Mob Adjacent

​Paul Castellano (1915-1985) was head of the Gambino crime family in New York. He was known as the “Howard Hughes” due to his vast wealth and reclusive habits. He began as a butcher and dropped out of school in the eighth grade. Castellano began working his way up the criminal org chart. In 1976, Carlo Gambino died of natural causes. Against expectations, he had appointed Castellano to succeed him. His unsanctioned murder by an eager and impatient John Gotti led to years of turmoil within the Gambino clan.

​Ross Prio (1901- 1972) was born in Italy and brought to America as a child. During Prohibition, Prio made his bones bribing cops and politicians for the Outfit. He was also a suspect in several murders and bombings. He gained a reputation as one of the Outfit's leading torture and murder specialists. Prio eventually made his way up the Outfit org chart until he ran the entire North Side, long considered the jewel in Chicago’s crown. Prio pleaded the Fifth 90 times before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management during the 1950s. He died of natural causes.

(L-R) Ross Prio, Jackie Cerone, and Joseph DiVarco "testifying" before Congress.

We talk a lot about hoodlums and gangsters here on Mob Adjacent. Indeed, they are a significant part of Italian American history. But there's more to being Italian than getting cozy with gangs, outfits, and families. There's the food. We believe Italian food is the best food in the world. One of the foods that was always in Mom's pantry was a stack of slim tins of anchovies. That much-maligned fish is often banished from pizzas and relegated to the smelly fish category. But I ask -- where would the original Caesar Salad be without the addition of anchovies? Nowhere. And while you may not want to chow down on anchovies or make it tuna-style into a salad, the anchovy can be a vital element to food.

We were reminded of this recently reading the New York Times recipe section and came across this delicious-sounding wonder you might want to try: 

​Midnight Pasta With Garlic, Anchovy, Capers and Red Pepper

Ingredients

• ½ pound spaghetti
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 anchovy filets, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional
• Parmesan for grating, optional

​Preparation

1. Put the spaghetti in a large pot of well-salted rapidly boiling water and cook only until firmly al dente. (Depending on the brand of pasta, this will be 8 to 10 minutes, but check frequently to see. )
2. While the pasta is cooking, warm the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, without letting it brown. Stir in the anchovies, capers and red pepper and cook for a half-minute more, then turn off the heat.
3. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Pour in the garlic mixture, add the parsley, if using, and toss well to coat. Serve with grated Parmesan if desired.

Wasn't that easy? We tried it. There was nothing left. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
         

Dominick A. DiBella (1902 - 1976) was a capo (street boss) in the Chicago Outfit. His closest associates were Dominick Brancato and Dominick Nuccio, known as "The Three Doms". They worked under North Side boss Ross Prio. DiBella was in charge of extorting bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, and headed the crew's juice loans. By the late 1960s, DiBella was semi-retired. After Ross Prio’s death in late 1972, DiBella was brought in as Prio’s replacement at the suggestion of Tony Accardo. He remained as boss of the North Side until he died of cancer at the age of 74 in 1976.

The Three Doms (L-R) Dominick (Nags) Brancato, Dominick DiBella, and Dominic Nuccio.

We talk a lot about the Outfit and the Five Families, but there were more than two criminal organizations in America. In Detroit, the Purple Gang (also known as the Sugar House Gang) was a mob of mostly Jewish bootleggers operating out of Detroit, led by Abe Bernstein. Though lost in the mist of mob history, the Purple Gang was an important organization during the 1920s. The proximity to Canada and its illegal-in-America Canadian Crown whiskey and other forms of alcohol made Detroit a key point of entry.

The Purple Gang had a key alliance with one particular American bootlegger, Joe Kennedy. And when Kennedy double-crossed the Purple (like he double-crossed every person he ever met), it took the Chicago Outfit's intercession to quash a murder contract on Kennedy. If you think it taught that little weasel a lesson, you'd be wrong.

By the late 1920s, The Purple Gang owned the Detroit underworld and controlled local vice, gambling, liquor, and drugs (American gangs found drugs too filthy to handle). The Purple Gang also ran the local wire service, providing horse racing information to local horse betting parlors and handbook operators (bookies). Bersnstein made friends with infamous mobsters in other cities including Meyer Lansky and Joe Adonis.

The Purple Gang was also suspected of taking part in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929. Allegedly, Abe Bernstein had called Bugs Moran and told him that a hijacked load of booze was on its way to a garage in Chicago. It was a helpful tip for Moran. His arch-enemy in a turf war, Al Capone, was making things difficult for Moran's Northside gang.

The next day, instead of delivering a load of liquor, five men dressed as policemen went to S.M.C. Cartage on North Clark Street (Moran's North Side hangout) and opened fire with machine guns, killing seven men in what has become known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

The Purple Gang rose to dominance as a criminal gang, but in-fighting and excessive violence let them to self-destruct by the 1930s.

Joe Bernstein and Abe Bernstein earned eventually hefty prison sentences after previously escaping jail time through old-fashioned intimidation and corruption. Waves of bloody infighting ensued, with key members being killed, including  Abe Axler, Eddie Fletcher, and Henry Shorr. The gang continued in a diminished capacity, but the predecessors of Detroit’s modern-day Mafia stepped in and filled the void as The Purple Gang, ultimately, self-destructed.

Fun fact: ​They are referenced in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock in the song of the same name: "The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang."

Make no mistake, organized crime is a by-product of organized government, and you can’t have one without the other. In Chicago, Big Jim Colosimo defined the modern crime family; Johnny Torrio refined it, and Al Capone turned it into a brand as recognizable as Coca-Cola.

Here on Mob Adjacent, Al Capone articles, posts, and memes have consistently been among the most popular. And we get it – ask anyone anywhere to name someone from Chicago, and they’ll probably say Al Capone (even though technically he came from Brooklyn).
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A popular subject of films, Capone has been played by Paul Muni, Rod Steiger, Robert DeNiro, and most recently by Steven Graham. 

Countless books have documented his life and career. A new biography has arrived from Deidre Bair offering a fresh look at one of the seminal figures in organized crime. Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend.

Here are the five big takeaways from Bair's book to whet your appetite:

1. He was a tough-guy practically from Day One. Capone became a local legend in his Brooklyn neighborhood as a child, admired for his “brutal but graceful” fighting style. He was recruited at age eight into a gang of teenagers known as the Boys of Navy Street. Bair writes that once Capone stole a washtub, strapped it to his chest, and beat it like a drum to intimidate rivals during a gang brawl.
2. His wife was pretty tough, too. Mae Capone got fed up with her 21-year old husband’s constant cheating three-years into their marriage. To teach him a lesson, she dyed her hair the same blond as her husband’s 15-year old mistress. The dye job was said to infuriate and humiliate Capone in front of his family. Later in life, Capone made all his mistresses go blond.
3. Being Al Capone’s kid was no picnic. Children – being the hateful little shits they can be – teased Sonny Capone brutally, showing him newspapers about his famous father’s exploits. As if having a headline-magnet for a father wasn’t enough, he was a small, sickly child, and hard of hearing from the syphilis he got as a fetus from his mother, who got it from her husband.
4. The man loved to eat. At a time when people were starving during the Depression, Capone opened soup kitchens in Chicago and became a local hero, beloved by the people and reviled by the police. He spent more than $1,000 a week on food, more than most families spent in a year. In his subsequent trial for tax evasion, his grocery bill became evidence that Capone earned more than he claimed.
5. His dick did him in. Al Capone wouldn’t be the last man whose sex life ruined him, but in Capone’s case, it killed him. As a young man, Capone contracted syphilis. By the time he was 48, the disease reduced his mental capacity to that of a 12-year old child. The good news is that the disease mellowed him and turned the monster into a gentle family man in the last years of his life.

​Below, Alfonso Gabriel Capone with his mother Teresa.

John Dillinger (1903-1934). was as much a celebrity as any movie star, sports hero, or opera singer. Along with Bonnie and Clyde and Ma Barker's Boys, Dillinger made the Depression a little less depressing with his daring robberies, escapes, and shoot-outs. His antics played out like a soap opera in America's newspapers.

Syracuse Journal, March 3, 1934

CROWN POINT, Indiana (INS) — With a wooden toy pistol, John Dillinger, America’s most notorious killer and bank robber, cowed 24 heavily armed guards in the Lake County jail today and escaped, in broad daylight, with a fellow prisoner.

Seizing two machine guns from their jailers and forcing a deputy sheriff and a garage attendant to accompany them, Dillinger and his companion sped north out of Crown Point in a stolen car toward Chicago. Dillinger’s escape was the second of his career and among the most spectacular breaks in the history of American crime.

Obtaining the machine guns, Dillinger and his companion, Henry Youngblood, cowed the guard and deputies, forced them into a cell and backed out of the jailhouse, locking the doors after them.

At the same time, it was reported Dillinger liberated three other prisoners, telling the three men to “scram.” The desperado then ordered George Blunk to go with him.

Earlier in the jailhouse, Dillinger had called out to the guards and deputies: “Don’t move or I’ll fill you full of lead.”

Outside, he singled out a black police sedan, forced Blunk into the driver’s seat, climbed in beside him, and, with his machine gun seized in the jail, poked into the deputy’s side, ordered: “Now drive, and drive like hell.”

Early reports of the jailbreak, erroneous because of the hysteria of the guards and deputies who were victimized, said Youngblood had liberated Dillinger after walking into the cell house with a machine gun.

What happened was that as a guard approached his cell about 9:30 a.m., Dillinger covered him with what appeared to be a heavy pistol and ordered him to open his cell door, under threats of immediate death. As the guard opened the door, Dillinger seized his sub-machine gun, dropped his wooden pistol to the floor and swung the gun to cover the entrance to the cell row where another guard stood. Threatening death to the guard if he made a sound or move, Dillinger liberated the other prisoners, one of them Youngblood.

Marching into the jail office, Dillinger covered the six regular deputy sheriffs and 16 extra guards with his machine gun. His companion seized another machine gun and the pair drove the guards and deputies back into the cell tier and locked them in.

Youngblood was being held on a charge of murder. The three other prisoners made no attempt to flee after leaving the jail, and surrendered to deputies in front of the jail as soon as they arrived.

Dillinger’s escape came from what was reputed to be a foolproof jail, watched over by Mrs. Lillian Holley, sheriff of Lake County. Mrs. Holley was immediately summoned to the scene.

Prosecutor Robert G. Estill of Lake County was also summoned, and spread the alarm to police and sheriffs’ forces of surrounding towns and counties and notified the Chicago detective bureau. Crown Point and Lake County authorities had boasted of the “fool proof” qualities of their jail when Dillinger was locked up there a month ago, following his capture in Tucson, Arizona, on January 25.

Dillinger was awaiting trial for the murder of a policeman in a $24,000 holdup of an East Chicago bank on January 15. A paroled convict from the Indiana state penitentiary in Michigan City, Dillinger had been seized in Dayton, Ohio, on September, 1933, on charges of participating in several bank robberies.

It was later reported that Sheriff Holley and Prosecutor Estill were especially embarrassed about the escape. When Dillinger had arrived in Crown Point with a police escort a few weeks earlier, the sheriff and prosecutor, along with other local dignitaries, had been photographed with the outlaw. Estill seemed particularly friendly toward Dillinger, who also was in a chummy mood.

Holley and Estill would later lose their jobs after  making Crown Point and its city police and sheriff's deputies the laughing stock of the nation. It was widely assumed the "gun" Dillinger used for his escape was made of wood. Another popular story was that Dillinger had fashioned the gun from a bar of soap and shoe polish.

Some newspapers insisted Dillinger must have used a real gun that had been smuggled into the prison by a female visitor. Apparently the authorities were reluctant to allow people to believe lawmen could be so easily fooled. Later research showed Dillinger's escape was helped when the jail allowed a visitor who slipped Dillinger a gun. That visitor may have been Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, Dillinger's girl friend. But isn't it more fun to believe Dillinger used razor blades to carve his get-out-of-jail free gun from a piece of wood in his cell?

In the end, it was a dame who did him in, that infamous "lady in red" whose sartorial advertisement alerted waiting police to their prey. The movie might have been Manhattan Melodrama, but Chicago got its share of melodrama on a steamy, hot July 23, 1934. The theater was air cooled, as cool as the morgue Dillinger would soon occupy.

After the Depression devastated the nation, President Herbert Hoover declined to help starving Americans. He believed it would make people reliant on government. While homeless encampments became known as "Hoovervilles," President and Mrs. Hoover dined formally each night, serenaded by a military band.

Meanwhile, Al Capone set up soup kitchens. One of the two men was sent to prison. 

The people didn't want much -- just jobs, so they could buy food and shelter for their families. Al Capone provided jobs, too, when the government couldn't or didn't.

In Chicago, an army of "alky cookers" distilled grain alcohol in every barn, basement, backyard and bathtub. One man's crime is another man's daily bread.

The more you know: Mob Adjacent brings you stories about the people whose names are synonymous with organized crime.

JOHN GOTTI (1940 – 2002). In tabloid lingo, Gotti was the Teflon Don, evading successful prosecution, or the Dapper Don, for his smart appearance. As boss of the Gambino family (one of New York’s original “five families”) Gotti seized control in a murderous coup in 1985 when he orchestrated the murder of acting boss Paul Castellano. Between 1985 and 1992, no gangster cut a flashier profile than John Gotti.
​
Where other mob bosses lived quietly, Gotti devoured media attention. He didn’t care who knew what he did – as long as they knew his name. As America’s premier celebrity gangster, Gotti cut a dashing profile, with his swept-back silvery hair and $2,000 bespoke Brioni double-breasted suits accessorized with $400 hand-painted floral silk ties.
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Gotti saw himself as a hero, Robin Hood to the working class, admired and respected around the world. Despite his amiable public personality Gotti, secretly recorded tapes and testimony painted a picture of a narcissistic tyrant with a furious temper who betrayed allies and ordered the killing of loyalists he suspected of being informers or who hadn’t shown him proper respect.

The Life and Death of John Gotti is headed for the big screen in August 2017, with John Travolta as Gotti.

Learn more about John Gotti below.

What is crime and where does it dwell in American society?
Gus Russo in his authoritative book, The Outfit, makes the distinction between two types of crime – underworld and upperworld – and how the difference between the two often depends on which side of the line you’re standing. Once upon a time, Coca-Cola contained actual cocaine, and cocaine was sold as a legitimate medicine. Alcohol was legal, illegal, and legal again. Marijuana was legal, illegal, now legal (in some states). Prostitution is illegal (except where it’s legal). Off-track betting was illegal until it became legal. And today’s river boat casinos are literal takes on the old “floating crap game.”

Were the robber barons who built America entrepreneurs or criminals? Look deeply into the pasts of John D. Rockefeller, Philip Armour, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, C.P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, George Hearst, Cornelius Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, James Duke, and others, and you’ll likely find examples of French writer, Honoré de Balzac’s famous dictum: “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.”
Examples of upperworld crimes include things like Franklin Delano Rooslevelt selling political positions. Allegedly, Joseph P. Kennedy (one of America’s original bootleggers, gangsters, and criminals) first paid FDR $160,000 for his position at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Later, Kennedy paid FDR the same amount to appoint him Ambassador to the Court of St. James in England (a position Kennedy ran from as fast as his spindly legs could carry him once the Nazi bombs started falling).

John F. Kennedy is said to have relied heavily on his family’s network of underworld connections to secure the upperworld White House and later help with the Castro problem in Cuba (which ultimately toppled Kennedy’s house of cards) when he ran afoul of two powerful enemies: the CIA and the Outfit.

President Harry Truman got to the White House with the help of Kansas City boss Tom Pendergast. In his capacity as Chairman of the Jackson County (Kansas) Democratic Party, Pendergast used his network of associates to help elect politicians (sometimes through voter fraud) and hand out government contracts and patronage jobs. In the process of peddling graft, Pendergast grew rich. His organization launched the political career of Harry S. Truman, later causing Truman's enemies to dub him "The Senator from Pendergast."
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After failing in business, Truman took the path of easy money and went into politics. In 1922, Pendergast suggested Truman run for office. With the help of the Pendergast machine, Truman was elected. From there, Pendergast pushed his puppet up to the political chain until Truman found himself in the Oval Office.

When Al Capone took over the reins of Chicago's criminal enterprise, he was barely 30 years old. Though his life of crime stretched all the way back to New York, his reign as mob boss was remarkably short compared to someone like Anthony "Big Tuna/Joe Batters" Accardo. Scarface made two fatal mistakes.

​The first mistake was laying down with a diseased prostitute and earning a dose of clap that would eventually kill him.

​The second mistake was not giving Uncle Sam a cut of the vast fortune Capone and his crew earned from organized crime.

When the government couldn't touch him for murder, blackmail, extortion, bootlegging, assault, or any of the many crimes Capone committed or sanctioned, they found a ledger book that sealed Capone's fate as an income tax cheat. Where Elliott Ness, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Chicago police failed, the IRS triumphed.

Al Capone was 33-years old when he began his 10-year prison sentence for income tax evasion. He was 5' 10-1/2" and 255 pounds, and grey eyes, with double scars across his left cheek.

​Meyer Lansky famously said: "Always overpay your taxes. That way you always get a refund."

​Take the lessons with you: Avoid prostitutes, and always pay your taxes.

We recently asked Facebook readers to list their favorite mobster movies. While the resulting list contained some expected classics, one dark horse rode in -- The Big Short. The acclaimed 2015 movie had nothing to do with mobsters on the surface. But consider the way bankers rigged a system to skim profits out of the housing market. Sounds like a new take on the old Casino story, and both ended with things blowing up! ​A couple of television series' were mentioned, too. But we kept it to movies.

​Are these the best mobster movies ever? Maybe not. But they're our favorites. You got a problem with that?

In case you're wondering, the top two titles were A Bronx Tale and Goodfellas, followed by The Godfather, then The Godfather Part Two, Casino, Donnie Brasco, and The Untouchable rounding out the top. If someone were putting together a boxed set, that would be a fine starter set!

The more you know: Mob Adjacent brings you stories about the people whose names are synonymous with organized crime.

​Some might argue that the real beginning of organized crime in Chicago came with "Big Jim" Colosimo,  restauranteur and brothel-owner of the first order. Or some might say Johnny Torrio first organized a disjointed collection of criminals into a cohesive working entity with a top-down, corporate structure. But ask just about any person in any part of the world to name an American gangster, they will likely mention one name: Al Capone, Scarface. (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947)

​Alfonso Gabriel Capone turned organized crime into a brand as familiar as Coke. He laid the foundation for what became The Outfit. What do you need? A bookie? A juice guy? A pimp? A house painter? Bombers? Safe crackers? Second-story guys? Booze-runners? Al ran a one-stop shop. He said:

At least six actors -- Paul Muni, Rod Steiger, Neville Brand, Jason Robards, Ben Gazzara, and Robert DeNiro -- have played Al Capone in movies. Countless others featured a Capone-like characters -- the cocky gangster in a fedora, bespoke suit, and over-sized cigar . Learn about the real Al Capone from some of the people who knew him personally.

Who's your favorite movie Capone? Tell us in the comments below.

Here at Mob Adjacent we celebrate everything Italian and mob adjacent. We're all about promoting a vision of love, passion, family, loyalty, and respect. (Because don't we need more of that?)

​Our goal is to be your one-stop shop for all things Italiano. Mob Shop will offer super cool, high quality mob wear, and we're looking down the road at a line of housewares from our mob kitchen. We know a guy in Illinois who makes small-batch, artisan Italian pasta sauces. We know a guy who imports pasta, tomato puree and olive oil from Italy. We know a guy who gets the best spices. We know a produce guy. You get the picture. We looking ahead to holiday food baskets filled with popular Italian favorites.

​​​​We're thinking about dinner-in-a-box. You get an 8-quart stock pot and a strainer/steamer (back in the old neighborhood, we called it a scolopasta; Americans call it a colander), a couple of cans of imported Italian tomatoes, a bottle of olive oil, packets of spices, pasta, even Mob Adjacent pot holders, kitchen towels, and an apron. Add water and stir!

​We'll have recommendations on new and classic Italian cookbooks, travel recommendations (Calabria in May or Firenze in July?), and all things mob adjacent and mob connected. We want to bring the best of Italian culture to the Americano.

The more you know: Mob Adjacent brings you stories about the people whose names are synonymous with organized crime.

LOUIS ‘LEPKE” BUCHALTER (1897-1944) was born in Manhattan’s Lower East Side to a family Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Aside from his general involvement with organized crime, Buchalter’s true fame from his running of an organization of hired killers, which came to be known as ‘Murder Inc.’ The name honors the business-like approach Buchalter’s “staff” took to killing. Murder Inc. profited through killing troublesome gangsters within the mob and whacking eye witnesses to the mob’s crimes. It made Buchalter one of the most powerful gangsters in the United States.

Buchalter's Murder, Inc. partner, mobster Albert Anastasia, acted as the conduit, relaying contract hit requests to Buchalter, who then assigned the job to gang members for “processing.” Buchalter didn’t start out peddling murder. He was arrested for the first time 1915 (burglary and assault), eventually earning 18 months in prison for similar crimes in 1917. Upon his release from prison in 1922, Buchalter moved heavily into organized crime with his partner, Jacob “Gurrah” Shapiro.

Establishing themselves through their extortion and protection businesses, Buchalter and Shapiro terrorized New York’s garment workers, took control of the city’s textile unions, and milked bribery payments from employers and the union members.

Buchalter rise reflected the changes taking place within the criminal hierarchy of the 1920s. As a Jew working within the Italian Mafia structure, he was a close business associate of Charles “Lucky” Luciano, and Mayer Lansky. By the 1930s it had become common for the prejudices between different ethnic and religious groups to be set aside for mutual financial gain.

By 1935, law enforcement estimated that Buchalter and Shapiro had as many as 250 men working for them and grossing more than $1 million per year ($17,000,000 in today’s dollar). They controlled rackets in the trucking, baking, and garment industries throughout New York, and Buchalter owned a posh nightclub in Manhattan.

It all started to fall apart in 1936. Buchalter and Shapiro were convicted of violating federal anti-trust laws in the rabbit-skin fur industry in New York. While out on bail, both men disappeared. On November 13, both men were sentenced while absent to two years in federal prison. The two appealed the verdict, but in June 1937, both convictions were upheld.

Buchalter was eventually betrayed by Abe Reles, a mobster who had become an informant. In December 1941 the boss of Murder Inc. was sentenced to death. Conspiracy theories surround the decision to execute Buchalter. When first arrested, the Chicago Tribune claimed Buchalter avoided the death sentence because he made a deal to keep silent about links between the Roosevelt administration and Murder Inc. Sidney Hillman, a member of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, was also president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Buchalter’s earlier involvement with garment workers’ unions led some to theorize that he could have held incriminating information on Hillman. Information which would have inevitably proved damaging to the whole Roosevelt administration. It wouldn’t be the last time FDR found himself in the middle of criminal activity.
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Buchalter was put to the electric chair on March 4, 1944.

The more you know: Mob Adjacent brings you stories about the people whose names are synonymous with organized crime.

ARNOLD ROTHSTEIN (1882-1928) is considered the godfather of American organized crime. There are several theories about where, when, and under what circumstances “organized crime” came into existence in America, and who brought it. But it’s undisputed that Rothstein first looked at crime like a business and tried to bring the top-down corporate management style to crime. He was called the “J.P. Morgan of the underworld,” the man who financed America’s criminal empire, a pioneer in truly organizing crime.

Unlike many gangsters who grew up on the hard streets, Rothstein was born into comfortable circumstances on January 17, 1882, in New York City. He began his gambling career early, some say around the age of nine, shooting dice. The thrill never left him.  And unlike the street hoods and thugs with whom he associated, Rothstein was a cultured, dignified gentleman. But his personal refinement didn’t prevent him from sending his tugs to take out anyone who failed to pay his debt.

He would become famous first as a loan shark and gambler, and then moved into liquor during Prohibition and later narcotics. By age 28, he was on his own and started his first casino. His casinos and high-end whore houses were known for their quality and courtesy. “Treat the customer right” was Rothstein’s hallmark. His investments eventually grew to include horse-racing and part ownership in Maryland’s Havre de Grace Race Track. Most famously, Rothstein is credited with helping to rig the 1919 World Series. His vast wealth allowed him to buy judges, mayors, senators, cops, and other authorities by the barrel and used them as necessary.
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Rothstein is said to have financed the beginnings of the careers of Jack “Legs” Diamond, Waxey Gordon, Owney Madden, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, and the future head of Murder, Inc., Louis “Lepke” Buchalter.​​

On November 4, 1928, Rothstein was shot during a business meeting at Manhattan's Park Central Hotel. He died two days later 6. The shooting was reportedly linked to debts owed from a 3-day long, high-stakes poker game in October. Rothstein hit a cold streak and ended up owing $320,000 ($4.5 million in today’s dollars). He claimed the game was fixed and refused to pay his debt. The hit was intended to punish Rothstein for failing to pay his debt. The gambler George "Hump" McManus was arrested for the murder, but later acquitted for lack of evidence.

From 2010-2014, actor Michael Stuhlbarg portrayed Rothestein in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire as a milk-swilling, cake-eating dandy.

Fun fact: In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald based his bootlegger character, Meyer Wolfsheim, on Rothstein.
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 Next up: Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Murder, Inc.

Maybe it's because Italy is located on the most perfect piece of real estate in the world --  a boot jutting into the Mediterranean, with a spine of snowcapped mountains, and endless valley and hilltops bathed in sunshine on either side. Maybe it's nationalistic pride, but I think Italian food is the best food in the world because Italy is home to the best ingredients in the world.

When life handed Italians lemons, we made Limoncello!

​Italian food is great because of its simplicity -- basic, peasant food prepared with simple ingredients. And nothing is more Italian -- and more filled with controversy -- than the ever-present tomato-based pasta covering. I don't know what to call it without running afoul of someone's Nonna. Gravy? Sauce? Marinara? Zugu? Cut open an Italian, and it's what we bleed.

​Whatever you call it, we had it at least twice a week growing up -- Wednesday and Sunday, usually. Mom made GRAVY in what we called the Oh My God Pot -- a stainless steel pot big enough to poach a three-year old child! It seemed like she made the stuff my the drum. Whenever she didn't feel like cooking, mom would take a container out of the freezer . We never, ever seemed to run out. It was a toss-up who dad's pals really came to see -- him or mom (specifically what mom had in the refrigerator or on the stove).

​The other subject loaded with controversy -- the meatballs. Mom simmered the raw balls in the gravy. She said baking or frying makes your balls tough, so I simmer my balls.

My niece, Ashley King, recently moved into her first apartment and started cooking. Her favorite meal? A big plate of pasta and meatballs covered in grandma's gravy. She asked for grandma's recipe. Since I typed it up, I thought I'd share it with the world. I make no claim that this is the definitive recipe, just the one I grew up eating. For me, it's the only one that tastes "right."​

SHOPPING LIST

• 8-quart stock pots – two, one of the gravy and one to cook the pasta
• Scolapasta for draining pasta (Known to Americans as a colander or strainer)
• Ground Meat, 1 lb. (Mom used a mixture of beef, pork, and veal; I've used ground turkey and chicken also.)
• Tomato Puree, Two 28-ounce cans (Mom always used imported Italian tomatoes)
• Breadcrumbs, Italian seasoned, 1/2 cup or more (Mom always used Progresso)
• Parmesan or Romano cheese or combination, 1/4 cup, freshly grated (It's got to be fresh; that stuff in cardboard tubes is like sawdust)
• Garlic, fresh, 3-4 cloves chopped
• Egg, 1 large or 2 medium
• Olive Oil, 3-4 tablespoons
• Oregano, 1 tablespoon dry OR 2 tablespoons fresh
• Basil, 2 tablespoons dry OR 4 tablespoons fresh
• Parsley, 1 tablespoon dry OR 2 tablespoons fresh
• Salt, 1 tablespoon
• Pepper, 2 teaspoons

​GRAVY
Pour just enough oil in the bottom of the pot to cover the bottom, 3-4 tablespoons
Heat oil on a medium heat until the oil begins to smoke; reduce heat to low; add chopped garlic and gently sauté on low heat for 5 minutes. You want it soft and a little brown.

Add 2 cans of tomato puree; fill each can with hot water; add 2 cans of water and stir. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the oregano, basil, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to mix. When it comes to a boil, simmer one hour or more. The longer it simmers, the richer the gravy.

MEATBALLS
Put ground meat in a bowl; add 1 egg; add bread crumbs; add grated cheese; add 2 tablespoons fresh parsley; add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; mix together.

If necessary, add more breadcrumbs gradually until the mix holds together. You want it sticky, not slippery.

Roll into balls about 2-inches in diameter. Think golf ball. (Be sure to count them for Grandma. She always counted them.)
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With the gravy gently boiling, slowly drop in the meatballs. Within a few minutes the meatballs will float to the surface in the boiling gravy. Reduce heat to simmer.
Partially cover and allow to simmer one hour or more. The meatballs will get more tender the longer they simmer.

​Cook your pasta according to instructions, drain in the scolapasta. Serve covered with sauce and grated cheese.

That’s it. So easy.

Compiled for your ethnic stereotyping enjoyment, here are several lists of “you know you’re Italian when” jokes.

• You can bench press 325 pounds, shave twice a day and still cry when your mother yells at you.
• You carry your lunch in a produce bag because you can't fit two cappicola sandwiches, 4 oranges, 2 bananas and pizzelles into a regular lunch bag.
• Your mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant, travel agent and lawyer are all your cousins.
• You have at least 5 cousins living in the same town or street. All five of those cousins are named after your grandfather or grandmother.
• You are on a first name basis with at least 8 banquet hall owners.
• You only get one good shave from a disposable razor.
• You netted more than $5,000 on your First Communion.
• You fight over whether it's "sauce" or "gravy."
• Your mom's meatballs are the best.
• You've called someone a "mamaluke."
• Your grandfather had a fig tree.
• And you understand "bada bing"
• Christmas Eve . . . only fish.
• You've been hit with a wooden spoon or had a shoe thrown at you.
• You know how to pronounce "manicotti," "tagliatelle" and "mozzarella."
• Your mozzarella is from Buffalo milk
• You go to Nonna's 110 pounds and come out 120!
• You eat Sunday lunch at 2:00
• You have a gold chain, cross or horn
• You have a stupid nickname
• You love nutella...anytime
• You love Versace, Gucci, Prada, Armani just cause they're all Italian
• Guys have to respect their women...or else...
• For all you guys...mommy is numero uno!
• You have a cross over your bed
• You attend 5 weddings, 5 engagements, 5 baptisms, 5 communions and 5 confirmations every year!
• You eat gelato when it's three degrees!
• You got teased at school cause of your smelly salami and mortadella paninis!
• At Sunday lunch at Nonnas at least 30 people attend!
• There are at least 2 or 3 fridges in your house
• Your house is full of bombineris!
• At Nonnas Theres always a prosciutto and/or salami hanging in the garage
• There are pictures of La Madonna everywhere
• Your father owns 5 houses, has $300,000 in the bank, but still drives a '76 Monte Carlo.
• Your mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant and travel agent are all blood relatives.
• You consider dunking a cannoli in an espresso a nutritious breakfast.
• Your 2 best friends are your cousin and your brother-in-law's brother-in-law.
• At least 5 of your cousins live on your street.
• All 5 of those cousins are named after your grandfather.
• If someone in your family grows beyond 5'6", it is presumed his mother had an affair.
• There were more than 28 people in your bridal party.
• You netted more than $50,000 on your first communion.
• At some point in your life, you were a D.J.
• 30 years after immigrating, your parents still say "Pronto" when answering the phone.
• You build your house with 3 materials: brick, brick and wrought iron.
• You have at least one sister that went to Beauty School.
• Clothes from the Chess King will actually fit you.
• It is impossible for you to talk with your hands in your pockets.
• Have been to a funeral where talk of the deceased is, "He shoulda kept his big yap shut.
• If you have more aunts than you can count out on 2 hands.
• If redecorating your living room means changing the plastic sofa covers.
• If your backyard consists of 1/8 grass and 7/8 tomatoes and radicchio.
• If you have more pictures of Jesus' Mother Mary on your walls than family members.
• If everyone over the age of 55 in your family is short, fat, and wears nothing but black.
• If you're visiting your grandparents at either 2 in the afternoon or 9 at night, and they interrupt you in mid-sentence because it is time for their show
• If you don't even know the names of any of your eighteen bridesmaids
• Plastic on the furniture is normal
• You've called someone a 'stunod'.