Yep the oh so passive Maffia huhuh.
Even then based on scare (= criminal behavior), because people know what they are capable of.
So indeed a portion of your logica invite the terrorizing alley cat into the house and the mice will stay away. That you are then stuck with a rotten cat that turns your whole house upside down, well, we are happy to accept it. I say long live the terrorizing alley cat. That I didn't see that sooner, that sublime logic, stupid!
Completely tortured, twisted reasoning, as always.
What is wrong with you? Don't you ever get tired of parading your ignorance about the U.S.? First of all, The RICO statues, which are probably unconstitutional, but whatever, have gutted the Mafia.
For the ones who are left, most do deals with unions or construction companies. Do I approve? Of course not. I was a prosecutor, you silly man, so I, of all people, don't romanticize them.
However, what possible harm could they do the neighborhood in which they live? Do you think they do business from the homes where their wives and children live? Not that talking about paying off union leaders has any effect on the neighborhood. However, after a certain time they realized all their houses are bugged. That's why they used to meet in social clubs (and get killed there), and then restaurants, and now, the few that are active and haven't gone "legit", i.e. aren't now just investing the money they made , meet in outdoor areas. They don't attack the wives and children of their rivals, unlike the Columbians and the Mexicans and Central Americans, and they don't want their own attacked either.
Do you think they would want to bother their neighbors? They want a safe haven for their families. From what I hear most of them are good neighbors. You don't bother them; they don't bother you. They try to keep a completely low profile. I say all this as a person who at one point prosecuted them, so this isn't a romanticized picture.
Now, would I choose to live in Bensonhurst or Bayridge? No, I wouldn't, even if the plots of land were bigger. My husband would, though. I'm in a different situation because they have a long memory. Also, even if I hadn't been in the justice system, what if my son or daughter became friendly with their children? Even if they're supposedly "legit" now, I wouldn't be comfortable with that, but how do you say no? Also, how big a favor makes you indebted to them?
Of course, I wound up living far from those areas thanks to my husband, in a town with just as many Irish and German families as Italian or mixed ones, and what do you know, the son of one "ex" boss moved in right next door. Paid over 2 million cash. Couldn't stand his wife, but he's incredibly friendly and charming. He loved my husband, too much, so that his generosity became onerous. That stigma is still there, though, so we turned down a lot of favors and people are a bit wary, although he's never been charged with anything.
Oh, up the block one of the houses was owned by a guy highlighted in The Wolf of Wall Street. I found him infinitely less "nice" than our reformed or second-generation Cosa Nostra guy, and nobody was wary of him, or of a couple of neighbors employed by Deutsche Bank and let go when the SEC started breathing down the bank's neck. Lots of people who work on Wall Street lived around me, and I often wondered how much I would like them if I knew what they really do at work.
If my neighbor is as "clean" as he seems, who has harmed the most people? I know who I think.
