People Who Grew Up In Mob-Controlled Areas Are Sharing What It Was Like, And It’s An Interesting Look At The Past

Warning: This station mentions battle and home abuse.

Recently, a post connected the "Ask Old People" Reddit leafage from idiosyncratic Beautiful_Archer4981 asked, "People who grew up successful mob-controlled areas successful NYC, what was it like?" People from the New York country arsenic good arsenic different parts of the US spared nary item successful their stories, and I thought they were beauteous fascinating, gritty, and real. So, I decided to share:

1. "Dangerous and harmless astatine the aforesaid time. You didn't spot thing oregon perceive anything. You don't cognize nuttin' oregon who was driving. What car? 😂 I grew up successful NYC, successful the metropolis and suburbs. It was understood that you minded your ain business, were ever polite, and did not origin problems. If you didn't, you'd larn fast."

2. "My poppy was not a instrumentality of mob movies. Looking back, I deliberation my gramps viewed the mob arsenic a indispensable evil helium had to woody with, but did not similar however they destroyed lives. He did not presumption the mob done the romanticist eyes of cinema."

3. "My Black friends would get harassed erstwhile they came to visit. There's nary grant oregon mystique astir organized crime. They are nasty bastards, each one, and damn Hollywood for mythologizing them."

—u/Curious_Ad_3614

4. "NYC, 1950s to '60s. My parent taught america ne'er to inquire our friends wherever their dada worked oregon immoderate different household questions. Some of my small friends had incredibly fancy First Communion parties. Their moms were ever beautifully enactment together, and their families had astatine slightest 1 car. None of their grandparents spoke English. Everybody knew, but pretended not to."

5. "One time aft enactment successful Hollis, Queens, I went retired to my car and immoderate drunk feline was trying to get into it. When I told him it was my car, helium took a plaything astatine me, truthful I decked him (he was beauteous drunk). The adjacent day, idiosyncratic came up to maine and said that the feline I deed was a low-level feline with connections. So. Had to spell implicit to the luncheonette and speech to the mob feline who ran the numbers successful the neighborhood, and helium straightened it each out."

6. "My dada grew up successful the West Village successful an Italian American enclave portion Vinny the Chin was moving things. (Yes, helium utilized to spot him shuffling astir successful his bathrobe.) The lone effect it had connected him was helium had to inquire for support to bash thing commercial, and the mob signed disconnected connected each facet of a caller venture. My dada and his buddies wanted to unfastened a 'hangout' wherever they would complaint an introduction interest and service beer. A person of a person had been moving errands for the Mafia, truthful helium got them a gathering with someone, and each of a sudden, they had a storefront with tenable rent and nary cops checking successful to spot if the concern was legal/permitted. They did it for similar 3 years."

"Side note, I grew up connected Long Island, and a classmate’s begetter was executed by the mob (it was an unfastened concealed — helium was recovered with a gunshot coiled to the caput successful his car successful the parking batch of an abandoned market store — this was different an highly harmless country with NO weapon unit whatsoever). This happened successful similar 1998. The mob is decidedly inactive around, albeit smaller."

7. "Not NYC, but Youngstown, Ohio, had a large mob presence. So overmuch truthful that a car weaponry was called a Youngstown tune-up. My ma had a creation spouse who was gunned down successful wide daylight, and her sister dated a mob feline associated with the SFO 49ers. I asked her wherefore she didn't wed him. Answer: 'You don’t wed into the mob.' My aunt near Y-town aft a car weaponry went disconnected arsenic she was coming retired of work. That was enough."

8. "The Sopranos was beauteous close connected each fronts. Lots of my friend's dads worked successful 'waste management.'"

9. "I americium the lad of Italian immigrants from the NYC area. Parents divorced erstwhile I was astir 4 years old. I retrieve our car getting stolen 1 nighttime portion we were each astatine the bowling alley. My ma played successful a section league. They recovered the car a week later. It had been driven into a section pond. I asked my parent if they knew who stole our car. She told maine that she knew who did it. I asked her who. To her credit, she told 7-year-old me, 'I'll archer you erstwhile you are older.' Turns retired my begetter had a mates of guys process us, bargain the car, and ditch it. Cops said they banged the fastener with a hammer, but it was evident they had a key."

10. "My grandma grew up neighbors with Frank Capone successful the 1920s and '30s successful Chicago. She said, 'Everyone knew who and what helium was. But we could locomotion astir aft dark, ne'er had to fastener our doors, and during the Depression, each household successful our vicinity had a turkey for Christmas dinner. We learned to caput our ain concern and support our noses retired of different people's business. We knew to support our mouths unopen and never, ever, speech to the cops. We ne'er saw nothin'.'"

11. "My father's adjacent person was progressive someway with the Mafia. One day, this feline and his woman were driving their Caddy retired connected Long Island. A unit of 5 dudes connected motorcycles runs him disconnected the road. They bushed him up and assaulted his girlfriend. Bad idea. Within 3 months, each 5 guys were dead. I was sitting successful the surviving room, and connected the news, the newsman described the 5th death. My father, sitting successful his chair, said, 'Well, that's the past idiot gone.' The acquisition I learned from that was: You don't messiness with radical you don't know, due to the fact that you don't cognize who they know."

12. "Not NYC but Boston. My woman grew up successful Charlestown, successful the aforesaid triple-decker her parent grew up in. Charlestown has the Code of Silence: No substance what you saw, you didn’t spot nothing. And snitches don’t get stitches, they get their beforehand doorway kicked in, and they get shot."

13. "1960s to 1980s successful a vicinity truthful well-known to beryllium Mafia that 2 antithetic overseas question shows of the past 20 years person had episodes wherever they spell determination to 'meet the Mafia.' Safe arsenic houses. Unlocked doors. Passed retired drunk successful the parkland astatine nighttime and perfectly nary worries. Very, precise debased crime. Clean. No constabulary presence. No tickets, nary car tows. Parking is allowed astatine occurrence hydrants and anyplace else. Big teenage drinking parties successful the parkland with nary constabulary interference. Fireworks everywhere. Big Italian parade annually."

14. "Bensonhurst/Dyker Heights. There were cryptic rumors astir what went down successful definite restaurants and different establishments. When a kid got a bully car, we’d speculate it was mob money. You knew it was there, but you’d ne'er spot anything. Mob aside, everyone was Italian. You'd perceive it spoken successful stores, successful cafés. Instead of Spanish, our simple schoolhouse had Italian arsenic a 2nd language. The nutrient was banging and inactive is for the pockets of Brooklyn Italians left."

15. "I grew up successful agrarian Appalachia, and the Italian mob was precise present. They chiefly did gambling and wealth lending, but they softly ran dope too. No enactment work."

—u/LiquidSoCrates

16. "Safe; I got a caller Lincoln each year, and parked it retired beforehand adjacent to the occurrence hydrant, too. Elmhurst, Queens, by the way."

17. "The municipality was 80% Italian, safe, spotlessly clean, and the schools were precise good. There were a backstage Catholic schoolhouse and a nationalist school, some of which were top-rated. Everyone went to religion connected Sundays. The male-only mob happening was known, but ne'er discussed."

18. "It was a male-only 'secret' society. It was a very, precise accepted culture. Domestic maltreatment and cheating were rampant. The 'no disrespect towards women' happening was benignant of reserved towards made guys' wives, daughters, etc., due to the fact that it was disrespect towards their grant arsenic a man."

If you person thoughts oregon a communicative of your ain to share, consciousness escaped to bash truthful successful the comments. Or, if you privation to constitute successful but similar to support anonymity, you tin permission a remark via the anonymous signifier below!

Please note: immoderate comments person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is successful contiguous information arsenic a effect of home violence, telephone 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you tin telephone the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline astatine 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) oregon chat with an advocator via the website.