Five Families Quotes

“The district attorneys were usually hand-picked incompetents designated by the Democratic Party’s Tammany Hall Club, a group of party leaders who controlled nominations and elections in Manhattan, a Democratic stronghold.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“The link between gangsters nicknamed for food—Benny Eggs and Johnny Sausage—prompted agents to refer to them as “Chin’s Breakfast Club.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Put it in their face,” Gotti urged Sammy the Bull Gravano. “They want to see fucking lions and tigers and that’s what we are.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Johnson did what most politicians do to douse political fires: he formed a study group.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Mandelman, Stephen. Comrade Criminal: Russia’s New Mafiya. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Nevertheless, the inquiry turned up evidence to prove that with the help of mobsters, Post officials were dumping newspapers into the East River, incorporating them into the paper’s circulation statistics, and thereby boosting advertising rates.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Massino’s crew stashed stolen expensive men’s suits in a warehouse in the Corona section of Queens, and propelled the clothes on a rope line attached to a haberdashery across the street whenever customers showed up for a cut-rate sale.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Seizing on the reduced-ranks situation, Gotti urged Gigante to reinforce his family with forty additional men. Sammy the Bull Gravano knew that Gotti was scheming to undercut Gigante and to court loyalty from the new Genovese cadre by informing them that he was responsible for their admission into Cosa Nostra.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“A singular hoax was displaying the agent wearing a paper bag mask, posing as an informer. “There’s no doubt that they think we have a rat-snitch fingering them,” Richards rejoiced.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“A white, gummy substance smeared on the club’s plate-glass window blocked a view of the interior from the sidewalk. Inside, signs on the wall read: “Tough Guys Don’t Squeal,” “Don’t Talk. This Place Is Bugged” and “The Enemy Is Listening.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Although designated as acting boss, D’Arco sensed he was getting “curved instructions” from Casso, who was transmitting the same information and directions he received to other Lucchese members. The curved instructions were designed to determine if D’Arco was faithfully carrying out his bosses’ commands.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“In D’Arco’s words, “It was like a forest and all the trees around it were organized-crime guys.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Explaining his filing system to capo George Zappola, Casso noted that he catalogued top-notch car thieves under the letter C. Gaspipe’s sharp wit deflated Zappola when he asked for his classification. “Under U for useless.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Since the creation of the five families in 1931, the Lucchese borgata had proved to be the most stable and least divisive of the New York families.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Casso the son detested the nickname, simmering with rage at anyone who used it, although he allowed a handful of close accomplices to refer to him as “Gas.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“Boats were more to Gotti’s liking, and he piloted cigarette speedboats off the Florida and New York coasts; his boat in Florida was named Not Guilty.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“godfather,”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“lifting”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“The public is demanding that we recognize that the right of society to be safe transcends the right of the criminal to be free. When the forces of right and peace clash against the forces of evil and violence, something has to give.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

“When the haughty Mussolini rose to deliver a speech, the main piazza was empty except for a collection of seedy beggars and village idiots collected by the mayor. At a reception in another town, despite the vigilance of his bodyguards, the Mafia managed to steal Mussolini’s hat.”
― Selwyn Raab, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires