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Turning Down the Button
#618961
10/31/11 11:12 AM
10/31/11 11:12 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296 Throggs Neck
pizzaboy
OP
The Fuckin Doctor
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OP
The Fuckin Doctor

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
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Interesting article in today's Post. It speaks of one of the many changes to the mob life that we've discussed here over the years. To me the irony is that, years ago, turning down your button could get you killed. It was also unheard of. Today it could save you a lot of aggravation. La cosa ‘no’stra Wary mob goons turning down promotionsBy MITCHEL MADDUX, NY Post October 31, 2011 It’s an honor they can live without. Becoming a “made” member of one of the city’s five crime families was once the goal of every ambitious mobster -- and an offer definitely not to be refused -- but those days are gone, authorities told The Post. With rats lurking around every corner and aggressive feds breathing down wiseguys’ necks, many lower-ranking Mafiosi have been doing what was once unthinkable -- saying “no thanks’’ to the title. Low-level associates may earn less, but there’s also a better chance they’ll stay out of prison. They believe that becoming a made man or soldier makes them a bigger target for the FBI, experts say. “Getting your ‘button’ is like putting an ‘X’ on your back. You’re basically on the radar,” a law-enforcement source said. A Brooklyn federal prosecutor just last week detailed how Joseph Petillo -- “a longtime and very well-respected associate” of the Colombo crime family -- recently decided to pass on an offer to be made. “The Colombo family believed, based on Mr. Petillo’s prior history, that he would be a valuable member of the Colombo family. The Colombo family sought his membership,” Assistant US Attorney Liz Geddes told a federal judge. But in the end, Petillo “turned down an offer of membership,” Geddes said. Other criminals have made similar decisions -- among them Gambino, Bonanno and other Colombo crime-family associates, sources say. Some modern mobsters have other reasons. One Gambino associate declined an offer because “he didn’t want to put the crime family before his own family,” a source said, referring to the mob’s oath of allegiance, which calls for members to do just that. Some mob associates who run lucrative illicit businesses also believe they can make more money if they aren’t made, because members have to “kick up” a larger percentage of their earnings to the family’s leadership, experts said. By remaining an associate, “you’re more independent, you’re more on your own,” a defense lawyer explained. Such decisions are a far cry from the heyday of the New York mob in the 1970s, when turning down an offer to become a made man was tantamount to signing your own death warrant. “Years ago, it would be like disobeying orders -- literally from the boss,” an attorney said. Today, in certain circumstances, the mob leadership appears to understand and accept the reasoning behind turning down promotions. When Colombo associate Francis “B.F.” Guerra declined an offer from the Colombos, he had the heft and standing within the mob community to make such a decision without repercussions, FBI Agent Scott Curtis testified recently. “Everybody knows his reputation and all the criminal activities he’s done in the past. He doesn’t need a title to carry that reputation around,” Curtis said. “It depends who they were and their reputation.’’ Other experts say the decision to remain an associate is a clever move that might help a mobster sidestep charges under the feds’ powerful racketeering, or RICO, statutes, which require prosecutors to prove membership in a criminal enterprise. John Meringolo, a New York Law School professor, said that in the eyes of the Justice Department, “a ‘soldier’ is automatically involved in the RICO conspiracy.” Proving an associate was involved in a RICO conspiracy can be more challenging, he said. mmaddux@nypost.com Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/la_cosa_no_stra_LH9RdDb0S9tLBirtD19ZDM#ixzz1cN9p2URd
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: LeroyJones]
#618987
10/31/11 02:10 PM
10/31/11 02:10 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 343
Mooney
Capo
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Capo
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 343
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Who wants to be in the Colombo crime family nowadays anyway. There's always some stupid kid or some moron neighborhood guy that has probably wanted a button more then anything, especially in NY. I bet they can find new recruits, maybe from the bottom of the barrel though. Exactly, and the mobs leniency towards turning down your button will ultimately lead to more idiots being made, it will definitely thin the ranks of the smarter people.
"Thank God for the American Jury System" - Nicky Scarfo
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: IvyLeague]
#619061
10/31/11 10:35 PM
10/31/11 10:35 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819 Australia
Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica
Mickey Meatballs
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Mickey Meatballs
Underboss
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,819
Australia
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Right. Its funnier if you think of some guy going "Fuck buttons! Fuckin zippers man, thats where its at!" while repeatedly zipping and unzipping his tracksuit jacket. Even today this is probably the exception to the rule. For every guy that turns it down once in a blue moon, there are a dozen others that want it. True that. Even so, for every ten or so guys that supposedly turned down the offer, or at least claim they did, it seems one or two did for real.
(cough.)
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: LeroyJones]
#619066
11/01/11 12:38 AM
11/01/11 12:38 AM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171 pittsburgh pa
phatmatress
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171
pittsburgh pa
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Who wants to be in the Colombo crime family nowadays anyway. There's always some stupid kid or some moron neighborhood guy that has probably wanted a button more then anything, especially in NY. I bet they can find new recruits, maybe from the bottom of the barrel though. the key word in that sentence is moron which would what u would have to be to join the colombos.
I hate Dicknoses!!!!!!
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: yigido]
#619239
11/02/11 04:29 PM
11/02/11 04:29 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
IvyLeague
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 8,534
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i dont understand this rico how can you be indicted for being made and what if they cant prove you are made? You can't be indicted directly for being a made member of the LCN. But proof of your membership can be used to form a larger RICO case.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: HairyKnuckles]
#620760
11/19/11 02:21 AM
11/19/11 02:21 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,089 Brooklyn, New York
Dapper_Don
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,089
Brooklyn, New York
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Those NY guys that ended up with the NJ Family were regarded by the NY Families as pretty much unusable. They didn´t want them. But they still vouched for them. When "tranfered" to the NJ Family, they were still only "connected guys" and it wasn´t like they were being made overnight. In some cases, it took years before they got made and during that time they were carefully evaluated by the NJ bosses.
One funny thing about it is that the NY Families put an end to NJs recruitment of NY guys and withdraw their consent of it. This was in the 80s (I think) when the talent pool (even in NY) was getting slimmer. However, this didn´t stop the NY Families from recruiting guys from New Jersey! it was the mid-1990s "During the mid 1990s, Amari and Vitabile, now the most powerful members of the family, were present in a sitdown with representatives of the Gambino and Colombo crime families in New York City, as the DeCavalcante crime family had been recruiting reputed Mafia associates Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo and Gregory Rago, who together operated a social club on Mott Street and held criminal interests in New York City. The only problem was that, since these two mobsters were based in New York, their profit and activities should have gone to one of the Five Families, in this instance, either the Gambino crime family or the Colombo crime family. Reputed Gambino family captain Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo and Colombo family Consigliere Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi were present during the sitdown. The conflict was eventually resolved peacefully when it was ruled the DeCavalcante crime family could no longer 'make' members outside of New Jersey and South Philadelphia, which was another area that the DeCavalcantes had traditionally recruited from." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Amari#Sitdown_with_New_York
Tommy Shots: They want me running the family, don't they know I have a young wife? Sal Vitale: (laughs) Tommy, jump in, the water's fine.
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: LordSlickNutz]
#620761
11/19/11 02:22 AM
11/19/11 02:22 AM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,089 Brooklyn, New York
Dapper_Don
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,089
Brooklyn, New York
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I get how in general NY look down upon the DeCavalcantes, considering two (you can argued three) of the Five Families' Jersey factions alone have more manpower, presence and power over the Dimeo/Soprano (opps...I mean DeCavalcante :p) Family. Although, it must be said that not all wiseguys from the DeCavalcantes are treated as inferior. In fact, some were feared even by NY wiseguys. I recalled reading an article about Vinny Ocean where he scared Joe Colombo's son (who is a made guy) and made him backed down over a dispute. However, we are talking about Joe Colombo's son here, who made "Godfather III" before Godfather III was out and also the same one got beat up by Sammy Gravano. where did u see that about gravano and colombo's kid? you have a link?
Tommy Shots: They want me running the family, don't they know I have a young wife? Sal Vitale: (laughs) Tommy, jump in, the water's fine.
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Re: Turning Down the Button
[Re: Dapper_Don]
#620764
11/19/11 02:38 AM
11/19/11 02:38 AM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 62
LordSlickNutz
Button
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Button
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 62
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where did u see that about gravano and colombo's kid? you have a link? There you go. Ironically, Gravano had already met the family boss, Joseph Colombo, some time earlier. In Underboss, Gravano describes the incident: “I beat up both his sons one time. In a movie house. We had this argument and I got in a fight with Joseph Junior, who was younger than me, and I broke his ass. He went and got his big brother, Anthony, who comes and it’s the same result. I’ll never forget it. Joe Colombo sent for me, he called me down. He looks at me and says, ‘You beat up both my sons? You must be pretty tough. Did you know they were my sons?’”
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