Friends of Ours

Nine Guys And A Chick Charged For Alleged Roles In Lucchese Loan-sharking And Gambling Operation

The New York State Attorney General has busted ten suspects including reputed Lucchese made man Dominick Capelli for their alleged roles in a loan-sharking and gambling operation in the Bronx and Westchester County as reported by LoHud: "loan-sharking victims were allegedly required to make weekly, high interest 'vig' payments, either by directly paying individual defendants or by dropping off cash payments at two New Rochelle businesses: McKiernan's Lawton Street Tavern and The Glass Room, a smoke shop, Eric Schneiderman said." One "of the mob suspects, in an unusual twist, was a woman: Jessica Bismark, 32 of New Rochelle, caught on a wiretap griping about one of the loan-sharking marks" as reported by the Daily News.

Frank Erickson Was A Bookie's Bookie

Frank Erickson had a head for bookmaking, and "with Luciano, Lansky and other boldface names of elite gangster peerage, he created a national bookie federation linked by phone to his Times Square den," and his Logwood Reality Co. "became a bookie's bookmaker, accepting 'layoff' bets as a hedge for those overexposed from lopsided wagers on a particular horserace or prizefight" as reported by the Daily News.

In a January 8, 1958 memo the FBI provided the following "thumbnail sketch" on the "top hoodlum":

FRANK ERICKSON, was. Frank A. Erickson, Francis Alfred Erickson, Jack Lennon, Harry Richards, Frank Strader

NY file # 92-653

FRANK ERICKSON, FBI No. 1762258, born 11/22/93, NYC, (verified).  Resides 610 West End Ave., apartment 11B, NYC, with wife [name redacted].  Subject described by informants as one of the largest betting commissioners in the United States with assets in excess of $2,000,000.00.  Subject believed to be owner and sole stockholder of at least four large realty corporations in NYC.  Subject convicted of bookmaking and income tax evasion.

Erickson died in 1968 at 72.

Federal Judge Declares Mistrial After Jury Deadlocks In Joey Merlino Racketeering Case

A federal judge in New York has declared a mistrial in the racketeering case against reputed Philly mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino after the jury was unable to agree on a verdict as reported by The Inquirer: "prosecutors did not immediately say whether they intended to retry Merlino on counts that also included illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and health-care fraud."

Earlier coverage:

Reputed Mobsters Taken Down From Florida To Massachusetts

Chinese Immigrants Taking Away Jobs From Italian Mobsters!

Yes, interloping immigrants really do take away jobs from native citizens even in the underworld.

Police officers "in Italy swooped down on a Chinese mafia organization on Thursday, arresting 33 people on suspicion of running a criminal enterprise that dominated the transport of Chinese products in Europe, financed with money from prostitution, gambling and drugs" as reported by The New York Times: "the mass arrests captivated attention in Italy, where the term mafia originated, and provided a glimpse into the extensive economic tentacles of Chinese gangsters in Europe."

Organized crime in Italy should remain Italian, and that's just one nativist's view.