You're not kidding about the transfer stations. Before they became Federally regulated, they were a license to print money.

And don't forget the weigh stations. Christ, there was more bribery at the weigh stations than anywhere else in the industry. But that's heavily regulated now, too. If the weigh station is located within spitting distance of an Interstate Thruway (like I95), it's Federal. And it's not even the prison time, it's the fines.

If you're a two-truck operation and they throw a half million dollar fine at you, you're done. Ballgame over. Believe it or not, it was better for the little guy when the Mob was still strong there. Sure, you got shook down if you were located in a Mob dominated area. But you could still make a decent living if the owner was a working partner and willing to get his hands dirty (literally).

But today? One little infraction, and the Feds tax them with fines that put them out of business (fines that are, by the way, much more than what they were paying the local wiseguys). And then the Feds set it up for Waste Management to buy the companies at auction.

Look, I'm not a Mob apologist, and something obviously had to be done about the monopoly that CN had on the carting industry. But in doing so, the Feds made themselves partners just like the people who they were prosecuting. There needs to be a balance, and law enforcement needs to be held to a higher standard.

USA Waste, BFI, Waste Management. These companies all jumped in bed with the Feds when they saw the Mob losing its grip, and they opened the door for the Feds to fuck the little guy ten times worse than the wiseguys ever did.