Associate: Our man inside the Vatican says there’s a plot against the Pope.
Michael: You mean he’s going to have a heart attack? ibid.
You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, ‘You’re gonna like this guy. He’s all right. He’s a good fella. He’s one of us.’ You understand? We were Goodfellas. Wiseguys. But Jimmy and I could never be made because we had Irish blood. It didn’t even matter that my mother was Sicilian. To become a member of a crew you’ve got to be one hundred per cent Italian so they can trace all your relatives back to the old country. See, it’s the highest honor they can give you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can fuck around with you. It also means you could fuck around with anybody just as long as they aren’t also a member. It’s like a license to steal. It’s a license to do anything. Goodfellas 1990 ***** staring Robert De Niro & Ray Liotta & Joe Pesci & Lorraine Bracco & Paul Sorvino & Frank Sivero & Frank Vincent & Samuel L Jackson et al, director Martin Scorsese, Henry Hill
It’s coming to something when the Mafia can’t handle a little problem innit? The Long Good Friday 1980 starring Helen Mirren & Bob Hoskins & Pierce Brosnan & Dave King & Paul Freeman & Eddie Constantine & Bryan Marshall & Paul Barber et al, director John MacKenzie, Harold to Charlie
The Mafia – I’ve shit ’em. ibid.
He’s a Mafia man. He’s like a gangster. Set up for no reason by the bent copper, d’you know what I’m saying? Big Fat Gypsy Gangster: Bulla the Movie 2011 starring Ricky Grover & Omid Djalili & Tulisa Contostavlos & Steven Berkoff & Peter Capaldi & Rufus Hound & Rochelle Wiseman & Laila Morse et al, director Ricky Grover
You’ve overlooked one thing - the Mafia. They’ll be waiting for you. The Italian Job 1969 starring Michael Caine & Noel Coward & Benny Hill & Tony Beckley & Raf Vallone & Rossano Brazzi & Maggie Blye & Irene Handl & John le Mesurier & Fred Emney et al, director Peter Collinson, Mr Bridger to Charlie Crocker
September 1983 ... The frozen corpse was authorities’ first glimpse into the ice-cold world of the one of the country’s most prolific and sophisticated murderers – Richard Kuklinski, aka the Iceman. Mobsters: The Iceman: Richard Kuklinski s4e2
Richard defaulted on his loan to the Gambinos, crossing one of their most feared enforcers, a man who is suspected of killing more than seventy people – Roy DeMeo. ibid.
A ruthless contract killer for the New York mob. ibid.
Within two years DeMeo would turn up dead in the boot of his own car. ibid.
Kuklinski also kept his pockets full with another racket – auto theft. ibid.
He was charged with five counts of first-degree murder. ibid.
His most startling claim was that he’d killed over one hundred men. ibid.
The Grand Theft Auto video game series represents many of the Five Families in the game with the Leone, Sindacco, and Forelli families. In addition, Grand Theft Auto IV features a parody of the Five Families’ ruling body called The Commission, consisting of the Ancelotti, Pavano, Messina, Gambetti and Lupisella families, with the smaller Alderney. Pegorino family trying to become a sixth entity. Wikipedia July 2007
‘It’s everybody’s dream – to have the Father – the Godfather ... – who comes and helps you with your issues.’ The Godfather Legacy, H2 2015, Al Pacino, H2 2015
‘That’s my family, Kay. It’s not me.’ ibid. Michael film quote
‘In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.’ ibid. sidekick to Michael
‘Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.’ ibid. Michael
‘The Mob is not a business, it’s a way of life.’ The Definitive Guide to the Mob, Michael Franzese, History 2017
This wave of violence ended when a young gangster named Charles Lucky Luciano rose to power and realised that war was bad for business. ibid.
‘We looked on it as something noble.’ ibid. Franzese, re whacks
Colombo made himself a target by creating the Italian American Civil Rights League, and claimed to be fighting the persecution of Italian Americans by law enforcement. ibid.
After the biggest Mafia round-up in FBI history, the bloody war against Canada’s first family of crime. The Rizzutos of Montreal could have been cast by Hollywood … For the first time with wire-taps and hidden cameras we’ll take you into the inner sanctum of the Canadian mob. It’s a story of murder and money and a lot of both. The Fifth Estate: Crime Pays, CBC
Who’s killing the Rizzutos? ibid.
The family came to Canada from Sicily and from a long line of gangstas. In the 1980s the dapper Vito Rizzuto took over that franchise and built it into a criminal enterprise worth billions. ibid.
Vito Rizzuto and the others from Montreal are loyal to the Bonannos and they are eager to show it. ibid.
He was Canada’s Teflon Don. ibid.
November 22 2006: In and around Montreal hundreds of police officers descended on members of the Rizzuto family and their associates. ibid.
In the 1960s the history of the Mafia changed for ever when the Sicilian Mob began flooding the United States with … heroin: heroin would turn the Mafia into a global organisation and make them more money than they had ever made before; but it would also sow the seeds of their own destruction. Inside the Mafia: Going Global, National Geographic 2005
Shutting down the French Connection was indirectly opening the door to … the Sicilian Mafia. ibid.
[Carmine] Galante: a heroin man … multi-billion-dollar profits and unparalleled violence. In the 70s the Bonanno family was known as … the heroin family. ibid.
The Sicilians set up a sophisticated smuggling system … Toto Riina … his factories were producing ton after ton of pure heroin. ibid.
The Sicilians had turned on Galante. ibid.
Henry Hill regularly used Pizza restaurants for his heroin drop-offs. ibid.
Former mobsters speak out about the codes that govern their criminal world. Ten Commandments of the Mafia, Quest 2015
‘People who can’t be part of Cosa Nostra are anyone with a … relative in the police, and anyone who behaves badly and doesn’t hold to moral virtues.’ ibid.
The first rule of the Mafia is loyalty. Break it and you pay the price. The Mafia with Trevor McDonald I, ITV 2015
‘This is the life he chose. The path.’ ibid. dude
The Mafia was built on fear and intimidation. ibid.
The Mafia turns street thugs into millionaires. ibid.
Its success has been built on a military-like structure and devout loyalty. ibid.
He is also known as the Sheriff. And he’s an accomplished killer. The Mafia with Trevor McDonald II
Newspapers were awash with sensational details of Italian crime families. The Italian Americans: La Famiglia 1890-1910, PBS 2014
At the dawn of the twentieth century over four million Italians arrived in America ... Those who remained struggled to find their place in the American mainstream. ibid.
By 1870, after only a decade of Italian unification, the economic conditions in the south forced many southern Italians to flee their villages in search of work in America. ibid.
The word Mafia began to crop up in newspapers across the country. ibid.
In order to understand and hence combat organised crime, it is important to recognise the distinct activities involved. Misha Glenny, McMafia
The gold standard of anti-organised crime legislation is the RICO Act (Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organisations Act). Passed by the US Congress in 1970 ... it has proved more effective than any other policing tool against organised criminal syndicates. ibid.