Stock fraud, war profiteering, illegal monopolies: for all intents and purposes the men who built America were thugs. They were lionized as visionary leaders, American icons. They toiled on southern plantations and in northern coal mines, were restricted to living in mining towns and the like, and were treated with scorn and abuse. But even while denied access to the mainstream, they became indoctrinated in the American system.
When Prohibition came along , they saw an opportunity to apply free market principles in a wide-open arena. I experienced this vicariously in researching my own Sicilian American family, through interviews with elderly relatives. Like thousands of others in her situation, my great-grandmother operated a still in her living room in my hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, under the direction of a neighborhood boss.
My grandfather, barely a teenager, peddled Coke bottles of illegal alcohol around town. The leaders of such operations formed sophisticated networks to distribute the product nationwide. What defines a national corporation more than the franchise model? When my grandfather, Russ, came of age he shifted from alcohol to gambling, the next income stream that the mob developed, running craps games out of the back of his car.
Together, the two men proceeded to take over the town. In the days before television, gambling was ubiquitous, and the mob provided a kind of public utility. Like the titans of American industry whom they admired, they bribed officials and manipulated local elections to get their way.
And they themselves were admired for it. The old guys I interviewed around town still spoke glowingly of them. The mainstay of their business was a numbers racket.
With it they did their best to copy Wall Street. Sammy Gravano Self as Self. Anthony Gelardi Self as Self. Trish Gelardi Self as Self. More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. The six-part docuseries follows four neighboring mafia-related families for two years as they try to decide whether to cut their ties to organized crime or embrace its legacy. Add content advisory. User reviews 7 Review. Top review.
Waste of precious time. What the producers did was find struggling families and exploited them. It's a miss match of made in Staten Island footage filmed in and new footage filmed in Copy and paste taken out of context and tried to make a "reality" tv show.
One cast member went through 3 boyfriends by the time it made it to air. Disguised as bad parenting when they just lashing out bc they are broke and don't have it like their friends.
Aka entitled narcissists exactly what is wrong with this world. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — My Mobster by J.
My Mobster by J. Drake Goodreads Author ,. Lylah James Goodreads Author ,. Kat Shehata Goodreads Author ,. Lisa Cardiff Goodreads Author ,. Ginger Ring Goodreads Author ,. Sumner Goodreads Author. They are vicious, ruthless, born and bred to rule. The only laws that matter are their own.
And those who betray them never live long enough to regret it. They are merciless leaders, lords of the underworld, and the more dangerous they are…the more we want them. This is a collection of novels that will show you just how tempting their world can be. Get A Copy. Kindle Edition , pages. More Details Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about My Mobster , please sign up.
Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list ». Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of My Mobster. Apr 02, Coco. V marked it as to-read Shelves: freebie. View 2 comments.
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