“Crime in early-20th-century New York was run by old-time Sicilians called ‘Moustache Petes,’ ” writes the author, Larry E. Sullivan, associate dean and chief librarian at John Jay College. But newcomers in the tenement underworld made for friction, and in 1931, five Jewish gangsters, including Samuel (Red) Levine (“who, if possible, never killed on the Sabbath”), rubbed out the second of two fearsome Sicilian Mafia bosses, opening the way for Jews, Italians and Irish to carve up the rackets."
“Crime became diverse,” Mr. Sullivan writes.
"Public Enemy No. 1, the book says, was Lepke — devoted to his mother, wife and son — who with Albert (the Mad Hatter) Anastasia controlled the contract execution squad called Murder Inc., responsible for about 1,000 hits." READ MORE
As many of you who frequent here and elsewhere know, Trooper is quite the mob raconteur. By the looks of this NYT story, that racquet can really turn in a pretty penny some day, 'if Trooper plays his cards right.'
10 comments:
So let me get this straight, a Hebe killed a Sicilian, making crime safe for a Neapolitan? a Calabrese? and this is an improvement?! How?
I got a coupla Sicilians in the band.
One of them is even in collections!
Diversity, baby!
The Mafia has existed in Italy for centuries. In America, they only lasted about three or four generations. It's not that Americans are so honest. Just the reverse. America corrupted the Mafia. The FBI was far more successful in bribing the Mafia than the Mafia was in turning law enforcement.
Thanks for the plug Lem but the link goes to a Doc Holliday Story and not to a Joey Gallo one.
I don't know if someone who is not a member can read it either.
There was a cross-pollination of Jewish and Italian gangsters during the days of Prohibition.
The Murder Inc. story is well know to most fans of mob life.
I grew up in South Brooklyn where some of these guys were still around.
Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio was Albert Anastasia's brother who changed the spelling of his name. He was still around when I was a kid. I think he died in the early sixties but I met him several times down at the hiring hall and at the ILA medical center. His son-in-law Tony Scotto took over the ILA after he died and was a big political deal back in the day. He was a big supporter of Jimmy Carter if you can feature that. Tony Scotto is the father of Roseanna Scotto who is a news anchor in NYC these days.
The Mafia roots are close to the surface in the city.
Just ask Andy Cuomo.
Tough Tony knew my uncles who worked on the docks well and often held Court out on Court Street as it were.
Now the ILA medical center was sold off for luxury condos. He must be rolling around in his grave. He was a mobster but he fought for a medical center for longshoreman and their families to get treated like human beings by competent doctors. I took my grandma to the ILA medical center many times. Tough Tony was proud of it and always made sure his people could get medical and dental help.
The Mafia did a of fucked up things but you know what?
In the life of New York it was a net plus.
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