Friends of Ours

Oscar Goodman Pens Memoir "Being Oscar"

Mob-lawyer-turned-Las-Vegas-mayor Oscar Goodman is out with his memoir Being Oscar, and "the most colorful and candid material in the book is about his notorious clientele" including Genovese associate Meyer Lansky, casino boss Lefty Rosenthal and Chicago Outfit enforcer Tony Spilotro as reported by George Knapp for KLAS.

Goodman insists that although he defended mobsters he never was a mob consigliere:

"None of my clients ever asked, should they kill anybody," Goodman said. "Nobody said, should we burglarize this? Some of my detractors would have me as a consigliere, but the truth is, they did not consult with me. They protected me. They did need me, and they needed me to be straight."

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Mob Informant Faces 30 Years

Mobster-turned-informant John Bologna will be sentenced today for his role in the 2003 hit on Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who ran the Genovese rackets in Springfield, MA as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican.  He never was called as a government witness at the racketeering trials against other Genovese mobsters for the Bruno slaying including one-time acting boss Artie Nigro because "he was not the most believable courtroom witness and a potential embarrassment for the FBI":

"Bologna would not present as a credible individual to a jury, given his history of duplicity and repeated withholding of information. Bologna would be easily led, through cross-examination, to say things that were inaccurate; and Bologna still may not be telling the whole truth as to things about which the Government does not know," a prosecutor wrote in the sentencing memorandum.

Under sentencing guidelines Bologna faces thirty years in prison but in light of his cooperation -- albeit incomplete -- federal prosecutors would accept less time for the 71-year-old.

Genovese Boss Gives Blessing From The Beyond To Lesbian Daughter's Upcoming Wedding

Rita Gigante, the daughter of deceased Genovese boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, recently came out as a lesbian in her memoir The Godfather's Daughter, and the spiritualist who speaks to the dead now is announcing that her upcoming nuptials to Bobbi Sterchele has been blessed from the hereafter by the passed mobster as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:

The legendary mafioso, who breathed his last in 2006, will be there [at the wedding] in spirit, says his daughter, Rita Gigante. And the dearly departed wiseguy -- dubbed "The Oddfather" for parading around Greenwich Village in a ratty-looking bathrobe -- will be dressed to impress.  "He's showing up in a suit and tie," Gigante told the Daily News.

Apparently the mobster's spirit isn't the only wise guy supportive of a gay child.

Last month Donna DeLucia wrote a letter to a Brooklyn federal judge requesting a lenient sentence for her reputed Colombo capo dad Dennis "Fat Dennie" DeLucia whom she says was supportive of her coming out process as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:  "My dad accepted me, embraced me and has supported me. His love and acceptance helped me through the rough times and growing pains."

The relationship between the Mafia and the gays has been a complicated one.  The mob historically has dominated gay bars, and even a few mobsters had a little sugar in their tanks.  Heck, Vito Genovese's second wife Anna was a lesbian who managed the mob boss's Club 82 in the East Village during the early 1950s which was popular with tourists for its drag performances.

Of course, being a gay mobster has its risks in the hypermasculine Mafia.  Former DeCavalcante boss John D'Amato was whacked in 1992 for being gay, and his killer Anthony Capo said "nobody's going to respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business."  Similarly, Lucchese associate Al Visconti was whacked in 1991, and although there apparently were multiple reasons for the hit boss Vittore "Jesse" Amuso thought Visconti was "a disgrace to the Luchese family because he had a reputation of engaging in homosexual acts in prison" according to courtroom testimony from former capo Alphonse  D'Arco.

However, even the mob may be evolving much like President Obama on gay issues.  Last year John Gotti's widow Victoria defended John Travolota to play the late Gambino boss in a planned biopic notwithstanding accusations that the actor made untoward advances against male masseurs as reported by the Daily News:

"What difference does it make if he were gay?" Victoria Gotti told the Daily News in an expletive-filled defense of the actor, who's been embroiled by a sex scandal for more than a week. "Who the f--k really cares? Does it make him less of a beautiful human being? No. . . .  Leave him the f--k alone. Whatever the true story is, leave him with his dignity," she added.  "In the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter."

Perhaps Victoria said it best.

Nicky Deuce Is Nickleodeon's Shame

Kiddy network Nickleodeon will premiere Nicky Deuce on May 27 which "centers on Nicholas Borelli II, a.k.a. Nicky Deuce, a nerdy teen who finds himself in Brooklyn with a mobster uncle he never knew he had after his plans to attend math camp go awry" as reported by The Huffington Post.

The film casts several actors from The Sopranos, and last year Nickelodeon executive Majorie Cohn said "having the Sopranos actors adds a level of authenticity and fun" as then reported by Martin Chilton for The Telegraph.  Among the tv show's alumni who appear in the upcoming flick is Tony Sirico who was convicted on a 1970 gun charge after allegedly harassing John Addison who operated the gay club The Together.

The Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition is calling for a boycott of Nicky Deuce, and president Manny Alfano says "these trash-television purveyors now want to brainwash a new generation with this insidious and hurtful stereotype of Italian Americans" as reported by Suburban News.

Frankly, it's hard to accept the mob genre as an appropriate subject for a kiddy network to explore give the long history of child exploitation by the Mafia.

What's next for Nickleodeon?  A movie about Mike Umbers and Ed Murphy who pimped out underage boys for the Gambino and Genovese crime families?  Or maybe an expose on the child porn racket operated by Gambino capo Robert DiBernardo?   Perhaps Nickleodeon can next tell the story about the Sicilian mobsters who kidnapped 11-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, and then after torturing the boy for two years finally killed him and dissolved his body in acid?  How about a series on pedophile mobsters like Genovese capo Salvatore Granello or Outfit crew boss Jimmy Allegretti?

No doubt Nicky Deuce is nothing but white-washed comedic entertainment about the Mafia.  To flip a phrase from Majorie Cohn the movie is less about "authenticity" and more about "fun."  However, given the harm which the Mafia has perpetrated against children, portraying it as anything but pure evil perhaps is the real fault with Nicky Deuce.

Shame on Nickleodeon.

Family Values: Lesbian Daughter Wants Sentencing Leniency For Mobster Dad

Dennis "Fat Dennis" Delucia faces 46 months when sentenced on an extortion conviction, and his lesbian daughter Donna has submitted a letter to Brooklyn federal judge Kiyo Matsumoto in an attempt to humanize the reputed Colombo capo who was supportive of her coming out process as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:  "My dad accepted me, embraced me and has supported me. His love and acceptance helped me through the rough times and growing pains."  Donna now lives in Kentucky with her partner and their 9-year-old boy, and she would like a light sentence for her gangster dad because "I want my son to spend long days with his grandfather."

Rita Gigante, the daughter of deceased Genovese boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, recently came out as a lesbian in her memoir The Godfather's Daughter as reported by Hamilton for the New York Post.  

The mob historically has dominated gay bars in New York City, and more than a few mobsters had a little sugar in their tanks.