Here it is: Chapters 1 and 2 of Secrets of the Mob-The Men and Their Methods

Secrets of the Mob

The Men and their Methods

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All rights reserved. No portion of this book can be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form by any means.

Copyright 2021 by Jay R. Baer

ISBN 978-163972701-8

Disclaimer The information in this book is intended for entertainment use only. The men mentioned in this book were in fact criminals and the writer had no intent to convince anyone to emulate or copy these individuals.

This is the first edition of Secrets of the Mob

Non-fiction

Author-Baer, Jay

Secretsofthemob.com

Secrets of the Mob

The Men and Their Methods

Introduction

The gangster has always been a big part of American life, men such as Arnold Rothstein,

Meyer Lansky, and Al Capone from decades ago to the more modern gangsters, John Gotti and Paul Castellano. We have always had great admiration and respect for them; we celebrate them and we admire and applaud their nonchalant, carefree attitudes. Many envy them because they did whatever they wanted and never asked permission from anyone for anything. Most of all, we loved the power and money that they seemed to accumulate so easily. We looked up to the gangster because subconsciously that’s the way many of us hunger to be. We want to be the person who does their own thing and dares to go against the normal, humdrum day-to-day boring life.

In the movie Get Shorty, John Travolta played Chili Palmer, a tough, no-nonsense, hard hitting wise guy who played by his own rules. Even though Chili was a fictional character, he was the type we are talking about. Would you like to be like Chili? In one particular scene, he aims his .38 snub-nose revolver. As his boss Ray Bones opens the door, he pulls the trigger and fires a shot at Ray grazing his scalp.

In another scene, Ray and Chili are enjoying a cool South Florida day at the same restaurant, Ray goes to the coatroom, sees his coat is missing and takes Chili’s leather coat. The host informs Ray that the coat belongs to Chili, he doesn’t care and takes it anyway, this sets Chili off and he sets out after Ray. As cool as he can he has his partner drive him to Ray’s apartment, Chili knocks on the door, Ray opens the door and chili punches him in the face breaking his nose. Chili takes his coat and leaves without a word or any hesitation. Chili Palmer truly characterized the wise guy persona. John Travolta portrayed Chili in the same fashion many real gangsters lived their lives. No B.S.

The Godfathers built financial empires that still exist today. We have followed their real and fictional lives. The Godfather was one of the most talked-about and viewed gangster movies ever to come to the silver screen. For the first time, we witnessed how the gangster lived their lives. After Goodfellas graced the movie theaters, we saw first-hand how treacherous and dangerous it was to be involved in their world. Secrets of the Mob will reveal something unique about these men. Books about gangsters have mainly concentrated on their criminal lives and law enforcement’s dedication to convict them. It is time to look at them in a different light.

Everyone’s life has negatives and positives, so did the gangsters. I looked at the positive side of their lives, fully aware of the fact that they were criminals. Secrets of the Mob intent is not for you to admire or model after the gangster, and it also does not intend to place them on a pedestal and have the reader view them as heroes. They were, in fact, criminals. However, they were also business executives, fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons. Men like Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Benjamin Siegel, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, and John Gotti to mention a few, have taken their place in our history. You will learn unique facts about them. What was Al Capone like as a husband? Did you know he was a philanthropist? What did Meyer Lansky do for recreation? Was Meyer a mathematical genius? What kind of father was John Gotti? How did they run their business, their homes, and their social lives? The research, time, and dedication for this book was done for one reason to tell a different story, a unique and untold story of how they lived. They were all bosses of huge and successful mob families. Secrets of the Mob will explore their lives in a way never done before. You will learn how they handled their personal lives and families and their business families. We will take a glimpse into how they treated their girlfriends, wives, and lovers, and much more.

Their methods are based on historical facts. I hope you enjoy it. Jay R. Baer.

Education and the Beginning Secrets

Chapter One

“I don’t wanna be a product of my environment.

I want my environment to be a product of me.” – Frank Costello

No matter what type of education you receive, it is always the key. In the movie A Bronx Tale, Sonny lectures C on the importance of a well-rounded education, “You get two educations, one in school and one in the street.” Most gangsters did not get a proper education, too bad they didn’t know Sonny. Maybe their lives would have been a bit easier. They did it the hard way and received their education from the street, and the street can be merciless, rough, and unforgiving. Many died in those streets trying to make their way to the top, and many succeeded. Be tough and strong and you have to know who to trust. In this world, fight your way in and up and if you cannot then you better be able to find something else to do.

Joseph Valachi said, “You live by the gun and the knife and you die by the gun and the knife.”

Meyer Lansky was born in Grodno, Russian Empire. When asked where he was born, he would always answer Poland. The Mobs Accountant, The Chairman of the Board, and The Financial Wizard of Organized Crime were other names Lansky was known for. He was a mathematical genius. Being an independent thinker and an enthusiastic achiever, he felt school wasn’t the right course for him and left school a few months before his fifteenth birthday with only an eighth-grade education. We have to assume that his calculating abilities came naturally, a great skill he was born with.

Lansky always had a love for numbers, figuring out problems, finding answers to any given question, and he used his talents to excel in the world of mathematics, which assisted him in developing the gaming industry in Las Vegas and Cuba. As a boy, Meyer would study a crap game being played on the street and he could figure the odds of the next roll in his head.

His parents moved the family to Manhattan and the first thing young Meyer did was join the library. His father knew that getting involved in the auto industry would be a good move for his son. First, he helped young Meyer to go to work as a tool and die mechanic and later on as an automobile mechanic.

Lansky was an avid reader and many people who worked with him admired him for being enthusiastic to learn and improve himself. His business partner Benjamin (Bugsy)

Siegel once said, “That Meyer. Can you believe it, he’s even a member of the book of the month club?” Many of the books he read were on the subject of math. He and his friends would sit in Wolfie’s restaurant in North Miami and discuss various topics, and if there was a debate, they would go across the street to the library and resolve their differences. Like so many other boys, Meyer started his criminal empire in the streets of New York and he had to fight his way through almost every day. This situation was more difficult for young Meyer because of his size. He was shorter than most of the other boys, Meyer hit the height of five feet tall and was harassed often, however he was the epitome of the saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, It’s the size of the fight in the dog.” He lived up to that and took on members of the Five Points gang and won the admiration of their leader, Charles “Lucky” Luciano. They became lifelong friends, and they knew that if they were going to make it in that world, they had to find others that they could depend on, men who would be loyal to one another and men who they could count on no matter what came up. Later on, he met Benjamin Siegel, and they too became good friends and built a friendship and business relationship that lasted for years. Together they started the Meyer and Ben Gang and built a business empire that made a fortune. They also became famous underworld figures and celebrities.

Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, NYC in 1899. His parents were Italian immigrants, Gabriele and Teresa Capone. Alphonse Gabriel Capone AKA Scarface, Big Al, Big Boy, and Public Enemy No.1. He left school at fourteen after the principal hit him and Capone was a man who never let anyone take advantage of him; he struck back and was expelled from school. His career started in the streets of New York in the same fashion as Lansky, in the Five Points gang, and made the street his second home. Capone worked as a candy store clerk, a bowling alley pin boy, an ammunition plant laborer, and a bookbindery cutter. He did these odd jobs as he worked with kid gangs who carried out petty crimes and thefts and along the way he let everyone around him know he was to be taken seriously. Al once said, “I’m a kind person, I’m kind to everyone, but if you’re unkind to me, then kindness is not what you will remember me for.” Al was as tough as a teen could be and as he made his way up the ladder of streetwise success, he would get into brawls with other gang members, mainly the Irish. He gave an Irish White Hand gang member a severe beating. They promised they would even the score and Capone was instructed by his mentor Johnny Torrio to leave New York and join him in Chicago.

Capone’s other mentor, Frankie Yale, agreed and sent Capone, his wife, and his young child to Chicago to work for Torrio. This is how Capone came to Chicago and later grew as the biggest and strongest gangster of his era.

John Gotti was born in the Bronx, NYC in 1940. Also known as The Teflon Don, The Dapper Don and Johnny Boy were nicknames given to him, mainly by the media. The street was also his second home and for Gotti; it was more important to him than most of the other gangsters. He learned from the street, his primary education, and he learned from the men of those streets. The education as a gangster was in good supply since he lived in Brownsville-East New York, which was filled with the criminal element. John joined a mafia-backed gang, Fulton-Rockaway Boys, with his brothers Pete, Richard, and Gene where he met long-time friends, Angelo Ruggiero and Wilfred “Willie boy” Johnson. Here, he could exhibit his toughness. When John was sixteen, he stood five foot seven. Gotti had an air of confidence that showed he was the boss.

Paul Castellano was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1915, to Italian immigrants Giuseppe Castellano and Concetta Castellano. Paul also known as The Howard Hughes of the Mob, Big Paul, The Pope, and The Boss of All Bosses. Big Paul’s start in the gangster life was a bit different, Paul dropped out of school at an early age, the eighth grade and, went to work for his father, who was a butcher. But the butcher’s life wasn’t for Paul, he did not admire the blood and animal meat on his father’s apron and boots.

Paul sold lottery tickets out of the back of the butcher shop. The Castellano’s were not rich, but they weren’t dirt poor like the others.

In the movie Goodfellas Henry Hill showed us that cars like Cadillacs and other luxury cars were the way to go and working for a living was for suckers. Paul liked to dress well, and he admired cars like Packard and Stutz.

Chapter Two

Role Models Secrets

“There’s only so much you can teach a person until you reach the limits of his

capabilities.”

Arnold Rothstein (Meyer Lansky’s mentor)

The gangster’s success was limitless. They needed someone to help them reach their capabilities. We all need someone to look up to, someone to admire and someone to teach us and share their successes. The gangster was no different. Having a role model is an important person to have in your life. They help you move along in your career easier and faster because of the knowledge they offer. You will be way ahead of the person who goes on alone and without a mentor. Not only can role models help you, but many times the protégé has ideas of their own that can help their mentor. It was no different for the gangster. Meyer, Al, John and Paul all had role models and mentors.

Meyer Lansky’s role model was another Jewish gangster, Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein, also known as The Father of Organized Crime, The Brain and, The Big Bankroll was a legend among gangsters because he knew how to earn a dollar, millions of dollars. He was a gambler, a real estate investor and a huge lender. He knew how to gamble and took calculated risks, especially with horse racing. He earned millions in bookmaking, which is how Arnold made a good part of his fortune. He also made tons of money in real estate investments, racehorses and Broadway shows.

Arnold met Meyer at a Bar-Mitsvah and he passed his knowledge on to him. Lansky made a big impression on Rothstein and Arnold invited him for dinner at the Park Central

Hotel, where they talked for over six hours. The Brain had an eye for talent and ambitious and hungry young men. Rothstein was also responsible for bringing in men such as Lucky Luciano, Jack Diamond, Waxey Gordon, Dutch Schultz and Frank Costello.

Rothstein invested in the lucrative business of bootlegging and backed Lansky and his gang. After the U.S. government decided it would make drinking alcohol a crime and introduced the Volstead Act, Rothstein took advantage of their stupidity. He brought in alcohol from Canada and he knew the business needed dependable transportation and that’s where Lansky came in. Meyer and his close friend Ben Siegel opened a car and truck rental company. As time went on and after Arnold Rothstein’s murder, Lansky took what he learned from his mentor and added his expertise and built a criminal empire that stretched across the United States and to many parts of the world.

Jim Colosimo, the head of the Chicago syndicate, recruited Johnny Torrio and Johnny became Al Capone’s mentor. Capone’s ambitions flourished under the tutelage of Torrio. His first few jobs working for Torrio were as a chauffeur, bartender, bouncer, and bodyguard. Torrio’s principal business in the windy city was brothels. After Jim’s death, the duo took over the city and expanded their gambling and prostitution businesses. Capone and Torrio took advantage of prohibition and began a rewarding bootlegging business. Capone’s street smarts, his experience as a petty thug, and his bookkeeping abilities propelled him deeper into the world of organized crime. Torrio recognized Capone’s abilities and brought him in as a partner.

A few years later, Bugs Moran and Hymie Weiss ambushed and shot him several times. Torrio lived and decided it was time to retire, and for the next twenty-two years, he lived a comfortable life. He died of a heart attack in a barber’s; he was seventy-five years old.

John Gotti had his sites on being a boss early in his career, he had a persistent dream of being a leader in the Gambino family. He admired Albert Anastasia, also known as The Mad hatter. Albert Anastasia was the boss of a family that later became the Gambino Crime Family. He also started a for murder hire company that the media nicknamed Murder Inc. Gotti was 17, a junior bookmaker and apprentice wise guy. John admired men who strolled around the streets without a care in the world, wearing tailor-made, expensive suits, shined shoes and black fedoras. They drove clean, glimmering black cars, which also made their life more intriguing for a youngster like Gotti.

Gotti looked up to Anastasia and took him to be one of his role models, along with longtime friend and mentor, Aniello Dellacroce. Dellacroce was the person who told John tales of Anastasia, bringing him to admire the boss. However, Gotti got his start from another mobster, Angelo Bruno, a soldier in the Anastasia Crime family. He needed a man like John because of his tough persona, abilities, and enthusiasm for the work. Anastasia made Dellacroce capo of his family. In October 1957, inside the barbershop of the Park Sheraton Hotel, an unsuspecting Albert Anastasia, comfortably seated, enjoying a shave when two gunmen burst into the shop and opened fire on Anastasia, killing him instantly. After Albert’s murder Neil Dellacroce was became the underboss to Carlo Gambino. Gotti made his way to the top with the education he received from his mentors.

Paul Castellano’s start in the world of crime came from selling lottery tickets in his father’s butcher shop. He started a meat business, which he called “Blue Ribbon Meats” and because of his talents in business, he became a top earner. As a teen, he was arrested after a botched hold-up and as wise guys should always do, he kept his mouth shut and didn’t rat out his friends who got away. This was dooly noted. Impressed with Paul’s silence kept him in good standing with the other families. Castellano was a standup guy. To add to his positive way of doing things, he married his high school love, Nina Manno, who was Carlo Gambino’s sister-in-law. Carlo was already a cousin to Castellano from his father’s side. There are no records of how Carlo Gambino mentored Paul, but history shows that Carlo would have been the only one to teach Paul the business. Castellano learned everything he could, then added his style of which consisted running the mob as a business executive, not like a gangster. All of this led Paul to be known as “Big Paul”, and “Boss of all Bosses” and after the death of Carlo, Castellano ruled over the largest mafia family in the world.