WHAT IS YOUR EXPLANATION FOR THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE DECLINE OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND THE CONTINUED POPULARITY OF MOB-RELATED ENTERTAINMENT?
It's an interesting question, because people are just enamored by these Mob stories. We've talked about The Sopranos. Some of the scenes are pretty realistic from my experience investigating organized crime. Some people enjoy those stories, enjoy the nicknames, enjoy the ongoings of that show, and the murders and whatnot. I really can't put my finger on it, because it's almost like America kind of thrives on that kind of entertainment, going back to The Godfather, but there have been some lousy movies, too. One thing that bothers me is that we glorify these people, and there's some belief that they're all multi-millionaires from this criminal enterprise that they call La Cosa Nostra. But many, many that I've met, they don't even have a bank account, so it's not as glorified as people try to make it.
THE NAME OF LOUIS "BABY SHACKS" MANOCCHIO, THE REPUTED HEAD OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN RHODE ISLAND, WAS NOT PUBLICLY MENTIONED IN CONNECTION WITH LAST WEEK'S ARRESTS. IS HE THOUGHT TO HAVE ANY CONNECTION TO THIS CASE?
Well, several of the defendants are associates of "Baby Shanks" Manocchio, Louis Manocchio [The nicknames "Baby Shacks and "Baby Shanks" are both used by different members of law enforcement]. It's no secret that Mr. Manocchio is considered a high-ranking member of organized crime, has been for many, many years, and is well-respected in the organized crime world. He operates by old-school values, but I can only tell you at this time that he was associated with two or three of the persons arrested.
GIVEN HIS ADVANCING AGE — HE'S KNOWN AS A HEALTH FANATIC — HOW LONG CAN HE MAINTAIN HIS REPUTED ROLE WITH THE RI MOB?
I can't speak to that with any amount of certainty, because I'm not sure what Mr. Manocchio's health conditions are, but history has told us that many people in managerial roles in organized crime have operated to their 80s and early 90s. So it's not a situation where there's hard manual labor involved.
IN AN ORGANIZED CRIME PROBE IN MASSACHUSETTS, ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS, IN A WIRETAPPED DISCUSSION, WAS DISCUSSING THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING A "MADE" MEMBER OF A CRIME FAMILY. AND HE BASICALLY SAID, "WHY WOULD WE WANT THAT HEADACHE? WHY WOULD I WANT THE HEAT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ON ME ALL THE TIME?" THAT'S GOT TO BE A BAD SIGN FOR LA COSA NOSTRA.
Well, that's been going on for some time, and I can't speak specifically to the Massachusetts' case, because that is pending. But we've heard that for many, many years, that guys have refused a button, so to speak — [that's] what they call it — to become made or to become an inducted member of La Cosa Nostra, because their position is, why be an earner or a money-maker for the Mob when they can go off and do it themselves? So what we have is an organized crime that's not quite as organized as it was years ago, and you have a lot of renegade factions out there.
