toto wrote:These guys want to uphold the name of the fathers or maybe take a revenge on their enemies or similar. They might say they want to get out of Cosa Nostra but this is what they enjoy because the "taste" of life has been ruined for them from a young age and the mothers are to blame as much as the fathers. They value being in charge of being a made guy and all the trappings they get from that. They might like other things in life but the mafia is the thing which is the one that dictates their tastes. Scarfo is no exception. He might talk of moving away but he couldn't because he enjoyed being a gangster too much. Nothing more than this is why these guys carry on like this.
There are many more examples who could have left jail and done something else and the most prominent one is Alphonse Persico son of Carmine Persico. John Gotti Jr. gets a second chance and will walk away only because Cosa Nostra wants nothing to do with him. It could be worse for Scarfo father and son. There are worse things than dying of old age in jail.
All due respect, Toto. Because you're obviously a very bright young guy. But you give American wiseguys WAAAAAAY too much credit for being like their Sicilian and Italian brethren. Because for every day that CN lasts in America, it becomes another day removed from what goes on in Italy. We're talking about a bunch of fourth-generation Italian Americans who grew up in the suburbs and don't have the slightest clue about the history and tradition of Sicily or Cosa Nostra (nor do they care, for that matter).
The best and brightest in the Italian-American community are becoming professionals. Doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc. I don't know Philly, nor do I know Scarfo Junior. But I knew a lot of kids like him, and some of them did, indeed, get pushed into the life. I used Craig DePalma as the example because he was a nice kid and very friendly with my younger brother years ago. His father (Greg) gave him NO CHOICE whatsoever about his future. The older brother, Michael, is also a bit younger than I am, but I remember him very well. When he made it clear to his father that he wanted nothing to do with the life, his old man cut him off completely. Is that right? Craig saw this and didn't want to repeat the cycle, so he gave in. And the kid ended up hanging himself in prison and laying in a coma for close to ten years before God mercifully took him.
My only point is this: If you're gonna be a crook, then go ahead. Do it, play by the rules, and don't rat anyone out. If your kids want in and you have no choice but to put them on record with yourself rather than a stranger, that's one thing. But the guys who force the life upon their sons are scum (and for the record, I agree with you that sometimes the mothers are just as much to blame).
And just to reiterate, I'm talking about the mob in America, where it's not nearly as ingrained into the cultural fabric as it is in Italy. And it never will be.
"Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker." ---- Rounders.
