I think Gigante had something like that the skippers didn't have to kick up to him and that they could keep the money they had to kick up.
He wasn't a greedy guy at all. That's why there have been so many wealthy captains in the Genovese family. Things run a lot smoother when everybody eats.
I know you're the resident Genovese expert PB, but I have to mention, that the Luciano Family had always been the richest mafia family with the greatest number of millionaires, at least in Lucky Luciano's time.
That's okay, Alfa. And yes, it's always been that way. Vince was only doing what he learned from Benny, and down the line right back to Luciano. These guys not only encouraged spreading the wealth, they encouraged assimilation. They'd tell their soldiers to learn how to play golf instead of pinochle. Because they had the vision to see that they'd eventually need the legitimate business contacts to survive.
Really, I heard somewhere that Gigante micromanaged his troops and was a little greedy too... not "Profaci-greedy", just a little greedy. I think I heard his troops complaining about it in one of the wiretaps (maybe in WMob or somewhere else) and he's also been described as greedy in one documentary I watched recently. I guess people always find something to complain, so probably not true.
That's not true, Malandrino. Like you said, you can't please everyone. Simple as that. But there are skippers who were in place when Vince took over who were actually starving under Benny and Funzi. And they weren't greedy either, so that's really saying something.
I always thought the term Westside mostly referred to the panel set up to rule the family, or upper-echelon of the family including the capos.
It refers to their dominance on the west side, and in Jersey. I believe that law enforcement actually had a hand in coming up with that moniker. But that's usually the case with these guys anyway. They read something in the paper and run with it themselves. Life imitates art, etc.
