Mafia Don?

[The Captain]

Here is a photo that I just found of my Mother, Father and my paternal Grandmother taken sometime in the early '30s. He looks like a Mafioso!
Taken in Omaha, Nebraska.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/RGCardella/MomDadinthe30s.jpg

[shamus]

Nice pic!

I'm pretty sure that Omaha, Nebraska in the 30's wasn't exactly the Mob capitial.. but ya' never know. Maybe your ..."connected"

[The Captain]

Shamus, believe it or not, my Dad's parents came from a little town in Sicily caLLED "CORLEONE!" I'm just second generation here in this country.

[Dahlia]

Very nice photo, Captain! I think he's got this pose down. ;)

And your mother's shoes! Very lovely, indeed.

[captain spectre]

Hey in Omaha in the thirties, the meat packing trade was a cut throat business, so I am sure there was some kind of rackettering going on around here.

[Andykev]

Captain, your web site is beautiful! You are the creator, artist? Wow!

[captain spectre]

Andykev,
Yep, it is all mine......from the idea, to the story to the art, even the html....
hey and thanks for looking at it.....hope you downloaded your FREE membership card.......it's a bit of that secret squadron nostalgia the site has going.... I try to update it once a week, on Monday evenings...... so visit often.......

[Mycroft]

Acually, I read somewhere Omaha was a big mob retreat, and read this tibit: http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/Omaha.html Oh, nice pic, I like the think hat band a lot.

[The Captain]

Mycroft, many thanks for the "Mafia in Omaha" link. I was (sort of) surprised
at how many names I recognized! Not only that, but I frequented many of the establishments run by the alledged bookies. The Rocket Pool Hall was a second home to many of my friends - the pool shooters. If I listen real hard I can still hear the click of the balls. Thanks again!

[Mycroft]

No prob, do you got any good stories on the mob in Omaha or the people in the article?

[Wild Root]

Humm, tough call. I would say right off the bat he has the look of doing rather well in such hard times. There were rather questionable means of business back in those days in most of the country. So, if you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re not up to snuff on your family history, you may want to start to dig and find out what you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re roots are and what some of your family did for work. It can be hard, but if he did live a life of crime, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m sure there is a written history some where about him.

Any way, most of our humble ancestors do look like mob bosses to the average Joe today for the reason of wearing a hat and a suit. Go fig.

Root.

[The Captain]

Root, the caption I put on the photo was really in jest. It was the look that made me do it! He just looks so much like our image of "a man of questionable means". Actually, he served in the Army Airforce during WWII and then stayed in the service until he retired. I have some cool photos of him in uniform. "Connected?" Not really.

[Lauren]

I LOVE her suit. I need to make me one of those

[The Captain]

Lauren, my mother will celebrate her 90th birthday soon. I'll tell her you love her suit. Thanks!

[The Captain]

No prob, do you got any good stories on the mob in Omaha or the people in the article?

Mycroft, as the old saying goes, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you!" Just kidding, the names were in the press a lot and some of the "establishments" I frequented were owned and run by those same people, but the link you sent was pretty thorough. I learned things I didn't know and I lived there until I was 22 (1957).

[Mycroft]

Mycroft, as the old saying goes, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you!" Just kidding, the names were in the press a lot and some of the "establishments" I frequented were owned and run by those same people, but the link you sent was pretty thorough. I learned things I didn't know and I lived there until I was 22 (1957).

I always had a death wish ;). Very cool anyhow.

[The Captain]

Here is a shot of my Dad from '44 or '45, in uniform. His "suit" isn't quite as flashy as it is in the previous photo, but it was mass-produced by Uncle Sam!

http://i.pbase.com/v3/63/463863/3/49264920.Dadinuniform44.jpg

[The Captain]

Every time I look at this I hear the words to that song that goes,
"Oh, I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache, the Boston Blackie kind...."!
Me? I go in for the more robust kind.

[Vladimir Berkov]

He has his cap at a jaunty angle which makes him OK in my book!

[Mycroft]

Great Picture, like the coloring too is it orginal coloring?

[The Captain]

Vladimir, the "jaunty angle" seems to be the rule of the day for hat wearers back then, but I agree, it's cool!
Mycroft, the photo was hand-colored (as were most all of them back then) and has stood the test of time for over 60 years!

[Mycroft]

Vladimir, the "jaunty angle" seems to be the rule of the day for hat wearers back then, but I agree, it's cool!
Mycroft, the photo was hand-colored (as were most all of them back then) and has stood the test of time for over 60 years!

Very cool, I have colored Black and Whites, but know that I think will last for that long.

[riccardo]

Hi to all.
I'm from Sicilia...don't be afraid...i'm not a mafioso :p .
Here, until today,Mafia is a reality.
Not like the movies we see at the cinema. Mafia is more "intelligent" than in the past time.
Mafia and political come toghether,sometimes, business and Mafia...
Mafia is a reality in all the country, a lot of honest men fight every day against this corrupt life's custom. Some of them dead in this fight.
Two nearest important names are Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino...they are only two their bodyguard dead with them...and a lot of others honest men...
I think, also, how many italian came in USA during the 30' 40'. A lot of them were very very poor, others were desperate a few of them were fugitives.
They arrived in USA, a lot of them help USA in his work, they were bricklayers, carpenters, bakery...some of them became "mafioso".
It was't a beautiful story, for the italian nor for the americans.
Today we can see these pics, and laugh about these times and about these pics.
We can enjoy these memories,but never we shoud forget this story.

Best regards.
Riccardo.

[The Captain]

Thank you, Riccardo, for the "real" story. It seems that the Mafia, like every other corrupt group, has re-invented itself for the 21st century. Your linking of politics and Mafia doesn't surprise me. The true faces of politicians never show during speeches and fund raising, it's while engaging in back room deals with people that want to buy their support that they revert back to their real selves. I don't know if you have read it, but my Grandparents came from Corleone. My Grandfather was a cooper (barrel maker) in the old country and when bootleggers here in the US asked him to make barrels for them, he said no, it was against the law.

[riccardo]

Hi Captain,
this is a great story, i would like to know anything about it.
Here there are very few barrel makers, i have heard about one (a fabric) near Marsala, at west from Palerno Marsala is in the district of Trapani.
...what a wonderful story, to be continued...

Sincerely.
Riccardo.