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Show i a barber chair, Naw York, 1957 Claai Haase, New York, 1972 m U Alex (Sbaaderl Bins, Mom hi car, ClevaiaaJ, 1975 a Aagole Breoo, shotgooaod hi a parked car, Philadelphia, 1980 Paal CaotoRaao, abet outside a New York as soon as possible so his bride wouldn't think he was points out that the very first people they preyed upon were other Italian immigrants. His late father, who already starting to fool around. Another Mafia myth is that at least its most astute owned a Brooklyn restaurant featuring pizza, would have been proud and excited," he says, at what he members, having established themselves, would next is doing. move into the mainstream of legitimate business. But the only talent they really have is with the gun and the A fourth myth is that the sons of mafiosi, educated knife and the garrote. Just as it was in Valachis day, and more sophisticated than their fathers, will turn to Cosa Nostras revenues come from labor racketeering more productive careers and the organization will and industrial extortion, loansharking, gambling, wither away. But thats not always the case. The FBI hijacking, pornography and narcotics. says that Raymond Patriarca Jr. has succeeded his The only Mafia don I ever met capable of going father as the boss of the New England Cosa Nostra. Young Patriarca was something of a burden for his legitimate was the late Frank Costello, the Prime Minister of the Underworld. Costello had the father. Having done poorly on his college boards, he shrewdness after Prohibition to acquire the exclusive was unable to enter Dartmouth College and wound up U.S. distributorship of a popular brand of Scotch, the at the University of Rhode Island. There, he had trouble getting a particular course and, according to way a number of other now quite respectable American and Canadian fortunes, based on bootlegging, FBI tapes, the elder Patriarca tried to intercede on his were built. Costello, however, could never escape his behalf with Rhode Islands governor. Also recorded was a choice piece of advice Patriarca gave his son: past, and eventually an envious Cosa Nostra rival You only lie to cops and people you dont know. nearly succeeded in having him assassinated. There is also the myth, promoted by the Mafia A son of Joseph Bonnano Man of Honor and one of the few surviving dons from the itself, that to mention it or Cosa Nostra in print defames all Americans of Italian ancestry. This is original formation of Cosa Nostra has been in and out of jail for years. Two sons of Frank Balistrieri, the clearly absurd. There are about 5000 Mafia members and perhaps 20,000 associates out of an Milwaukee boss, went on to become lawyers. But both also received eight-yecommunity in the country that numbers prison sentences for close to 17 million industrious, creative, extortion. A fifth myth about the Mafia is that citizens, including captains of indusI one day it just might try like Lee Iaccoca of Chrysler and corrupt and make forward-lookin- g 1 off with the entire nation. The reality, political leaders such as New Yorks Gov. Mario Cuomo. however, is that the mafiosi aren't smart Nonetheless, when I had completed enough. They are, instead, bloodwriting The Valachi Papers, enough sucking parasites feasting on the counclout exerted on was the White political trys economic life, driving up costs to all of us through wholesale hijackings House, then occupied by Lyndon Johnat cargo centers like New Yorks Kenson, to have the Justice Department directed to prevent publication of the nedy Airport, extortion in the conbook on the grounds that it would be struction industry and their hammer-loc- k harmful to law enforcement, an efon many service industries , ranging 1 -from food distribution to garbage fort that finally failed after an Mario Breado hi Tkt GodftUter. collection. Meanwhile, they destroy court fight. Now all that has changed. Indeed, a Are Mafiosi mm of hoaor? untold human lives in drug trafficking. And, on occasion, they can reach key player in the current crusade against the Mafia is Rudolph Giuliani, the quite high up. When Roy L. Williams the former president of the powerful energetic U.S. Attorney for the SouthTeamsters Union, now in prison first ern District of New York, whose took office, he declared, Ill never grandparents emigrated from Italy. In an unprecedented action, Giuliani has forget where I came from, and Ill never forget the people who helped brought major cases against three of the five Cosa Nostra families that reign me get here. Well, it turned out that in New York cases embracing an among those Williams was so indebtinternational auto-the- ft ed to were shadowy Cosa Nostra figring, a huge heroin conspiracy, massive shakedowns ures in Kansas City, Chicago, Cleveland in the construction and restaurant inand New York who had banded togethdustries and, of course, more than two er to arrange his election. dozen affiliated murders. Last year, some of the same Mafia Giuliani doesnt hesitate to employ chieftains went on trial for skimming words like Mafia and Cosa Nostra in millions of dollars from two Las Vegas casinos after arranging a S62.5 describing the Italian component of the organized underworld. And he ed italian-Americ- ar law-abidi- District aad graadooo at ItaRaa hMwigraats, b oae of the aieat eaerfetk prosecators of orgaafaed erhao. organization is about to be crushed. Although this latter boast is no more real than the FBIs old theory, there is no doubt that external pressure, primarily applied by federal law enforcement, and internal stress within Cosa Nostra itself has put it in a state of disarray in cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and Kansas City not seen since its formation more than SO years ago. As transcripts are reviewed from bugs placed by the FBI and local agencies like the New York State Organized Crime Task Force, and as more and more informants have followed Valachi's lead, myths about the Mafia are increasingly being exploded. Among these myths is the notion, promulgated by movies like The Godfather, that somehow members of the Mafia are men of honor. as they love to characterize themselves, men worthy of respect. men forced by circumstances into lives of crime but otherwise pretty principled fellows. In reality, with few exceptions, they are animals. The difference between Mafia members and civilized citizens is that, without a second's thought, they can stick a gun in somebodys mouth and pull the trigger, all the while gazing into the hapless victim's eyes. Even the penitent Valachi, in telling of a mob execution he carried out shortly after he got married, recalled that his main concern that night was returning home PARADE MA6AZME I FEBRUARY 16, 1986 PAGE 7 steak hoase, 1985 That mafiosi are somehcr.v principled is one of the many myths exploded in recent years |
