I am somewhat familiar with the case and don't know all the details, but I do know that your "honest" Garbage haulers were neck deep in what is in the industry called "slamming"
It is the practice of placing dumpsters of the premises of businesses even before they open their doors, and guess who they derive the muscle to enforce that from? I don't know hat went sour, but I would be careful about calling them "innocent"

Was there ever really a good side?

No, there wasn't a good side. As someone pointed out, if they did you a favor they would be there for a big payback- much like corrupt politicians of today. Gotti put on a great fireworks display and people loved it but maybe he had a motive- to influence future jury members or make himself more likeable so that the community would keep him informed of trouble in the works

How about this a kid from Harlem used to work in an Italian deli as a kid. A lot of people liked him.

Later he had a chance to buy out the place and start his own Italian deli there. He did not have the start up money. The local shy heard about it. He offered to give the boy the 30 thousand to start that business. At no interest unheard of thing to do.

Got to remember the shy was an animal you would not believe all the bad things he did.

Any way besides that his club was right across the street from that deli. The guys would make orders from the place all day long.

I did not realize this but you pay more for cold soda then you do if it is not refrigerated. A Penny or more a bottle.

Well the shy happened to notice that difference. He confronted the kid about it. The kid told him you may more for soda if it was cold.

The shy flipped I personally think he was right to flip. Guy loans him a lot of money interest free. Plus he orders from him every day.

Now the shy wants his money back right away. The deli owner like I said had a lot of friends. They helped him pay the shy back.

I would say before that incident the bad guy actually tried to help the kid

Another good story again concerning the deli owner. He also got local business from the school kids. At catholic grammar school was near by they got lunches from him.

Then all of a sudden a guy wants to sell the tenement building next to the deli. No takers the area was going fast. Then the guy got an offer from a place like Covent house to rehab drug addicts. Any time a place like that opens it kills any businesses near them. I think at the time and this was a long time ago. He originally wanted 8 thousand for the building. The drug rehab guys offered the owner 16 thousand. Now the owner was as happy as a pig in shit. But the other businesses and everyone else were very unhappy.

So the deli owner asked another friend to help. His friend goes to see the building owner with the 8 thousand to buy the building. The owner refuses because he got a real offer of 16 thousand. They try to reason with the owner about doing that would kill the neighbor hood faster then it was already dying.

Then the deli owners friend got pissed off. He had him hanging out the window. Then told him to take the 8 thousand or they were going to drop him from 4 flights up. He took the money.

So again the bad guy helped his friend and the neighborhood.

Did they actually pay the rents of struggling Italian families in arrears back in the day or is that just a myth?

I even remember Billy Beatty saying in an interview that he payed rent for Irish families about to be evicted in Hell's Kitchen at one stage, which naturally I found very hard to believe.

He said they wouldn't look for it to be payed back. Yeah right..

Why pay their rent when you can put pressure on the land lords not to do it. If they knew the tennent very very well. Or perfect people to borrow from a shy to get the rent money. What if the could not pay? If one of the tenants was a young hot mother or daughter. You got some good pussy as payment. Or you got some guy or kid Livving in the apartment. to do you a favor. Like kill that shy if you wanted him dead. Then most of the time the kid that did it turns up missing.

But not always