IT MIGHT JUST BE TIME TO GO TO THE MATTRESSES

 For the mob, murder is always the true equalizer. It always has been.  The problem is, when cosa nostra drew a moratorium on murder, meaning nobody can whack anyone, things changed in New York City. Depending on who you ask it was former boss of the Bonanno crime family, Joey Massino, who inspired the change to organized crime. It truly depends on who you ask, but coming out of the wild wild west of the 1980's, it's probably not a bad thing.

The mob's way of handling business, the ultimate, is murder. Without it, you are relegated to beatings, and that just doesn't work on many levels with some people. The question becomes how feared can you be, if you know murder is off the table? Just going back to the 1980's, if an informant came back to the neighborhood he would have disappeared and quick.  These days? LOL. They move right back in, take to YouTube, and nobody does anything about it. They allow it.  

Albert Anastasia loathed informants. Ask the family of Arnold Schuster.  Schuster, was the civic minded snitch, who spotted infamous bank robbed Willie Sutton on a train. Schuster would follow Sutton off the train and immediately dimed him out to the cops, and Sutton got arrested.  Sutton, was beloved by mob guys, because in prison he took care of them.  He made sure they got clothes, shoes, and anything they needed.  When many mobsters needed work when they got out of prison to get off papers it was Sutton who connected them with employment. From their side of the street Sutton was a gem.  This is why when Anastasia is watching tv one night and he sees Schuster on television giving an interview bragging about ratting out Sutton, he picked up the phone and ordered his death immediately.

March 8, 1952, Schuster was leaving yet another television taping of his "acts," and as he left he would be shot twice in the crotch, and once in each eye.  It's long been known that hitman Freddie Tenuto pulled the trigger on Anastasia's orders.  Those were the good old days.  These days, forget it.  However, there is something brewing that could change all of that in a matter of time, depending, on many many variables. While I don't know what the rule is these days, I've always said history repeats itself, and it always has, and we might be seeing a shift back to the old days in New York and outside of New York.

Murder, for all that it is, is done for many different reasons.  Sometimes it's greed.  Sometimes it's over snitching, sometimes it's over insubordination, and sometimes it's because someone just doesn't like someone.  The infamous line from The Godfather, "it's not personal, it's business," rarely quantifies murder to be honest with you. For all the machinations of murder there is always the cause and effect of it all.  There is always some sort of fallout. 

Historically, the hit on Anastasia was epic. It was used in tandem with the attempted hit of Frank Costello. It was a plan devised by Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino. While many believe this move on Anastasia was for Carlo to ascend the throne, you'd be partially right.  In order for Vito Genovese to take over the reigns of the Luciano crime family, Costello had to go. The problem with murdering perhaps one of the most important men in the history of cosa nostra, because of his political and police ties, wasn't going to be taken lightly. Genovese feared and rightfully so, that Albert Anastasia would go absolutely bat shit crazy, and wouldn't stop until Genovese was dead, and then Anastasia would likely dig Genovese up again just to murder him all over again.  Genovese need a complicit partner and he found that in Carlo Gambino. For Gambino being relatively the same age as Anastasia, and had bumped heads against Anastasia repeatedly, knew this was likely his only path to the top. The worry for Gambino, was Neil Dellacroce, who was a staunch ally of Anastasia, and a brutal killer in his own right.

History tells how this all went down, and how both men got to their respective positions.  The reason why nobody looked twice at the hit on a sitting boss, was because Anastasia had truly become one of the most brutal and powerful dictator type of bosses in New York City.  Anastasia, tried to shake down Meyer Lansky, demanded a cut of his profits from the Caribbean.  When Lansky laughed him off, Anastasia flew down to the Caribbean and opened up shop to directly compete with Lansky,

 It was a move, that infuriated the top leaders of the mob.  It's been inaccurately repeated over the years that Anastasia was selling memberships to the mafia.  None of that is true, it was a lie devised by Genovese and Gambino to back up any accusations or backlash they might receive when the commission wanted answers. Anastasia was rubbing people the wrong way for a decade, but he was too sinister and dangerous to take on. This is why when he is killed in the Park Sheraton Barbershop, all you heard from the commission was a whimper.  Murder in the streets can sometimes be as political as it gets.

COULD WE SEE ANOTHER MOB WAR IN OUR LIFETIME?

I think 2024-27 are going to be very interesting years to come in the streets.  There is a lot more going on then people might suspect, as I always say, "history will repeat itself," and this is why currently there is some flashpoints that can come to fruition if the right paths or wires get crossed.  

Just recently, it has been reported, that New York is angry with Joey Merlino. It's been said, that the head of the Genovese crime family(who I will not name) and the head of the Gambino crime family(who I will not mention by name) are incensed that Joey Merlino(alleged head of the Philly mafia) is doing a podcast and was on YouTube, and that their were "high level meetings, regarding this, back in December.

I will let you in on a secret, I knew this back in October. This is NOT breaking news, nor will it be. In fact, there are two or three who can step forward and tell you I knew about this before anyone, and chose like a man not to report gossip and bullshit. That's for the Scott Bernstein's of the world to do.  

In fact, I was privy to some discussions about this, and I what I can tell you, yes, people were unhappy, and voiced that, but left it at that.  Nobody was angry, nobody was seething.  There was NEVER ONCE a high level meeting about this. I don't know where Scott got that info but it is completely not the case.  The bigger issue here is you got street guys telling people on YouTube this shit. That's a bigger fucking issue than some jerk taking to YouTube and making claims.  It's a clear move, to incite tickling the wire, and it's moves being made by people who don't like Joey, and are willing to spew gossip as facts, to create instability.

What I will say is this, nobody in New York gives a fuck about what Joey does. Nobody cares personally what he does. However, the optics of it all, is what bothers many.  The viewpoint from New York, which I can tell you better than anyone else out here, is that they don't like it.  They are entitled to feel that way but keep in mind some of these guys have IG accounts too. So you can't really bitch about something when you're half assed doing it yourself.  Welcome to the hypocrisy of the mafia.  

The street viewpoint, here at least is they don't like it.  Not at all. They may incite traditions, and the code, and while all that is fine and dandy, half these guys spewing this  have allocuted.   If you remember when Gene Gotti was given a stiff 30 year sentence he was offered a shorter term, but it had to include allocution which John Gotti was against. To him you never admitted guilt, you never allocute. 

Last time I checked Joey has never allocuted in his life.  Allocution is admitting you ARE A MEMBER OF THE MAFIA.  So, for those that want to speak about tradition and the code, they lose that argument right there.  Most of this is petty jealously, and there is an edict here in NY that these guys cannot be on social media, meanwhile there are some 3 dozen that are.  So much for the rules right? The rules only apply when you want to apply them to someone you are beefing with.

New York can make decisions, but the reality is, Philly won't listen to them. They've always been that way. So if you think, a sitting boss with any power is going to have high level meetings about someone in Philadelphia is complete nonsense. Then what? They wanna strip a guy of his rank? They wanna shelve him over it? Somehow I don't think two smart high ranking guys are going to risk a war over this. Listen, the truth is, Philly is not going to bow to New York, and they never have.  There was an issue a few years ago when allegedly the Lucchese crime family thought they could demand xyz.  It's been said the response was "okay you come here, everyone is leaving in body bags." So what makes any of you think it will be any different in this case?

If anything comes from it, it's gonna come from the splinter faction of the Philly mob. Then again, who's going to put themselves into that situation, because all that is going to do, is create heat, and mayhem, and everyone will get locked up.  Nobody is going to risk their borgata for that.  NOBODY.   So while people like Bernstein want to conflate and make things bigger than they are, let him, it just proves he has no idea what's going on, and has no clue that he's been used to tickle the wire and start problems. This is how the feds and guys on the street with a beef operate.  They create gossip and drama for no other reason.

Listen, not everyone is gonna accept what men do, or what leaders do, but they are loyal regardless.  Someone not liking something is no indication of an issue, no indication of a beef. It's simply someone or a few saying they don't like it.  They are being political nothing more nothing less, but the way that was weaved yesterday or the day before, was meant to incite drama.  Nothing more nothing less.  It's a non factor in anything, and just gossip and awful gossip at that.