MetaFilter posts tagged with mob

Flash mob in aisle 3!

markkraft — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:00:25 -0800

Brassed off?! (YouTube, 5 min.) Like the health care debate itself, the boycott / buycott confrontation regarding the recent article by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey may be heating up. Mackey, who was previously investigated by the SEC for making anonymous internet posts talking up his stock while trashing the valuation of an acquisition target, now faces opposition from suppliers and labor groups, a decrease in brand perception, investor calls to step down... and pesky oom-pah bands.

It doesn't matter who's wrong or right. Just beat it.

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:23:44 -0800

Beatin' it in Seattle

Internet Lynch Mob

mippy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:33:15 -0800

The 8 Most Awesome Examples of Internet Vigilantism. Contains a heady mix of justice and harrassment.

Our Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:51:44 -0800

The Five Families were established by Charlie "Lucky" Luciano in the wake of the Castellammarese War (1929 - September 10, 1931), a gang war in New York between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. The arrangement, under the administration of The Commission, was created to divide the city among the gangs with mutual interests, and prevent the continuous grab for more territory. Of course, the arrangement has been anything but peaceful, and the Five Families have all gone through periods of prosperity and decline. So who are they, and how are they doing now? Genovese - Known as the "Ivy League" of the Five Families, the Genovese crime family can trace its origins back to Sicilian-American street gangs of the early 1900s, but gained establishment under Lucky Luciano. After being sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison in 1935 (he would be deported in 1946), the family fell under the control of Frank Costello, where it grew in strength through bookmaking, loansharking, illegal gambling and labor racketeering, and also had a prominent role in the development of the Las Vegas casinos, via Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Costello suffered from depression and panic attacks, helping to pave the way for his underboss, Vito Genovese to take over. The beginning of the end started when Genovese family soldier Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi, at the time in prison and facing the death penalty, testified publicly in 1963 about the existence of the Mafia and its inner workings. His testimony helped the FBI close in, and their efforts were eased by family infighting. Today, the family is run by acting boss Daniel Leo and claims 270 made members, with extensive control over New York, New Jersey, Atlantic City and Florida. It remains the most powerful crime family in America. Gambino - The roots of the Gambino crime family can be traced back to Pellegrino "Don Grino" Morano and Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila, who took over following the jailing of Morano in 1916, but the Gambino crime family was formally founded by Vincenzo "Vincent" Mangano in the wake of the Castellammarese War. Mangano helped build the family through extortion, union racketeering, and illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries, and also created the City Democratic Club, a front for a group of mostly Jewish hitmen for hire known as Murder, Inc. The family reached its peak in the 1970s, becoming the strongest of the Five Familes at the time, having possibly organized the shooting of Joseph Colombo, head of the Colombo crime family, in 1971, as well as control over the Lucchese family and may have influenced the selection of Frank "Funzi" Tieri as boss of the Genovese crime family. Unfortunately for the Gambinos, the FBI considered them the easiest family to infiltrate - putting a listening device in a lamp on then-boss Paul Castellano's kitchen table enabled the feds to amass hours of recordings of Castellano discussing and organizing illegal activities, and the FBI had also tapped numerous phones. This resulted in 13 indictments of drug trafficking in 1983. Shortly thereafter, the media-friendly John Gotti rose to power, but his colorful reign would last barely seven years, as he and current Consigliere Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio were convicted and received a sentence of life without parole on April 2, 1992. Today, the family is run by a three-man panel of street bosses consisting of Daniel "Danny" Marino, Giovanni "Johnny" Gambino, and Robert "Bobby" Vernace while top leadership remains in prison. The Gambino crime family now claims 260 made members. Bonanno - Created by Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, orginally part of the Maranzano family, the Bonanno built itself up on gambling, loan-sharking, and racketeering. While Bonanno himself believed in solidarity and blood alliances, picking most of his crew from the same town of Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily, the family has been embroiled in infighting in the 1950s and 60s between supporters of Gaspar DiGregorio and those loyal to Bonanno. The war - also called The Banana Split - so disgusted The Commission that the family was stripped of its seat and Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli took over in 1973. Three renegade capos - Phillip Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera - plotted to overthrow Rastelli, but were murdered by Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Sonny Black had become friendly with new-comer Donnie Brasco, who was actually FBI agent Joe Pistone. Pistone's story was dramatized in the movie Donnie Brasco. Although times looked bleak for the family, Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, who became boss in 1991, tried to reverse their fortunes by turning their revenue generation towards drug trafficking. It had the opposite effect, in that it brought in the attention of drug task forces on all mob families. Massino would become a police informant, helping along numerous convictions against many if not most made members of the family. Today, Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna is acting boss, taking orders from higher-ups in prison, but now faces deportation. The family claims 150 made members. Colombo - Formerly known as the Profaci family, it was founded by Joe Profaci. The family involved itself in labor rackets, extortion, gambling, hijacking and loan sharking. Profaci faced no serious challenges to his leadership (thanks in part to his close ties to the Bonanno family) until Larry Gallo, Joey Gallo and Albert Gallo, instigated by the Gambino family, kidnapped prominent members of the family including underboss Joseph Magliocco and capo Joe Colombo, demanding changes in profit sharing in return for their release. The Gallo gang would be chipped away by murders and arrests over time. Profaci died of cancer in 1962 and Magliocco rose to power. When Joe Bonanno plotted to murder the heads of the Genovese, Gambino and Lucchese families, Joe Colombo though it was a bad idea, and warned Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese of the plans. In exchange for his loyalty, the Commission named Joe Colombo the new boss of the family. Ironically, Colombo would found the Italian-American Civil Rights League in the early 1970s to defend Italian Americans from what he saw as prejudice at the hands of the law enforcement authorities. Colombo would be gunned down in 1971, and left in a vegetative state. A power struggle ensued, and the family's ill fortunes were exacerbated by the Mafia Commission trial of the mid-1980s. Today, Carmine "Junior" Persico, 76, runs the family from federal prison in North Carolina. The family has been greatly weakened and 91 year-old family Underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, released from prison late last year, along with acting boss Thomas Gioeli and captain Dino Calabro all face trials this year, and could be looking at life imprisonment if convicted. Lucchese - The Lucchese crime family started during the First World War under Gaetano "Tom" Reina, who controlled ice distribution in New York. In the 1920s, Reina became an ally of Joseph Masseria. Reina considered switching over to Maranzano, and when news of his planned betrayal reached Masseria, he had Reina killed. This enraged Reina lieutenant Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano and Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese, who defected to Maranzano. Lucchese would become head of the Reina crime family after the Castellammarese War. From there, the family built themselves on labor and construction racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, hijacking, fraud, fencing and murder for hire. Lucchese himself became involved with the Teamster's Union as well as racketeering around New York's Idlewild Airport (known today as JFK Airport). Amazingly, Lucchese spent 44 years in organized crime without a single conviction, dying of heart failure in 1967. The family was then taken over by Carmine "Gribbs" Tramunti, who spearheaded a massive East Coast heroin distribution network known as the French Connection. When Tramunti was convicted in 1974, Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo - a close associate of Jimmy Hoffa - took over and involved himself further in union activities. The 1980s were a tumultuous period for the family. In 1986, Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, seized control of the Lucchese family. When the two demanded their New Jersey faction pay 50% tribute, the faction refused, prompting the bosses to order their New York crew to "whack Jersey". This resulted in an internal war that claimed many lives, but also a number of botched hits, with many turning informant to protect their own lives. In April 2006, it was revealed that two respected New York City police detectives were also working as hired hitmen and informants for Anthony Casso during the 1980s and early 1990s before they both retired from local law enforcement. Vittorio "Vic" Amuso, 73, remains the official Boss of the Lucchese crime family despite serving a life sentence. A three man ruling panel, Joseph "Joey Dee" DiNapoli, 71, Aniello "Neil" Migliore, 73, and Matthew Madonna, 72, has been running the family for the past few years. They currently have 100 made members.

James Ellroy's Crib Sheet

Bookhouse — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:42:35 -0800

Real L.A. Noir. (Video/audio auto-plays). Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Lieberman has been chronicling the era of the LAPD Gangster Squad, a secret division of the department that tried to combat the mobs of Jack Dragna and Mickey Cohen in the 1940s and '50s. (Keep the cast of characters straight with this handy chart.)

Hatecrimes

punkbitch — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:03:54 -0800

In Utah, mob mentality rules. A gay man either kidnapped his next-door-neighbors' two children, or he took them in because they couldn't sleep during an all night party at their own house -- depending upon who you ask. The children were gone from their own home for only ten minutes. What is certain is that a retaliatory mob broke into drag queen David Bell's house and brutally attacked him and his lover. But no charges will be filed against the mob. A little-reported fact was that a nephew of the family witnessed the crying children knock on Bell's door in apparent search for their parents.

Feudal Crime Lords of Japan

absalom — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:45:08 -0800

Among industrialized nations, Japan has a pretty low rate of violent crime, a relatively high number of police, and a virtually non-existent acquittal rate. Yet, somehow the Yakuza persists.

Sauvé du lychage

klangklangston — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:11:00 -0800

Saved from a lynching: Enrico Dangino, friend of Vigilante Journalist photographs a man seized by a mob and about to be set ablaze, then, with the help of his compatriot, frees him. More photographs and blogging from the ground in Kenya's current political crisis from Vigilante Journalist. via.

Howling Mob Society

damnthesehumanhands — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:41:56 -0800

The Howling Mob Society. Looking out over the burning Strip District from the safety of his office in Pittsburgh's Union Station, Thomas Alexander Scott must have been humbled. Only days before, as president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Scott famously suggested that impoverished and striking railroad workers be given “a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread.” Now, with the local Pittsburgh militia all but mutinied and the State Militia rapidly retreating, he must have wondered if his hard-line stance had backfired… "The Howling Mob Society (HMS) is a collaboration of artists, activists and historians committed to unearthing stories neglected by mainstream history. HMS brings increased visibility to the radical history of Pittsburgh, PA through grassroots artistic practice. Our current focus is The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, a national uprising that saw some of its most dramatic moments in Pittsburgh." Be sure to check out their signs.

Pronounced en-drang-ay-ta

Bookhouse — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 12:40:11 -0800

"The ‘Ndrangheta cannot be beheaded.” Organized crime is Italy's biggest industry. Most people are more familiar with the Sicilian Mafia or maybe even the Neopolitan Camorra, but it's the Calabrian 'Ndranghta (very in-depth article) that has police around the world worried now, especially after they were blamed for a six-person murder in Germany this summer. More: The FBI's page on Italian organized crime A short piece on the 'Ndrangheta with some interesting links to chase A current news story about 'Nrdrangheta arrests netting a town's mayor.

From Star to Dust.

toxic — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:43:51 -0800

2 July, 1958 - 13 March 2007. The Stardust Hotel/Casino was reduced to dust (youtube) at 2:30 am this morning. Initially opened in 1958 as the first low-budget property on the strip (rooms cost $6 a night), it (and the Westward Ho nearby) has been demolished to make room for a 5,300 room $4B ultra-luxury resort named Echelon, currently the second most expensive property development in Nevada (behind Project City Center down the road). One of the few remaining remnants of old Vegas, it was mob-owned/operated until at least 1984 (when the gaming commission levied a $3M fine for skimming), and is probably best known as the setting for the mostly nonfiction book/movie Casino. Over the years, it could lay claim to having the largest casino, the longest pool, the most rooms (twice), the largest neon sign, the only drive-in theater, the largest fine ever levied by the gaming commission, and the most consecutive live performances by Wayne Newton. It was also one of the last properties on the strip to use the more expensive metal-centered gaming chips. Arrivederci.

Forty-Two years ago today.

flatlander — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:06:41 -0800

On June 21st, 1964 civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner disappeared in Mississippi. Here is a strange story about how their bodies were found.

Grandpa Gotti Gets Grouchy

adrober — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 15:34:45 -0800

Blowing Up Gotti. A weekly series from The Smoking Gun featuring prison videotapes of John Gotti behind plexiglass talking to his kids and grandkids. Check out Episode One: Grandpa Blows a Gasket (Quicktime required). Makes you think twice about your baseball career. (Via Gawker).

Sims Online Mob Justice

eclectica — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 22:05:51 -0800

Mobs move into 'Sims Online' power vacuum: "An underground group known as the Sims Shadow Government has taken over the fantasy world that is 'The Sims Online,' meting out mob justice." I don't play the Sims Online, but I'm curious: Has anyone on Mefi run into this phenomenon while playing the game?

the frank & fritzy show

n o i s e s — Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:30:16 -0800

is the frank & fritzy show a fabulous work of fiction, or are these guys for real? a link to these apparent real life sopranos was posted way back in june 2001 but elicited just one comment & besides the number of episodes has since blooooomed. (requires real player or windows media player to listen in; or u can read the transcripts) ...so what do you make of these guys?

BarneyFifesBullet — Mon, 30 Sep 2002 22:33:28 -0800

"nearly 20" kids beat man to brain death with bats, shovels and boards Brutal stuff. One of the kids in custody is only 10 years old. The victim had "confronted them for throwing an egg at him and punched one teen in the mouth". They went and organized a mob, and returned, according to the Milwaukee Police. What do you do with a 10 year old murderer, anyway?

ParisParamus — Fri, 02 Aug 2002 14:28:41 -0800

Finally, a Reason to Watch Court TV? An Olympics skating vote rigging Russian mafia fraud trial--what fun! Hope this happens, and I hope in happens in New York's Federal Southern District, because, well, what fun to bring down a stupid sport (And remove it from television); discredit the French, Russians... I want seats to this one! Or Perhaps E! will provide the coverage?

dhartung — Thu, 01 Aug 2002 13:21:26 -0800

Mob kills men after traffic accident . This story is a little disturbing; it's been on CNN etc., but here in Chicago it's the hourly top story. A van driven by two middle-aged men moving furniture jumped a curb and pinned three girls against a step. In retaliation, a crowd of a dozen or more yanked the men from their van and beat them with fists and even bricks. Both died. The police have fanned out looking for witnesses and evidence, with a few arrests, but no charges as of yet. [more inside]

Postroad — Tue, 14 May 2002 11:46:50 -0800

UnificationChurch Under Siege in Brazil Rev. Moon's massive land purchases lead to major search-and-seizure operation. Money laundering and other no-no activities. This cult, the Avis to Scientology's Hertz, has paid President Bush I handsome money to speak in their behalf when they began operations in Brazil. They also own the Washington Times, Insight Magazine and many many other businesses, including a university, jewelry stores nationwide, and a ballet company. Their found, Rev. Moon, a convicted felon (taxes). Rumored to get money from Japanese mob to do their conservative activities, and now want to open car plant in China. Gone the days of merely selling roses.

rev- — Fri, 07 Sep 2001 09:11:02 -0800

Hoffa Hair Found In Car, Body Still Presumably In Giants Stadium So, the cops found a hair in a car they thought he was in before. Now, with DNA testing, they can prove Hoffa was "taking a ride" with Charles (Chuckie) O'Brien the last day he was alive. Film at 11.

john — Sat, 30 Jun 2001 12:54:04 -0800

The Frank & Fritzy show The latest episode of FBI tapes is on diet:

FRITZY: Nothin'. Nothin'. Once I come out there's nothing you could, I could buy out there other than fruit, an apple or something like that, that I'll have out there.

FRANK: Fruit?

FRITZY: That's all.

FRANK: Yeah.

FRITZY: That's all I'll have.

FRANK: The restaurants kill ya.

Bixby23 — Mon, 25 Jun 2001 20:51:43 -0800

Cool little site about the real doings of the mob in America today. I love the affected-but-oh-so-hard-boiled writing style. Updated weekly. My only gripe, a very tiny one, is that there's not enough dope on Asian mobsters. Otherwise, pretty neato.

dhartung — Sat, 16 Jun 2001 09:10:44 -0800

The Maltesos. Well, there's no Webistics, and Big Pussy hasn't turned up floating down the Fox River, but here's your modern American mob family, suburban style. Betty Loren-Maltese, longtime mayor of the Town of Cicero, which abuts Chicago's West Side, has been indicted for looting the town's health insurance system to the tune of at least $10 million. The US Attorney says it is the largest dollar amount in any single organized crime investigation. [more inside]

darukaru — Tue, 15 May 2001 08:02:05 -0800

Don't make phone calls in Vegas. The Mob is listening. Whores! Wiretapping! Kevin Mitnick! Men nicknamed 'Aspirins' with electric drills! And more, courtesy of The Register. How widespread is this kind of telco infiltration? Should we trust any phone calls, anywhere?

tomplus2 — Thu, 03 May 2001 07:36:09 -0800

John Salvati: not funny. Man imprissoned for 30 YEARS, known to be innocent by FBI, FBI kept him there b/c if the real perp was caught, dozens of informants would have been revealed. 30 years, gone, makes me sick feeling. There will be more news on this soon, I hope.