For years Bay Ridge was the safest neighborhood in Brooklyn outside of Boro Park. I once actually saw a mugging interrupted by a couple of older Italian "shop owners" with guns. They actually said: Eh! You want to mug him do it someplace else, not in this neighborhood. Their attitude was, this place is ours and we want our daughters safe. Guliani broke the Italian mafia and their power with the pizza connection case. Their presence is not as strong as it was in NY when I was growing up, just small enclaves here or there. It left a vacuum for a while and we had the Jamaican and Russian mobs competing for control - it was a very violent time, though nothing compared to Chicago in the 20's. And neither of these organizations had any compunction about killing "citizens". The Russians pretty much won - especially in Brooklyn. There is one corner of Coney Island still controlled by the Italians, mostly out of respect (And a sufficient show of force), but the rest belongs to the russians. Even the beach club in Sheepshead bay that I spent my summers in, which was a "Family" business is owned by them now. I remember being a gofer for the men who played poker, they used to tip me $20 for getting them drinks and sandwiches (And twenty bucks back then was enough to take a date to a ball game or dinner and a movie). Taught me a lot about poker too, which I use to this day.
As you point out in the books, when organized crime reaches a certain level of organization and stability it provides an important service and release valve. But when they overstep Government has to eventually crack down or risk losing control entirely. On Sun, May 26, 2013 at 1:36 PM, Raymond Feist/New ATT < [email protected]> wrote: > > On May 26, 2013, at 10:05 AM, LAR <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Let's not forget forget Donny Brasco - I grew up around mafia families > in NY (Both childhood friends of mine, and some Capos were childhood > friends of my father. My Uncle is the only man I know who got a business > loan from connections and did not have to lose half his business or pay too > huge a vig. And of course, I remember more than a few times my favorite > pizzeria or restaurant closing at 3 in the afternoon <G>. > > > > I dated a Sicilian American girl from Long Island for a while. She put it > this way: No one in my family is a made guy, but made guys had dinner at > our table on many occasions. > > Best, R.E.F. > > > > -- If you want to take the island, then burn your boats. With absolute commitment come the insights that create real victory. -Tony Robbins
