There was a "partnership" but it was basically in the form of Bumpy Johnson representing the Mafia's interests in the black neighborhoods. That's the way former NYPD detective Lt. Remo Franceschini described it. If you read his book, A Matter of Honor, when they first started investigating the numbers operations in the black areas, they thought Johnson and others were running things. But, as they dug deeper, it became clear that the Italians - particularly the Genovese family - were the ones ultimately calling the shots. He had to use the Mafia's numbers banks and was even caught on tape complaining about it. He said, "Take me to the guineas! Take me to the guineas! ni**ers don't know how to run things. We should be controlling out own banks!"