Il Mulino is a great restaurant. Probably the best in NY. Only problem be prepared to drop a bundle!

It's a matter of principle for me. But places like Don Peppe, Domenick's, Peter Luger and other restaurants that only take cash I refuse to give them my business. We all know they are not fully reporting all the cash so the hell with them.I feel they are ripping me off. If you don't accept credit cards in today's day and age then you are not getting my business.

Another great restaurant in Astoria. In the same category as Il Mulino is Piccola Venezia. It's truly amazing!

http://www.piccola-venezia.com/

They're not ripping you off, they're ripping off the government of the United States. Plus, if you have to use a credit card to go out to dinner, then you shouldn't be going out to dinner.

It's well known that Astoria had a mob presence back then. If you go to Joe N. Gallo's FBI file, it clearly states that it was a meeting place for his underlings and is where he conducted business. Sure, it was also a business to help him with tax purposes, but it is the location he used to run his empire...Period.

Wasn't it Paul Vario's wife Phyllis who had the drink spilled an her? From the same article: "It was reported that after a waiter spilled a drink on the wife of Lucchese crime boss Paul Vario, he ordered his capos, including famous FBI rat/informant Henry Hill, to attack the waitstaff and cooks with lead pipes after they closed up for the evening".
According to Hill in his book "we were chasing waiters and breaking heads all over Brooklyn that night".

Bugsy, last time you went out to eat did you happen to check your bill? Did you see a tax of 8.875%? So if you pay cash do you think the owner is reporting that? You in essence are adding another 8.875% TO YOUR BILL. I only use credit cards unless someone wants to negotiate then I pay cash. I use credit cards for everything, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Pizzerias, every where. And as a side note, I can afford going out to eat and I only use Amex.

Didn't mean "you" in general, just meant if a place requires cash, then pay cash. I've been to many cash only restaurants and when they bring the bill "in my experience," it was strictly food & beverage. And yes, I use AMEX for everything for air miles.

You told that story a little different last time

Pizzaboy, I'm only going by what I heard from the locals in Astoria who'd been there for the last 2 decades or so, I honestly don't know much about it.. not as much as you seem to know, certainly.

From what I've been told, not much happened in his candy store. I'm not saying it was completely unrelated to the mob, it wasn't like the Ravenite or the Bergin social club, activity-wise. I might be wrong though, but anyways.

I've only stayed in NYC for a couple of weeks in an apt near the last metro stop in Astoria (Ditmars Blvd) and I was just under the impression that not much went on there historically, mob-wise. That's all.

Overblown? Probably so but did they hit made guy(s) or they didn't? Did they get away with it or they didn't? Goes to show the balls on these guys.
Thanks for the welcome.

My short term memory is bad. Remind me what did I say? That was the day Medish was to meet us in that place. Then he had a accident. So what did I say.

Hey today I was with some people who rejected Satan. I never did that

Was at totonnos a couple of weeks ago. Line outside the door at 3pm in ghetto Coney island. Thought it was good, not great, but reasonably priced and a cool atmosphere.

The service also leaves something to be desired. They seem to have a disdain for touristy types but that is their lifeblood. No one on mermaid ave is going there to say the least. Thats a shitty neighborhood.

The only place I eat in Coney island is close to MCI park the home of the cyclones. Name of it is Garjulio's 2911 West 15 street. Not a mob hang out unless I happen to be eating there. I like the place go there after watching a game or before the game.

Dunno if you remember "Carolina", a block away from Gargiulo's. It wasn't as fancy a place but the food was the absolute best!

Way back in 1976, my ex and I had some friends visit us and they wanted to try some Brooklyn Italian food. I figured I'd get some takeout from Carolina and then get some pizza from Spumoni Gardens (a short distance away) and give my friends a real treat. One thing I didn't think of .... it was the weekend that Carlo Gambino was being waked. Since the funeral home wasn't far from these two restaurants they were both MOBBED (no pun intended). My friends ended up getting treated to Brooklyn Chinese food.

Garguilos is right by totonnos. I think totonnos is a little northwest of where it is

Casa Rosa (384 Court Street Brooklyn) - Punchy Illiano/Genovese family

Isn't Punchy dead also? I thought he just died

are pizza huts or dominoes good places to see mobsters too in say Queens or Brooklyn? or are they more Papa John's guys? Any inside info is very much appreciated

Joe's of Bleecker is the best SLICE http://www.joespizzanyc.com/

DiFara's might be better but you have to wait 2 hours for it.

Totonno's is a restaurant that doesn't serve slices. It's very good though.

The most infamous of all mob restaurants was Sonken's Gold Coast Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale:

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-06...-message-center

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-05-05/news/9405050122_1_gold-coast-restaurant-racketeering

Found this on the Albanians. Does anybody know who they "beat up?"


"We got wind of the crime ring in June 2001, when gang members beat a member of the Astoria gambling scene in Queens, sending a message that The Corporation was now in charge. Two months later, heavily-armed members of the syndicate stormed a rival gambling parlor and shut it down.

“We had a sense they were an organization, but we were surprised at how aggressively they challenged New York’s Italian organized crime families,” said the FBI case agent assigned to the investigation. “They started taking territory, beating up ‘made men.’ In recent years, the FBI has done such a good job going after Italian organized crime there was almost no one left to challenge them or fight back.”

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2006/march/albanian_032906

Not Your Average Syndicate
The Rise and Fall of an Albanian Organized Crime Ring

03/29/06

Their names sound like they were lifted straight from a TV crime drama: “Big Frank,” “Nicky Nails,” “Louie,” “Fat Angelo.” But these guys weren’t fictional. They weren’t Italian mobsters, either, as their names suggest. They were real-life members of an Albanian organized crime enterprise in New York that called itself “The Corporation.” And for a time, the syndicate prospered.

Following a massive investigation by the FBI and the latest round of convictions in early January, however, The Corporation is now largely out of business and most of its leaders—including ringleader Alex “Allie Boy” or “Uncle” Rudaj—are behind bars.

The organization didn’t start from scratch. Many of its leaders had worked with established crime families in New York. But as other syndicates were decimated by criminal convictions, The Corporation moved in, muscling aside its competition through violence and intimidation.

We got wind of the crime ring in June 2001, when gang members beat a member of the Astoria gambling scene in Queens, sending a message that The Corporation was now in charge. Two months later, heavily-armed members of the syndicate stormed a rival gambling parlor and shut it down.

“We had a sense they were an organization, but we were surprised at how aggressively they challenged New York’s Italian organized crime families,” said the FBI case agent assigned to the investigation. “They started taking territory, beating up ‘made men.’ In recent years, the FBI has done such a good job going after Italian organized crime there was almost no one left to challenge them or fight back.”

At one time, the syndicate owned a massive network of gambling parlors and gambling machines. Agents estimate that it controlled at least 50 video poker machines throughout Queens, the Bronx, and Westchester County. Each machine pulled in at least $700 a week, or about $1.8 million a year altogether. A single dice game could bring in an additional $67,000 a week. “They were choking on money,” the case agent said. The Albanian ring eventually branched out into extortion, debt collection, and loan-sharking.

Up to a dozen New York agents actively worked on the case over the past five years. So far, more than 20 members and associates of the organization have been charged with various crimes. More than 10 have pled guilty, six have been convicted, and another defendant still faces trial. Some face up to life in prison.

The FBI is still looking for another fugitive linked to the organization, Miri Patani. Anyone with information about Patani or Albanian Organized Crime activities—or similar crimes—is urged to contact the New York field office.

Resources: FBI Organized Crime webpage

Note: The individuals pictured or identified here may have been apprehended or may no longer be wanted by law enforcement since the above information was posted on this website. Please check our Wanted by the FBI website or contact your local FBI office for up-to-date information.

Anyone got any good recommendations for the Times square area?

Yeah, it's not Times Square anymore. Disney and Yuppies like you saw to that .

You know I'm kidding, Buddy. I always liked Carmine's uptown better, but the one in Times Square is still better than anything you ate growing up in Anytown, USA .

And thanks for the pm. I just got back yesterday, so I'll return it later today .

I like Tony's DiNapoli on 43rd street.
http://www.tonysnyc.com/

And DaMarino's on 49th street
http://www.damarino.com/

I was thinking Carmines, but it seems like more of a family place.

And thanks,PB. Take your time. And thanks for the recommendations, beanshooter

Too late. Check your pm .

Check your pm too pb

They were Greek gamblers affiliated with the Luccheses. The second one involved a club tied to the Gambinos.