7 ms·

Sad to see how far organized crime can reach, and how petty those at the top can be. Vicious murder because someone had the audacity to insult them after they f

Sad to see how far organized crime can reach, and how petty those at the top can be. Vicious murder because someone had the audacity to insult them after they failed to kill their best friend, and refused to pay protection money.

tptacek 3y ago
Could reach, not can reach. This type of mafia violence hasn't been a thing, at least in the midwest, for over 30 years.
- jamestimmins 3y ago
  Is that because the law enforcement squelched them or because the economics of their business died out?
  - dralley 3y ago
    A bit of Column A, a bit of Column B probably
    - tptacek 3y ago
      That's my understanding too --- a combination of RICO and deindustrialization.
      - toyg 3y ago
        Also, a lot of old-time syndicates have long moved to more lucrative businesses. Low-level stuff is labour-intensive, low margin, and very exposed; if you have enough capital, there are much better investments to be made. Even in Italy, where people were still dying in the streets in certain areas in the early 2000s, most cartels have moved on from drugs and prostitution to public works, property development, hospitality etc. The street stuff is now left largely to foreign gangs who have nothing to lose.
    - mixmastamyk 3y ago
      And BigCorporate bought everything out. Moms and pops and dons couldn’t compete.
      - hash872 3y ago
        Matt Stoller should investigate and write a slightly hysterical, loose-with-the-facts piece about this troubling monopoly
        kevinmchugh 3y ago
        This is the over-arching plot of the first three seasons of Fargo
      - owlninja 3y ago
        Also reminds me of the Sopranos scene where Patsy goes to shakedown a new coffee shop and gets the pushback from the employee that "I cant authorize anything like that, it would have to go through corporate in Seattle." "It's over for the little guy."
  - dclowd9901 3y ago
    No one wants to be on the lam forever. Even crims want to go legit someday. Nowadays, crime is much smaller and more ephemeral, which is good for criminals. They can get away with walking into an establishment and walking out with whatever they like. Most of the time with no problems at all. I think I prefer that to errant car bombs.
- asta123 3y ago
  [flagged]

tptacek 3y ago

Could reach, not can reach. This type of mafia violence hasn't been a thing, at least in the midwest, for over 30 years.

jamestimmins 3y ago
Is that because the law enforcement squelched them or because the economics of their business died out?
- dralley 3y ago
  A bit of Column A, a bit of Column B probably
  - tptacek 3y ago
    That's my understanding too --- a combination of RICO and deindustrialization.
    - toyg 3y ago
      Also, a lot of old-time syndicates have long moved to more lucrative businesses. Low-level stuff is labour-intensive, low margin, and very exposed; if you have enough capital, there are much better investments to be made. Even in Italy, where people were still dying in the streets in certain areas in the early 2000s, most cartels have moved on from drugs and prostitution to public works, property development, hospitality etc. The street stuff is now left largely to foreign gangs who have nothing to lose.
  - mixmastamyk 3y ago
    And BigCorporate bought everything out. Moms and pops and dons couldn’t compete.
    - hash872 3y ago
      Matt Stoller should investigate and write a slightly hysterical, loose-with-the-facts piece about this troubling monopoly
      - kevinmchugh 3y ago
        This is the over-arching plot of the first three seasons of Fargo
    - owlninja 3y ago
      Also reminds me of the Sopranos scene where Patsy goes to shakedown a new coffee shop and gets the pushback from the employee that "I cant authorize anything like that, it would have to go through corporate in Seattle." "It's over for the little guy."
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  No one wants to be on the lam forever. Even crims want to go legit someday. Nowadays, crime is much smaller and more ephemeral, which is good for criminals. They can get away with walking into an establishment and walking out with whatever they like. Most of the time with no problems at all. I think I prefer that to errant car bombs.
asta123 3y ago
[flagged]