woods.
I've enjoyed his family's' restaurant and he was actually a customer of mine. One of the good guys.

Thanks FOH! Good times!

Nothing says New York like a Solo cup of coffee.
Greek are you from N.Y. as well as Pitts?

From the Pittsburgh area. Lived in Brooklyn for 8yrs then headed west. My avatar is a nod to all the Greek diners in NYC that I miss horribly!

[Chaps]

Welcome Rob! You're going to love it here!

[JeremyTheJew]

As luck would have it, The Greek is from my neck of the woods.
I've enjoyed his family's' restaurant and he was actually a customer of mine. One of the good guys.

Thanks FOH! Good times!

Nothing says New York like a Solo cup of coffee.
Greek are you from N.Y. as well as Pitts?

From the Pittsburgh area. Lived in Brooklyn for 8yrs then headed west. My avatar is a nod to all the Greek diners in NYC that I miss horribly!

I lived in Brooklyn for 7 years and little bit queens and Bronx. But born in Detroit and in metro Detroit now. Yeah a lot has changed tho just from the times I lived there. And I'm 30. I'm sure it's much different then u remmember too the whole place is unbelievable how it changed.

[JeremyTheJew]

I forgot the new guys name but I'm trying to get your attention to read this week's gangland second page.

Poster named JIGGS is from exact same blocks you mentions.

Sooo, last discussions we had was there was no purple gAng. Any thoughts on that?

Also that fat Tony really wasn't a 116th guy. Any opinions?

[Jasonjerseycity]

Hello all!

Just wanted to introduce myself as a brand new member.

A bit of background on me: I was born and raised in East Harlem. And though no one in my immediate family was formally in the life, we of course knew people and had relatives and friends who were connected.

My father was that rare creature who could walk between two worlds; loved and respected by all the wiseguys in the neighborhood but who always remained legit (sometimes to my mother's chagrin when she thought of how much more money we could have had..). He counted guys like Fat Tony, Buckalo, Joe Rao, Benny Squint, Joe Stretch and many others as his friends. That was my dad's crew, and he practically lived on the corner of 116th and 1st.

I grew up a block away from Pleasant Avenue and as a kid and my older brother and cousin hung out with guys from The Purples, like Ernie Boy and Johnny Echoes. In fact, Echoes had a house in Long Beach L.I., just around the corner from where my family had their bungalow and I'd go over there for barbecues. I was only about ten, so of course, had no clue how notorious those guys actually were, but my entire early life was filled with those kinds of people...and that's what led me here.

I'm hoping to learn, share and maybe even fill in some blanks about the old neighborhood and its cast of characters if I can. I love all aspects of LCN, but obviously, Harlem is nearest and dearest to me.

Hope to be chatting with some of you soon!

Broccoli Rob

Greatest crew ever put together


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[Broccoli Rob]

Sorry I'm just seeing this now. They were a formidable crew for sure! Sort of an Italian East Harlem version of Brokaw's "Greatest Generation!"

[Broccoli Rob]

As luck would have it, The Greek is from my neck of the woods.
I've enjoyed his family's' restaurant and he was actually a customer of mine. One of the good guys.

He's the greatest! He's like an encyclopedia; he knows MUCH more about my old neighborhood and its wise guys than people who grew up there!!!

[Broccoli Rob]

I forgot the new guys name but I'm trying to get your attention to read this week's gangland second page.

Poster named JIGGS is from exact same blocks you mentions.

Sooo, last discussions we had was there was no purple gAng. Any thoughts on that?

Also that fat Tony really wasn't a 116th guy. Any opinions?

Greek has told me the same thing about Jiggs, so I'd love to find out where in East Harlem he's from. Sounds like we were in pretty close proximity!

I never knew the Purple Gang by that collective name when I was growing up. I just knew the names of individual guys I was introduced to by my brother, etc., primarily Moe, Ernie Boy and Johnny Echoes. It wasn't until some years later I came to know of them by that name.

As far as I can recall, Fat Tony was based out of the club and bar on 116th and 1st until the Palma Boys club opened on 115th. Maybe somebody like Jiggs can chime in?

[phatmatress777]

As luck would have it, The Greek is from my neck of the woods.
I've enjoyed his family's' restaurant and he was actually a customer of mine. One of the good guys.

Thanks FOH! Good times!

Nothing says New York like a Solo cup of coffee.
Greek are you from N.Y. as well as Pitts?

From the Pittsburgh area. Lived in Brooklyn for 8yrs then headed west. My avatar is a nod to all the Greek diners in NYC that I miss horribly!

What area of pgh ?

Sent from my LGL158VL using Tapatalk

[The Greek]

As luck would have it, The Greek is from my neck of the woods.
I've enjoyed his family's' restaurant and he was actually a customer of mine. One of the good guys.

Thanks FOH! Good times!

Nothing says New York like a Solo cup of coffee.
Greek are you from N.Y. as well as Pitts?

From the Pittsburgh area. Lived in Brooklyn for 8yrs then headed west. My avatar is a nod to all the Greek diners in NYC that I miss horribly!

What area of pgh ?

Sent from my LGL158VL using Tapatalk

New Castle

[JIGGS]

Sooo, last discussions we had was there was no purple gAng. Any thoughts on that?

Nope. No Purple Gang. The DEA was running a fugazy when they issued their report in '76 about a dreaded Purple Gang of 127 members. If they figured out that many then they had to ID each one. Where are the names? And if they was strictly going by the grapevine then DEA was about as phony as the DNC...

Also that fat Tony really wasn't a 116th guy.

Nope. Not in the 1950s. Bottom dollar wise he probably spent more time at the Rhinebeck home and making his way to florida than situated anywhere regularly in Harlem. Later on the equation to Harlem started.

As far as I can recall, Fat Tony was based out of the club and bar on 116th and 1st until the Palma Boys club opened on 115th. Maybe somebody like Jiggs can chime in?

When was this? depalma boys club was open when Tommy Gagliano was the Boss. Ruggiero Sr. ran it.

JIGGS