Mafia activity in Pittsburgh (Philadelphia, New Kensington: car wash, retired, office)

[gg]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Are you people being serious? The mafia? in pittsburgh? or really just in Mckees Rocks and munhall?

Oh they certainly were a force in Penn Hills years ago. That is a fact! I don't know about now. There is no way it is like it used to be. The new law "racketeering" really put a hurt on the organized crime folks. The Pagans seem to be thriving, but that is about it, or at least as far as my eyes tell me. I do remember encountering some of the big guns in Pittsburgh at a certain bar/restaurant in Penn Hills. I had one drink and left pretty fast. No need to be around all that as an outsider.

[MathmanMathman]

Based on the locations, mob activity seemed to tie in closely with the unions.

[don1945]

I haven't lived in that area for years, but the mafia was very much alive in the 60's and 70's. I did financing for one particular company that was rumored to be mob owned, and the owner told me one time that if I ever got in trouble to just mention his name.

One night I was coming home from a club with a date and another couple in the back seat, and we were all very drunk. I ran a light in Wilkensburg, and some cops lit me up. They were at my window, asking me questions, and I was obviously not able to answer them in any sober manner. All of a sudden I said to the cop, "I am not really familiar with this area, I live in Penn Hills and work for _______ ________. " He looked at me strangely, handed me back my driver's license, and said "Have a nice evening Sir, and drive home safely !" They then got back in their squad car and drove off ! We sat there in shock and my date said "What the hell just happened there ?"

Another time we were at an after hours club in one of the Pittsburgh suburbs (you had to know someone to get in and the guy at the door peeped through a little hole in the door and he wore a VERY big gun !) It was about 3 am and I was sitting at the bar, eating an open steak sandwich. People were throwing dice on a pool table, and there was a lot of money being bet. Suddenly, the door opened and three City of Pittsburgh police came through the door, and I said "S***, it is a raid !" But it wasn't. Everyone there greeted them like old friends, and pretty soon the cops were throwing dice, right along with everyone else.

I later worked for a company that "was connected" and every so often a couple of guys with no necks would come in and meet with the owner, and we were all shooed out of the room while they had their meeting. I was told to not ask any questions, and I didn't.

Don

[locrese]

Pittsburgh is a mid level area for mob activity
Cosa nostra is cosa nomora. In our current melting
Pot world each city is has street level all the way
Up to transnational oc groups, gangs to lords.

Every ethnic group is on board every single race
Even mixed groups around...bikers etc. Today at the
Top its the Italians Russians Chinese Vietnamese japanesr Albanian
n Mexicans. Down from there u got Lebanese Irish all kinds
Of black groups bikers n so on.

Many have come to business together at all levels
Many do battle. Everyone gets a piece one way or the other.

But where there was cosa nostra strongholds they're now
Being overtake by the ndrangheta worldwide!

[locrese]

Also worldwide...the Italians work very very closely with other groups n know how to adapt with the times. Because they don't engage in much street level activity due to weak numbers vs other ethnic groups today, the Italians work hand in hand with bikers. Bikers although a presence themselves have found them carrying out huge chunks of the pie with m for the mafia. Everything from joint ventures to bikers collecting protecting n being there for the wise guys mutually n in respect.

But let's face it the Italians set the stage from day one. They reigned unscathed for over 60 years! Despite crippling persacution prosecution dwindling numbers Americanization and are actually right back at it right back on top n just when we thought they were on endangered species list they come back hard reinvented more powerful wealthier n with the mandate of the day in complete check!

Its far beyond unions n b.s. rackets. U think the Russian or triads give a **** about unions n running numbers? Ya well neither does ndrangheta! The mafia has moved on got wit the times n demands of today.

[NickelCity]

Originally Posted by jap124

I have extensively researched the Mafia in America/Pittsburgh over the past couple years by taking a organized crime class at Pitt, talking with an assistant district attorney who prosecuted the mob, and talking with a reporter who investigated mob. ....American mafia as a whole is weak. New York, Chicago, Boston, and Buffalo are the only cities I know of that still have a strong mafia presence.

JAP124 you say Buffalo still has a strong mafia presence. That is my contention as well--but many suggest it is all but dead in the Nickel City. Could you point me to some of your research that suggest the Mob in Western, NY is still strong and active?

I know in Maggadino's reign "The Arm" is it was called had great influence if not control over much of upstate NY (Falls, Rochester, Utica, Syracuse, Binghamton) Hamilton, Ontario, Toronto, Scranton/Wilkes/Pittston, Youngstown, and much of the Ohio valley. I just can't buy a family with that much power is dead now.

[Catia]

Oh I love it--you can go & take a college course to learn about the mafia-at Pitt!
I bet the real mafiosos have a giggle about that. If it were an elective when I was in college, I'd have taken it just to say I have it!

Yes, there was activity in Pittsburgh, & there's probably still some.
It's just not the same type of business, & anyone who's really in shouldn't be obvious.

For a time when I was young, I lived up the street from Codfish Bricker. I wanted to play with the little boy who lived there, (I believe he was his son) but I wasn't allowed. My babysitter lived next door to them for a time. I remember seeing him in the front yard & trying to sneak over to play with him & getting busted. I remember it wasn't something that was up for discussion. I felt for the boy because why couldn't he/we play just because his father was bad...that boy wasn't bad--That argument fell on deaf ears. I remember his mom was nice too.


About bookies-I seriously doubt that they were mafia, maybe a few were 'connected', but then I grew up around that type of thing, so it doesn't seem mystery laden to me, it's just business.
So were poker machines. It was big $$$ even in the dives.
I think everyone I knew & grew up with had a bookie, it was just the way it was.
That's how you played your numbers & bet on the games. Grandmothers included.
I never gave it a thought until now. Yes bookies made house calls. Why wouldn't they? People work & have schedules, it's just good business if you want to keep the $$ flowing-I think most of the trusted bartenders had an envelope for people who owed or needed paid-for when the bookies weren't there-or maybe it was just my experience. It seemed it was the normal course of business. LOL ironically I don't gamble.
Maybe 'friendly' bookie house calls was more a PGH thing?-they'd be invited to house parties/steeler parties-that wasn't unusual. Maybe with a large amount of shiftworkers with the way it used to be here & also how hard it was to get a Sunday Liquor license for a bar housecalls just were part of it.
Maybe the burg just had better bookies over all??? That's my thought.

On poker machines: back in the day most bars started off with the bar register & the 'other' register--which was at least ALWAYS 10x more than the bar ever made.

On another possibly related & briefly mentioned note:

Oh! how the after hours in Pittsburgh used to be. I miss that 'element'. Whichever brand of 'organized' crime that ran those clubs, --there wasn't trouble. Trouble attracted attention, & no one wanted that, so they were members only. Pittsburgh had a lot of shift workers & a lot of bars & bartenders--this was our venue. And yes police were regulars. You could eat/drink/gamble/dance maybe even a live band here & there, they made their $$ & it was a big social circle. Everyone was just having a good time until the break of dawn. Every side of Pgh had afterhours clubs, some more than 1. The night cab drivers knew them well. Everyone knew everyone. Raids for some were mandatory, & so were tip offs.

Then the old guys were getting too old, & a younger generation came in & screwed up the whole racket trying to make faster $$ & be cheap about it. The younger generation also didn't seem to understand how to fly under the radar, they wanted to be 'big shots'. The crappy elements came in & it all disintegrated within about a 5-10 year span due to the drugs & violence. Now there's no good after hours culture in Pittsburgh.

[locrese]

Why were the gambinos n Genovese's recently busted with drug smuggling with the
Ndrangheta and not Sicilian cosa nostra? Because the calabrese ndrangheta is n have
Been the biggest by far Italian mafia group in the world! They are everywhere and have a
Different code than the Sicilians and american cosa nostra. Pittsburgh has a huge calabrese
Population. Ndrangheta has always been here, but they remained quiet n took a back seat to the
LCN until about 15 years ago. Ndranghetisti are extremely powerful and beyond wealthy. They are the
Go to group and give LCN privelage of doing business with them as well as benefit from LCNs connections
Here in america only. Ndrangheta are very cautious of which LCN members they'll do biz with n are deeply entrenched
With Colombian cartels as well as los zetas a huge Mexican cartel. The latter won't deal with LCN because of all the rats!
Ndrangheta are very strong in Pittsburgh with ties to Asian Russian and Mexican criminals in the area as well as LCN. LCN are
In with the pagans n some black n Jewish n Irish gangsters here. Ndrangheta control cocaine at an unprecedented level throughout all of Europe Canada Australia Argentina Brazil and have exclusive partnerships with Albanian again Colombian and
Mexican cartels. Also in Canada n Australia with the biggest and baddest biker clubs. They work with Russian Chinese Nigerian groups as well. All and I mean ALL american cities that have or ever had a LCN presence now have ndrangheta!

I challenge anyone to look into them further if you want to know the reality of today. There will always be LCN here and the usual cities but even they know the power of the calabrese. Buffalo no longer has any say in Ontario and haven't for a long time.
Toronto and Hamilton are completely ndrangheta and Buffalo knows full well hands off or be decimates! Buffalo has turned to ndrangheta as well.

[NickelCity]

I read somewhere that the Musitano Family Is a "Calabrian" faction of the Buffalo crime family, based in Hamilton. Is this true, I thought they ordered the hit on Papalia in 1997, basically saying hands off to Buffalo crew operating in Hamilton.

[locrese]

Papalia was under Buffalos arm yes and musitano are ndrangheta that had no choice like other ndrangheta back in the day to take a back seat to LCN\sicilians and do bizness with the top dogs like maggadino etc. Now that ndrangheta is undisputably the top dogs, they're free to do as they please and maggadino n friends look to them for guidance n big money ventures, and to gain footholds. The tables have turned.

The rizzutos in Montreal did this to their fellow Sicilians and overseers the bonnanos..the rizzitos eclipsed them n stopped answering to them. So the bonnanos contacted the Toronto ndrangheta for help and the whole rizzuto heirachy got wiped out..like 20 of them.