Friday 25 November 2016

On this day in Cosa Nostra History



Charles Lucky Luciano

Written by Scott Williams-Collier and Jeff Canarsie.

Final footnote written by Christian Cipollini.

Happy Birthday Charles Lucky Luciano

On this day the father of modern organised crime in the United States of America was born.  Charles Lucky Luciano considered by many to be the most powerful mob boss of all time, is born Salvatore Lucania November 24th 1897 in Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy.

Young Salvatore Lucania’s life started from very humble beginnings.  His father worked a very hard backbreaking and dangerous job in the sulphur mines to support his wife and 5 children. This dangerous and tough environment was likely a key factor (as it was for many Sicilians of that time) in motivating Antonio Lucania to seek out a better life for himself and his young family in the United States.

So in 1907 the nine year Salvatore along with his mother, father and 4 siblings immigrated to the States to seek out a part of the American dream and a chance of a better existence! The Lucania family settled in New York City in the borough of Manhattan on its Lower East Side, a destination popular with many Italian immigrants.

It wasn’t too long after arriving in America that the young Salvatore started to hang around in gangs. By the age of 14 he had dropped out of school and had a job delivering hats for $7 a week, chump change compared to what the local hoods were earning fencing stolen goods, dealing drugs and extorting money from business owners for protection.

The life that many Sicilians found in New York was a very tough one. The streets certainly weren’t paved with gold if you wanted to live a normal law abiding existence earning an honest buck! Jobs at the time involved long hard days for little money almost akin to working yourself into an early grave, long hard days for little reward. The young Lucania had no intentions of following in his father’s footsteps and was determined to make lots of money illegitimately! Eventually Luciano quit the job for a life of crime.

The Lucania family were deeply ashamed of their son’s criminal activity so much so that they refused to visit the young man in prison. This prompted Salvatore to eventually change his name to Charles Luciano.

Charles Lucky Luciano was very fortunate to have been present in his prime in the perfect era to the achieve his dreams. Prohibition gave the mob a perfect opportunity to make millions of dollars bootlegging and Luciano learned from one of the best business men and racketeers around, Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein quickly saw the potential to make huge profits from prohibition. He tutored Luciano and his associates who included Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, Vito Genovese and Benjamin Siegel among others. Soon Luciano and his gang had their own bootlegging operation with the backing from Rothstein and raked in the dough!

In 1923 Charles Lucky Luciano’s reputation was in tatters as result of a botched drug deal. This prompted him to buy 200 expensive seats to the highly sought after boxing bout between Jack Dempsey and Luis Firpo. He gave these out to his Mob Cohorts and politicians alike. Arnold Rothstein then took Charlie for a ride to the Wanamakers Department store to buy expensive clothes for the bout. This tactic worked a treat and helped to restore Lucky Luciano’s once damaged reputation and put him back track to eventually dominate the criminal underworld in America.

During in the 1920’s Lucky aligned himself with Joe "The Boss" Masseria and soon became a trusted top aide for the mafia boss. Masseria was in sharp contrast to the cultured and intelligent Rothstein. Masseria was greedy and uneducated, a part of the Mustache Pete era who didn’t like to do business with none Italians, something that riled the new generation like Lucky.  The way Charlie saw things it didn’t matter what your religion or place of birth was, if he could trust you and you knew how to make money that’s all that mattered.
Luciano’s philosophy was that all criminals should work together and share the profits.


There was another big mob boss in town in the prohibition era, a rival to Masseria’s outfit. Salvatore Maranzano was from the notorious mafia town of Castellammare del Golfo. Maranzano wanted to control all the rackets in New York and be the Boss of Bosses (capo di tutti capi). This would eventually cause and all-out war with the Masseria faction. This was known as the Castellammarese War.

During the 1920’s before war broke out between the Masseria and Maranzano factions, Maranzano tried to recruit Luciano. Luciano refused and as a result was picked up by Maranzano’s henchmen. Badly beaten, sliced with a blade and left for dead, Luciano was lucky to be alive. Some say this is where the Lucky nickname originated from.  
In 1930 Maranzano declared war with Masseria and so the Castellammarese War began. After over a year of fighting and dozens of mob killings, Luciano and his associates knew that this war was not good for business. Luciano started to communicate with Maranzano and brokered a deal. Luciano would agree to kill his boss Masseria and end the war and in return he would be allowed to take over the Masseria’s Cosa Nostra family and his rackets. Maranzano agreed and the deal was done.

On April 15, 1931 Joe the Boss was invited by Charles Lucky Luciano to the Nuova Villa Tammaro restaurant at Coney Island. After eating Masseria and Luciano played cards. During the card game Luciano excused himself from the table to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom the assassins thought to be Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis and Benjamin Bugsy Siegel entered the restaurant shot and killed the mob boss. This ended the war and Maranzano was victorious.

After the war had finished Salvatore Maranzano organised the Mafia clans into five families, something that is still in effect today. Each family would have control over 1 of the 5 boroughs of New York. However, Maranzano went against the original agreement he had made with Lucky. Instead of equality he named himself capo di tutti capi (Boss of Bosses). This move angered Luciano and set in motion events that would catapult Lucky to the top of the underworld. Maranzano’s capo di tutti capi title would be short lived!

Maranzano sensed that Luciano was displeased and saw him as a threat to his overall leadership of the Cosa Nostra families New York. Irish mobster and hitman Mad Dog Coll was employed by Maranzano to kill Luciano. The plan was to call Lucky to a meeting where Coll would kill him.  Unfortunately for Maranzano, Luciano found out and never attended the meeting. Instead Luciano sent over a squad of Jewish hitmen posing as taxmen. Once inside Maranzano’s office the assassins stabbed the mob boss repeatedly and finished him off with the gun.

Charles Lucky Luciano’s vision, intelligence and ruthlessness had paid off and he was now the number one gangster in the United States of America. From this day on the Mafia would go from warring street gangs to the most powerful criminal organisation in America.


Historically looking back on Lucky Luciano, he will always have been known for essentially organizing organized crime. He was never one to believe in that in order for a criminal to be organized he had to be Sicilian.  Lucky had never believed that a man’s heritage was proxy for admittance. Legitimacy came in the order of loyalty not birth right or ethnicity.

Jewish, Irish and other criminals were allowed to function and prosper under allowances made by Luciano because he felt that as long as everyone was making money together everything else was null in void.  As long as Maranzano and Masseria were around other criminal organizations would struggle. 

Another facet of Luciano was that he was the first boss to truly put his arms into the garment district, construction and legal enterprises.  

What else should be noted when speaking about Luciano's legacy is that he formed the commission. It was made so that all mafia clans had an opportunity to prosper and make decisions and settle beefs, but as we have seen before Luciano truly wanted it all for himself and attained that. His downfall was believing that it would last and that other Mafia bosses would allow him to rake it in.

Speculation for a long time, while unconfirmed was that Carlo Gambino was truly behind the deportation of Luciano. Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino knew as long as Luciano was free and in the United States they couldn't divide and purge the rackets as far as they wanted.  The way it went down was that Gambino approached high Government officials in the short order of a bribe to remove Luciano from the states. Then they would hit Frank Costello (front man for Luciano) in fact rendering Luciano no longer the power of American La Cosa Nostra.  Once Costello was shot by Vincent Gigante, he retired. He knew the power Luciano had once wielded was gone.

As a result, Genovese took over Gambino took over and Luciano was given a monetary reward for settling down quietly and was made a consigliere of all families.  Luciano would not forget that Genovese was greedy and over the decades it's been said that Lucky was 100% responsible for Vito Genovese getting busted for his drug trafficking (a life sentence) and in turn Luciano was allowed to be buried in St. John Cemetary in Queens,Ny.

Luciano is the father of organized crime from the perspective of organizing, and putting the mafia in the absolute position to control the entire city of New York, but history will also say that he was flashy and out in public like so many others way too often.  He was a man’s man, no doubt, and he was superior to those many before him and after him, and he will always be remembered as the guy who brought Cosa Nostra to its heights. 


Christian Cipollini: Through all the mythology and misconstrued historical record surrounding the life and impact of Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, there are a few indisputable truths. Among the facts - Lucky Luciano and his ensemble cast of allies literally reshaped the entire structure of the American Underworld, and 1931 was the year. Lucky eventually became the 'poster boy' for the American mob, but in reality his impact was the innate charisma and respectability that drew in so many other Italian and Jewish gangsters; perhaps the one moment in history where 'Honor Among Thieves' did in fact exist, albeit briefly and not in a pure form. 






Wednesday 9 November 2016

THE PAUL CASTELLANO HIT WAS SANCTIONED



Tommy Bilotti lies dead in the street




THE PAUL CASTELLANO HIT WAS SANCTIONED-
by Jeff Canarsie
All these years, if you listen to the F.B.I. and book writers, they all say the same thing. The murder of Gambino Crime Family Boss Paul Castellano was NOT a sanctioned murder. When we talk "sanctioned" we mean that that commission of La Cosa Nostra did not all sit down and agree with the decision to take Paul out. The Government wants you to believe that, as do all the writers who get it wrong every single time.
What am I talking about? Well put simply the idea that the commission needs to check yes or no to a murder is really as over-dramatic as it gets. History tells us, when someone has to go, they have to go. It doesn't have to be sanctioned. All it has to do is benefit everyone else around them.
For years, writers and police have speculated that John Gotti acted on his own with "co-conspirators" to clip the head of the family over three reasons. The first reason is because Casetellano was not a gangster, rather a businessman, who had his hand in too many pies while the rest the family struggled to make ends meet. The second reason was because Paul Castellano disrespected his underboss Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce by not attending his funeral. The third, and the one that every author uses is that the indictment of Angelo Ruggiero and those "fucking tapes," where Ruggiero was bad mouthing others and discussing his heroin trafficking. Paul wanted copies of the tapes, and Ruggiero was stalling, but no because drug trafficking was bad. He had been caught, and that could drag the boss and everyone else down around him.

Paul Castellano lies dead after multiple gun shot wounds


John Gotti specifically didn't care for Paul Castellano, and he agreed with Neil Dellacroce that Ruggiero had to do what the "boss said." Gotti also knew those tapes could and would likely seal his fate because it was his crew who were actively involved in the heroin trade. The inevitability would be that the Gotti crew would be busted up and split up, and if Paul so chose he'd have both Gotti, and Ruggiero killed.
The one misconception about the Mob is that selling drugs is against the rules. If you believe that, I have a bridge for Brooklyn for sale. The mob has NEVER strayed away from drugs. They would offer edict's such as "Deal drugs and die," but that is very tongue in cheek for "Get caught selling drugs, and we will kill you." Every single Mob boss since Lucky Luciano took huge profits from drugs. Paul Castellano had his own Sicilian heroin faction based out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, so any idea that Paul was against the selling of narcotics is a joke in an of itself. The real issue was that Ruggiero had gotten caught.
So where does this leave us? The Gotti crew got caught selling heroin and Paul was scared that it would cause a huge indictment against him and the entire Gambino family. Never mind the fact that the F.B.I. already had a huge indictment coming against the entire Commission. What Ruggiero said would have little effect in the grand scheme of things.
The debate, has always been that Gotti acted on his own accord. Anyone who buys that, doesn't know the streets, nor have they looked into the facts. John Gotti, despite what many have reported, may have been the button pusher in certain aspects, but he was NOT the all to end all when it came to Castellano getting killed.

John Gotti


We have to look at the reasons why it would benefit everyone else if Castellano were gone. The street guys were struggling and drowning because Castellano was a pinch the quarter till the eagle screams kind of guy. Under Carlo Gambino, money flowed up like a pyramid scheme. He left enough for his men to survive and then some. Under Castellano, the price for doing business was twice as high. His hand was out and the pound of flesh that Gambino might have requested, jumped to three pounds under Castellano. His hands always seemed to not be full enough, and it was strangling everyone else. He bellyached on numerous tapes that he was getting stiffed from everyone, meanwhile his 17- room mansion and his lurid affair with his maid wasn't enough.
Money is the root of all evil in this life, and when you have a boss that's cannot get enough and refused to allow the men that do his job for him to eat, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the writing on the wall. As for Gotti, sure, he had everything to gain, and I don't think anyone would argue against that, and I certainly won't either. But I also won't indict him on the same excuses and untruths that every other book writer or former informant has to say about the situation.
Now-- some will point to the Frankie DeCicco murder as some sort of proof that Gotti acted on his own. It was some sort of retribtion for John Gotti breaking the rules of La Cosa Nostra. This could not be further from the truth. Why?
First of all it was Vincent "the chin" Gigante who was allegedly behind the murder of Frankie DeCicco(gotti underling). People have written it like a vendetta. What people fail to realize is, Vincent Gigante had tried to murder a mob boss himself. That's right, he tried to kill Frank Costello. He screwed up, but Frank saw it for what it was and got out of the way and allowed Vito Genovese to take over. Secondly, Vincent Gigante had meddled in other family assassinations. Angelo Bruno from Philadelphia ring any bells for ya?
Vincent Gigante was 100% responsible for the hit on Angelo Bruno, and responsible for installing Nicodemo "Nicky" Scarfo as boss of the Philadelphia mafia. We have seen this before from Gigante. Angelo Bruno was killed for almost the same type of reasons Castellano was.
Angelo Bruno, whom was dubbed "the docile don" should have been nicknamed "the delusional don," and I say that because he fit the mold of what Philadelphia is all about. He was heavily involved in the drug trade and had the same edict as Carlo Gambino and all the rest. "Sell drugs and die.....oops sell drugs and get caught and die." The other problem Bruno had was not allowing all the other five families to take a piece of Atlantic City, New Jersey. By rights, it was Philadelphia territory, but Bruno was unwilling to give an inch. He allowed Genovese's to operate in New Jersey as a piecemeal. That angered the shit out of the boys in Philadelphia. The perspective was that Bruno was more loyal to Gigante and Genovese's than his own family.
Vincent Gigante had more to gain by seeing Bruno dead than alive. You think he gave two shits about Bruno? He knew Bruno didn't have the stomach for murder. Bruno also aligned himself with Gigante in the respect that they shared massive construction rackets together. The stage was set for major infighting with the Philadelphia bunch. Everyone was feeling cheated, and the second Bruno aligned with New York, that was it. Vincent Gigante was behind it all. How?
Anthony Caponigro, a capo, in the family desperately wanted Angelo Bruno dead. It wasn't just Caponigro but about every single other member of the family including underboss John Stanfa. As the story goes, Caponigro was behind the murder of Bruno, in fact he was the triggerman.
What went down was this. Anthony "Funzi" Tieri then the former boss of the Genovese Crime Family had sent a message to Caponigro that if he took out Bruno, that it would be universally supported by the Commission. In fact he told him it was sanctioned. So Caponigro assassinates Angelo Bruno. He is immediately sent for and reports to New York for a sit down. Tieri who had given him okay(from Vincent Gigante) lied and said he never gave permission or the murder. Now in the background Nicky Scarfo is chomping at the bit to become boss. Bruno had sent Scarfo out to Atlantic City to keep him away from the crime family because he considered Scarfo a huge liability.
Caponigro is sentenced to death, and Gigante dispatches him quickly. Gigante had given the okay, set the entire thing up like Caesar, then would exterminate the problem. Meanwhile Scarfo agrees in principle to carve out Philadelphia, to share in Scarf Inc(countruction company) and to allow NY to operate in Atlantic City. The whole entire thing smells. Vincent Gigante was a smart guy, and seriously treacherous. He had no intention of taking any heat for the Bruno murder, even though off the record he sanctioned it. He then takes care of the "traitor" and everything looks great in front of the rest of the commission, meanwhile filling his pockets.
He isn't the first boss to do this. Carlo Gambino, and Lucky Luciano made there rise in the exact same fashion. It was Luciano's rule that no other member could kill a boss with the approval and consent of the other four families. He and Gambino did that exact same thing, yet when they took over, they install a rule to protect themselves. These are also the two same bosses who tried in vain to kill Joe Bonanno several times. Gigante was no different, especially when it came to Costello, but the devil is always in the details. That's the hypocrisy of the mob. Say one thing, do another and hope to not get caught by the balls. So back to John Gotti...
Anyone who asserts that Vincent Gigante didn't know about Paul Castellano getting hit is a joke. I could see the arguments that Paul and Vincent enjoyed each others friendship and business ties, but at the time Vincent Gigante was bigger than Paul could ever hope to be. In fact, Gigante knew he had more juice than John Gotti, and if he closed his eyes and made no fuss, that move would effectively render the Gambino's neutral and the Genovese's would become the head family. Now, I don't think Vincent sat down with John Gotti. Messages were sent. I don't think John Gotti was inferior enough to believe he could do that and there would be zero retribution. I also will tell you all the books that claim Gotti was afraid of Vincent are farces. What Gigante would have to do to save face with the other families is take out one of Gotti's men. Eye for an eye, and let it go at that. Frankie DeCicco was killed in the car bomb explosion. They thought "Gotti" would be in the car that day. The funny thing is, the car was remotely set. You mean to tell me nobody knows the difference between Gotti and DeCicco? Please.
I also don't believe Gotti was complicit in the murder of DeCicco. I don't think he knew it would happen. But it happened. The other sign that points to a sanction versus non sanctioned hit is this. How would Gotti be able to walk publicly? He wouldn't. The four other families would have gone after Gotti together. Why just the Genovese's? Doesn't make much sense does it? Gotti's ascension to the head of the Gambino crime family was not happenstance. He earned that spot by being as cunning as Luciano, Gambino, and others. He did the same exact thing as those before him, yet pundits want to lay that out as some sort of less than respectful move. Why is it good for everyone else and not John Gotti.
If Gotti moved on his own, believe me, the other four families would have enacted revenge swiftly and they wouldn't have stopped until he was gone. In fact, Gigante and Gotti met a short time after the DeCicco murder and ironed out what books refer to as a "pass." lol. More like a cutting up of Paul's rackets with Gigante's. It is true that there was a rivalry between Gotti and Gigante, and they operated differently, but the truth is, Paul getting killed was good for business. It was good for the pockets of all involved. It ended the connection to the Westies(Irish loose cannons) and allowed both families to prosper business wise. It was in Gigante's best interest to "act mad, and enact some revenge and miss," then it was for him to sit on his hands and piss all over himself which he had been doing in the streets the last decade to feign his nutt act.


In final, I wish more books would accurately portray those events. Nothing is done with everyone being involved. I guess it makes for better reading where there is some major treachery going on. If you take anything from this, understand Gotti, just like Luciano, Genovese, Gigante, Gambino and others did the exact same thing. No deviation whatsoever, yet pundits want to use that against Gotti, instead of acknowledging the Machiavellian move. What's good for one should be good for the other. History will write it one way, but I know better, and so should you.








Cosa Nostra Today






The True Crime Page talks to Mob Talk Radio host Jeff Canarsie about the current state of the mob in America today.


1)      For more than two decades, New York City's five organized-crime families were plagued by convictions brought on by strengthened federal laws and the increasing habit of higher-ranking members cooperating with the government. As recently media reports suggest, the mob is still going strong (although not what is once was). What’s your opinion on the current state of Cosa Nostra in America? 




Jeff: Well, I believe post 9-11 what we have seen is a resurgence. There are many subtle reasons for that, the main one being that the sheer number of OCTF(Organized Crime Task Force) groups have declined. Federal funds have been redirected to fight anti-terrorism and homeland security.  This has allowed Organized Crime to rebound. There aren't as many eyes as there once were, but they are still out there.
The second facet to this is that many Crime Families are now underground. The traditional rackets still exist, but a lot of it is wire fraud, insurance fraud, construction rehab scams and etc. Drugs, prostitution, gambling, loan sharking are still mainstays, and always will be, the this era of Mafioso are geared more with technology. We have seen that especially in the past trial of Nicky Scarfo jr.  Guys are just adjusting to the climate.
They are still strong, but long gone are the days of the social clubs. There are still some around, but times have changed. Also there is an influx of younger street guys, which doesn't help matters but it's allowed bigger families to keep a strangle hold on traditional rackets like the garment industry. 
We have seen in Philadelphia a huge membership adjustment. The days of Scarfo there was only maybe 60 made guys. Today-- Philadelphia boasts close to 150.  So the Mob will always adjust but they have to get more creative to earn.  Is the mob still a powerhouse? Yes, but they don't have the power they did say back in the 30/40/50"s.



 
Jeff Canarsie Mob Talk Radio

2)      Back in August dozens of New York mobsters were arrested by the FBI. This would suggest that Cosa Nostra is alive and kicking in the 21st century. What is you take on these arrests and what does this mean for the five families in the city?


Jeff: The arrests didn't come as a shock. It's pretty normal for there to be sweeping indictments. That's the norm these days. Two years of investigations and here we are. Informants everywhere. If the mob killed informants like they did in the old days believe me you wouldn't see these large numbers of alleged mobsters arrested. What was interesting about that entire group was that Joey Merlino was arrested. The only Philadelphia LCN member arrested. I"d say that's very suspect. All the arrests mean is that a lot of guys are going to be put in the pressure cooker. Whose gonna talk? Believe me more than one willl.



46 Charged in Mafia Racketeering Conspiracy


Joey Merlino arrested in federal mob crackdown

Joey Merlino. Photo taken by Young Kim



3)     Among the 46 arrests was reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joey Merlino, arrested in Florida. Merlino is facing charges of gambling, loan-sharking, gun trafficking, and skin-cream fraud. What’s you take on this and what does the future hold for the Philly mob? 


Jeff: Well Philadelphia has surged the last six months.  Joey was indicted, however the charges are really minuscule compared to what some of these other guys are facing. No murder charges, no racketeering charges. In the grand scheme of things they are serious but nowhere near where they could have been. Joey"s biggest problem is the informant who taped him having conversations. Without that, Joey isn't picked up. I also personally think that ever since Philadelphia split into four sub-factions it drew more heat on Merlino who was caught on tape acknowledging he is the boss of the Philadelphia LCN.  Also-- with Georgie Borgesi opening a very busy members only social club on packer avenue in South Philly didn't help. It's a powder keg there. I said it four months ago indictments were coming and here we are.


4)     Tell me about the main players in Philly and in the wake of the recent arrest of Merlino can you foresee another mob war starting in Philly.  


Jeff: It"s a safe bet Philly is about to get a bit crazy. Four factions, led by Ligambi, Mazzone, Merlino and Borgesi, it's a matter of time before the factions splinter even more. 175 made guys fighting over ten rackets.  The issue is really that Georgie Borgesi felt slighted by Merlino when he asked for Martin Angelina"s head on a platter.  While Borgesi was away. Angelina took over his rackets and refused to give them back. In turn Georgie wanted Angelina killed. Merlino said no, therefore a rift began. 
Instead of taking orders, Georgie began to recruit associates and hangers-on to try and bolster his side of the field which frustrated Merlino.  Also to add insult to injury Joey allowed former Scarfo guys who just got out of prison to hold ranking positions in the family which upset the Apple cart.

So what will likely happen is this: if Joey goes away there will be a charge for leadership. Joe Ligambi likely won't want a second stint as acting boss. He also is likely to stand next to his nephew Georgie Borgesi, which can create a massive vacuum. Then you have Scarfo"s old guys, they could easily make runs. Sadly most of this hinges on what happens to Merlino.  If he goes away war will likely break out, unless the Nay LCN can put a strangle hold on leadership like Vincent Gigante did back in the days of Bruno and Scarfo. Powder keg city. 




5)     Do you believe Merlino is still the boss of the Philly mob. And how do you see the pending court case going?

Jeff: I think Joey is in trouble. He got picked up on wiretaps and was taped by other members of organized crime. Unless he can find a creative way around that, it"s going to be hard for him to skate. I believe and have believed for a while that Joey was running things.  They have tried to follow the model of other families and installed front bosses, but everyone knows Skinny Joey is the guy in Philadelphia.  

Informants testifying is another thing as well. I really don't believe any informant in the history of informants has ever been 100% truthful, so therefore you bet there will be some stuff that"s a serious reach, meaning trying to connects dots where they don't exist. Ask John Gotti Jr about that sort of shit. Five trials in 37 months or something? So while there may be wiretaps, most of it is coming from big mouths.  Loose lips sink ships. 












Saturday 27 February 2016

Interview with Award Winning Author Christian Cipollini


Questions presented by Scott Williams-Collier of The True Crime Page

1. What first inspired you to become a writer?


Christian Cipollini
Inspiration usually comes from multiple places, and often unexpectedly, for me at least.  That said, if I pinned down that ‘one’ instance where I blatantly recognized I was good at something – 4th grade, an assignment to write a short story.  Funny thing is my teacher pointed out that I had actually written a script and that it was good.  My immediate horror of having done the assignment incorrectly quickly faded, thankfully, and I never forgot that moment, his words.  I am not very good at a lot of things I assure you, but I owned that one skill from that moment on.


2. You have written books on the criminal underworld and organised crime figures.  When did your interest for this subject start and why?

My father was a narcotics cop, so I grew up with that influence for sure.  Now as a kid I didn’t really think much about it, or that I would one day become a researcher or author on the subject. Looking back though, the spark was definitely lit.  Besides being a police officer, Dad was also a history buff and fascinated by mob movies, etc.  Again, influence seeped into my subconscious.  As children, we had my Dad’s inkpad, blank fingerprint and arrest report documents – the works, so when all the neighbourhood kids would play ‘cops and robbers’ – the cool thing was we actually processed the pretend criminals.  I guess the signs were all there that one day I’d somehow be doing something related to this stuff.  It wasn’t until my very late teens, almost twenty years old though when my interest in organized crime piqued.  Again, if I had to choose the one shining moment… John Gotti’s infamous trial.  I happened to be reading the New York Times in a college library and I was drawn like a magnetic pull to the stories of this larger than life mobster.  I was hooked, period. There was this incredible fascination on the surface, but as I learned –there’s a psychology and societal aspect. I was trying to find the nuances, the humanity within inhumanity, if that makes any sense. From there, over a two year period, I think I consumed fifty or so books on gangsters, legal, political and other biographical type writings.  That slowly evolved into a driving desire to find the backstories, the connections, the darker shades that reside between fact and folklore. Lucky Luciano became my primary interest and has remained ever since.

3. Are you currently writing anything and if so what is it about?


After Murder Inc. released, I made a decision to take a break. That was my third book in five years. My brain was nearly melted!  However, because I am easily distracted and easily bored, my mind constantly mulls over possible projects, etc.  About a year ago, my friend and colleague Seth Ferranti suggested the idea of entering the comic book and graphic novel realm.  I was in.  Although I had (still have) an outline for a pretty big ‘book’ undertaking, and was asked to pen a couple first-hand mob accounts for others, the comic book adventure was at the forefront and definitely required a lot of time. So, since last spring, I’ve been working on the writing of a comic book series, learning much along the way regarding the different format, writing style, and audience.  It is a team effort and I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of amazing creative masters – my editor Anthony Mathenia, the letterer Micah Myers, the artist Evgeny Frantsev and of course Seth, who put this all together – just mind-blowing how incredible this process is.  The working title is “Gangster: Lucky Luciano” and the premier issue will be released this spring, with three more issues to follow.  A full anthology graphic novel will follow that, and release in the fall.





4. You have a talk and book signing event at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas later this year.  How you feeling about that and how much are you looking forward to it?


Thrilled beyond words.  This has been a year in the making and I’m still amazed it is really happening.  I can’t divulge all the cool details just yet, but it will be a presentation on Murder Inc., plus a book signing with all my books and comic books.  The engagement is set for early September and I’m already working out the visuals, topics, well pretty much everything!


5. What advice would you give an aspiring writer?


First, do not do it for the money. I know that’s cliché but its true. Cash can come, and having a business mindset is very important (though I will be the first to say as a creative minded type – I HATE the business part).  Be mindful of that which you do not yet know, and learn to compromise and adapt,but don’t sell yourself short either. Something my dear friend Tera Patrick instilled in me – to beware of sharks and empty promises. You work hard to produce that product… it’s not free. Now, besides the aforementioned and obvious elements, another important concept to grasp has to do with mastering your art.  I’ll give credit to one of my college professors for this, and paraphrase:”Master the rules, all of them. Then bend them.”  Seriously simple and seriously true advice.  Master your art, then you will better develop your own style – without forcing it.  It will be natural and your innate skill with the written word will show, believe me.  Next, read everything.  Don’t reside within your own niche, explore everything – good writing, bad writing, fiction, non-fiction, journalism, poetry, uplifting, heartbreaking, everything.  Network and support your colleagues!  Cannot stress this enough.  Nothing, not even writing (as solitary as it naturally is usually) is done without support, criticism, mentoring, sharing, and connecting with other artists of all kinds.  Plus, it keeps you sane and on top of your game.


6. Other than writing do you have any other interests and passions?


Absolutely yes.  Although my kids are all grown up now – I will forever be a Dad!  That is passion.  I’m a pretty big Star Wars nerd, so that is always a good diversion from my otherwise-insane obsession with organized crime research!  However, another crime related passion/interest I picked up a few years ago – acquiring original crime scene and press photographs and artifacts.  It’s like an addiction now!  Few things get me giddy like a child, but finding a rare photo or wanted poster… It’s like Christmas morning!  I’m a beach kind of guy, so even though it is a rare moment that I actually take a vacation… I love sun and palm trees.  Animals. Just like my parents, I’m the guy who fosters, takes in, rescues, those in need.  Not pets, they are family..  You can safely presume what my thoughts are on child and animal abusers. Not a pretty picture of how I personally would like to deal with this ‘legal’ issue and especially the perpetrators.  A big passion of mine. 


7. Have any of your books been considered to be made into a movie?


I can only say that ‘yes, there is consideration’ but for the moment – I can’t say much more.


8. Being an expert on organised crime.  What is your opinion on the current state of La Cosa Nostra in America and do you ever think it will return to what it once was?


This topic is great for debate and discussion.  We could go on for days about it, but ultimately the short answer: No, it will never be what it was.  Just like everything else in life, the Mafia had an ebb, flow, rise, fall, and plateau.  History, time, society, economics, technology – all these things alter the existence of everything, including organized crime groups.  No single ‘group’ remains at the top of the food chain forever.

9. Hypothetical question just for fun.  If you had to pick 3 historical crime figures to run a crime family: a boss, under boss and consigliere. Who would you pick for each roll and why?


This is good. I’ve never been asked such a question!  Boss would be Johnny Torrio. Underboss Lucky Luciano.  Consigliere Meyer Lansky.  Not a huge variation from how certain things were back in the 1930’s, but I personally think the pre-five family era, aka the Italian/Jewish combination, was the best  foundation or best laid plan for illicit enterprise (and far more structurally sound than anything since).


10. Who inspires you


Again, my inspiration comes from many different places. Everything from a chat with my daughters to discovering a rare piece of history to simply observing ducks playing in a pond… I don’t find inspiration; it tends to find me, makes me see it even when I’m not looking.


Christian Cipollini's web sites
www.ganglandlegends.com
https://www.facebook.com/GANGLANDLEGENDS
Twitter @gangsterthebook
www.thegr1nd.com (where my comic books will be)
http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Cipollini/e/B00CP95F4K

Gangster:
Lucky Luciano
Comic book series.


Christian, thank you very much for taking time out from your busy schedule to take part in this interview.
Charles Lucky Luciano
The True Crime Page sites
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