The Jukebox & Vending Machine Racket

While it lasted, the jukebox and vending-machine racket was one of the biggest money-makers the Mafia ever had. Their ironclad control made certain of it!

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/jukebox-vending-machine-racket/

Another interesting article NYMafia. Good in-depth look into the gaming, jukebox & vending machines business.

..........I do try! lol

Another good one!

Big business not only for Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania but also their associates in Youngstown, Ohio

yes. all over the nation actually as well. If you scan the various borgatas from NY to CA you see the trend

There's always going to be a healthy market for video gambling and other various vending "businesses", but I think I could be happy getting 25% of what Dave and Buster's takes in. Nice revenue stream,fairly easy to wash,and unlimited cheese-fries !

Great article.

Regarding Catena, his partners in Runyon were Zwillman, Newark-based Jewish gangster Abe Green, and Barney Sugerman. Barney's son Myron, who is an amazing teller of stories, has a great book out that goes into detail about his own forays into the vending/video gaming industry and ties to the mob: https://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Last-Jewish-Gangster-Meyer-ebook/dp/B0773ZWFTJ

Also, another mobster tied in the industry was Trafficante underboss Frank Diecidue. He ran Dixie Amusements in Tampa.

Excellent, comprehensive article, NYM. Thanks! Important reminder of how these seemingly "small" rackets earned huge returns for gangsters. Also easy to disguise as legitimate businesses. Very good point about jukebox rackets helping careers of favored singers. In NYC, many jukeboxes were equipped with counters that recorded the number of plays each record got on that machine. Those figures were reported to agencies and publications that calculated which records were in the Top 40, and where they stood. That was still another way for mobsters to boost careers of favored artists.

Meyer Lansky had a jukebox company called Emby that he was very proud of. Longy Zwillman, the Newark rackets kingpin, also was NJ's biggest distributor of cigarettes and cigarette vending machines.

(BTW: Bobby Kennedy was chief counsel to the Senate Investigations Subcommittee in the late Fifties. He didn't become a US Senator until 1965.)

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Thanks Scott.

Yes I'm aware about Zwillman and Lansky in the racket as well. Some say that Catena started out with Zwillman in NJ before stepping out with the Italians.