Friends of ours: Frank Calabrese Sr., Nick Calabrese, James Marcello
Friends of mine: Soprano Crime Family, Frank Calabrese Jr.
As the "Sopranos" ends its lengthy run tonight on HBO, has the popular show gotten mob life right?
Here's a look at how the series has been right on the money, and when it hasn't, compared to the Chicago Mob:
On the money
1. Mob families are screwed up.
Look no further than Chicago's own Calabrese family. At the upcoming federal Family Secrets trial, the brother of reputed mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. will testify against him. So will Calabrese Sr.'s son, Frank Jr., who secretly recorded his father while they were in prison. Calabrese Sr. allegedly confessed to mob killings. To say there's bad blood in this family is an understatement.
2. The rules are the rules, until they aren't.
Tony Soprano is well known for enforcing strict discipline among his crew until his rules inconvenience him. The same attitude is true of many a Chicago Mob leader, observers say. The bosses make the rules -- and break the rules when it suits them.
3. I love you, and now I'm going to kill you.
This season, viewers were shocked when Tony Soprano suffocated his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. But mob observers say such ruthless behavior is not unusual in the Mafia. When Frank Calabrese Sr. learned that his brother, Nick, might be cooperating with the feds, Calabrese Sr. allegedly gave his blessing if Nick got whacked, according to secret tape recordings.
Outta whack
1. The mob takes care of its own.
In the "Sopranos," mobsters always take care of families of crew members who die or go to prison. Not always so in Chicago. Promises are made but not always kept. Frank Calabrese Sr., for instance, allegedly did not take care of the family of his brother, Nick, while both were in prison, despite assurances he would do so. Calabrese Sr. let other family members down, too. Taking up the slack, reputed Chicago mob boss James Marcello allegedly made monthly payments of $4,000 to Nick Calabrese's wife. A lot of good it did him -- Nick Calabrese will be a key witness against Marcello in the upcoming trial.
2. Fashion sense
No offense to Chicago mobsters, but the wise guys in the "Sopranos" generally dress much nattier than typical gangsters here, observers say.
3. Mobster therapy?
It's always seemed a stretch to some mob experts that a mob leader would ever see a shrink. The secret prison recordings of Frank Calabrese Sr. are not filled with him wondering how he could have been a better father or discussing his panic attacks. At one point, he allegedly talks about spreading lime on a dead guy.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Mafia Allies: The True Story of America's Secret Alliance with the Mob in World War II
The Mafia is one of the most feared and powerful criminal organizations the world has ever known. It was also, briefly during World War II, Americas ally--a fact that had a profound effect on the fortunes of the Fascists, and on those of the Mafia, whom Mussolini had effectively crushed.
This book brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of World War II, and of organized crime. It tells how Cesare Mori, deputized by Mussolini to "cauterize the sore of crime in Italy," waged all-out war on the Mafia in the name of fascism; and how the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) gave the Mafia an opening to regain its strength--and its hold on political power--in the vacuum created by the Fascists defeat.
A provocative account of how the rise and ultimate defeat of fascism in Italy affected the worlds largest and most notorious criminal organization, Mafia Allies also illuminates a dark truth about the unexpected long-term consequences of wartime alliances of convenience.
This book brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of World War II, and of organized crime. It tells how Cesare Mori, deputized by Mussolini to "cauterize the sore of crime in Italy," waged all-out war on the Mafia in the name of fascism; and how the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) gave the Mafia an opening to regain its strength--and its hold on political power--in the vacuum created by the Fascists defeat.
A provocative account of how the rise and ultimate defeat of fascism in Italy affected the worlds largest and most notorious criminal organization, Mafia Allies also illuminates a dark truth about the unexpected long-term consequences of wartime alliances of convenience.
James Bond Girl Target of Mafia Kidnapping Plot
Friends of ours: Giuseppe Maniaci, Salvatore Micali
A plan by Mafia mobsters planned to kidnap a stunning Bond girl to make a "sack of money" has been foiled.
The gang had planned to seize actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, 37, star of The World Is Not Enough
and Il Postino
, and hold her to ransom. But their daring plan was foiled by Italian police.
Details of the kidnap plot emerged in a court case involving mobsters Giuseppe Maniaci, 50, and Salvatore Micali, 38, from the Mafia's stronghold of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. The pair, who were charged with extortion, hatched the plot in 1997.
Police intercepted telephone conversations of the pair hatching the plan. They are heard saying they could make "a sack of money" by kidnapping the actress.
Ms Cucinotta agent was reported to have said the actress had been unaware of the plot.
A plan by Mafia mobsters planned to kidnap a stunning Bond girl to make a "sack of money" has been foiled.The gang had planned to seize actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, 37, star of The World Is Not Enough
and Il Postino, and hold her to ransom. But their daring plan was foiled by Italian police.Details of the kidnap plot emerged in a court case involving mobsters Giuseppe Maniaci, 50, and Salvatore Micali, 38, from the Mafia's stronghold of Messina on the Italian island of Sicily. The pair, who were charged with extortion, hatched the plot in 1997.
Police intercepted telephone conversations of the pair hatching the plan. They are heard saying they could make "a sack of money" by kidnapping the actress.
Ms Cucinotta agent was reported to have said the actress had been unaware of the plot.
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