The story below shows that rats are nothing new, yet people act as though they're this brand-new, 21st Century phenomenon. I counted like 5 rats in this one story from the 1930s and 40s. I can even go back further to prove my point.

On this day, October 9, 1934, New York mobster, gambling racketeer, & the father-in-law of Andrew Ruggiano Sr., Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia, is abducted by Willie Gallo & Ernest "The Hawk" Rupolo, after a dispute with Vito “Don Vitone” Genovese, when the 2 conspired to cheat a wealthy gambler out of $150k in a high-stakes card game. After the game, Boccia demanded a share of $35k, because he had lured the rich traveler to the game, & introduced the victim to Genovese. Rather than pay Boccia anything, Genovese decided to have him murdered. A group of 5 associates, led by Genovese, put a hit on Boccia, at a Brooklyn clubhouse/restaurant/coffee shop, ran by Ferdinand’s uncle Bennie Boccia. “The Shadow” was later murdered. On May 11, 1937, the body of Boccia was pulled from the Hudson River in New York City. It was widely believed that Boccia was shot to death 3 years earlier, either on February 9, 1934 or September 19, 1934, in Brooklyn & then dumped in the river. Following the recovery of Boccia's body, Genovese offered Rupolo $175 to murder Gallo. After escaping 2 attempts on his life, Gallo went to the police & implicated both Rupolo & Genovese in the Boccia murder. While Rupolo was sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder, Genovese fled the U.S. to Italy, to avoid prosecution.
In the summer of 1944 in New York, Genovese was implicated in the Boccia murder by mobster Rupolo. Facing a murder conviction, Rupolo had decided to become a government witness, & admitted to murdering Boccia, at the request of Genovese. On August 27, 1944, U.S. military police arrested Genovese in Italy during an investigation into his running of a black market ring. It was revealed that Genovese had been stealing trucks, flour, & sugar from the Army. When Agent Orange C. Dickey of the Criminal Investigation Division examined Genovese's background, he discovered that Genovese was a fugitive wanted for the 1934 Boccia killing. However, there was seemingly little interest from the Army, or the federal government, in pursuing Genovese. After months of frustration, Dickey was finally able to make preparations to ship Genovese back to New York to face trial, but came under increasing pressure. Genovese personally offered Dickey a $250k bribe to release him, then threatened Dickey when the offer was refused. Dickey was even instructed by his superiors in the military chain of command to refrain from pursuing Genovese, but refused to be dissuaded.
On June 2, 1945, after arriving in New York by ship the day before, Genovese was arraigned on murder charges, for the Boccia killing. He pleaded not guilty. On June 10, 1946, another prosecution witness, Jerry Esposito, was found shot to death beside a road in Norwood, New Jersey. Earlier, another witness, Peter LaTempa, was found dead in a cell, where he had been held in protective custody. Without anyone to corroborate Rupolo's testimony, the government's case collapsed, & the charges against Genovese were dismissed on June 10, 1946. In making his decision, Judge Samuel Leibowitz commented: “I cannot speak for the jury, but I believe that if there were even a shred of corroborating evidence, you would have been condemned to the electric chair.”
With his release from custody in 1946, Genovese was able to rejoin the Luciano family in New York; however, neither Frank Costello nor his underboss Willie Moretti was willing to return power to him. In 1946, Meyer Lansky called a meeting of the heads of the major crime families in Havana, that December. The 3 topics which would come under discussion were: the heroin trade, Cuban gambling, & what to do about Bugsy Siegel & the floundering Flamingo Hotel project, in Las Vegas. The Conference took place at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba & lasted a little more than a week. On December 20, during the conference, Lucky Luciano had a private meeting with Genovese, in Luciano's hotel suite. Unlike Costello, Luciano had never trusted Genovese.
In the meeting, Genovese tried to convince Luciano to become a titular boss of bosses & let Genovese run everything. Luciano calmly rejected Genovese's suggestion: “There is no Boss of Bosses. I turned it down in front of everybody. If I ever change my mind, I will take the title. But it won't be up to you. Right now you work for me & I ain't in the mood to retire. Don't you ever let me hear this again, or I'll lose my temper. Genovese was now a capo of his former Greenwich Village Crew. However, on October 4, 1951, Moretti was assassinated by order of the Mafia Commission; the mob bosses were unhappy with his testimony during the Kefauver Hearings, and were worried, with the syphilis now affecting his brain, he might start talking to the press. Costello appointed Genovese as the new underboss.