Frankie's Racial Beef

Frankie seemed all bent out of shape that the Rosato brothers recruited minotities, but in GF, it is clear that the Corleone family had people they recruited in Harlem. Sonny was carrying oout about their driving cadillacs at the dinner table. So what was the big news to Frankie?

I think the Black recruits out of Harlem might have been used to "extract" money out of there in whatever rackets Don Vito had out there.....they were middle men.

Frank might have gotten upset that Blacks were being recruited for things other than pickups.


Another way to look at it though....Don made his own rules and quietly broke at least one rigid rule..he had a non Sicilian consig.(in the book......the other families famously referred to his organization as the Irish gang.....because Tom isn't Italian, so he must be "Irish" hahahah ) So under the Don's authority, maybe Blacks were recruited even though it was not usual procedure. People accept it when done by the Don, but wouldn't accept it otherwise.

The way the scene comes across to me,Sonny is complaining about the fact that in the wake of the Don's absence,the blacks in Harlem are taking over the policy banks from a weakened, distracted,Family.I don't see any indication that they were recruited to run the numbers,but on the contrary,were actually beginning to muscle in on Corleone turf.

What Gets said.
Plus: big difference to a Mob guy between using local blacks as numbers runners in Harlem, where they wouldn't stand out, vs. "recruiting," which I took to mean making blacks and Hispanics associates of the family. Mafiosi are notoriously bigoted.

I think it would have been interesting if FFC would have spent a few minutes showing the Corleone's war for control of the numbers. Even though it's not in the book,I think it could have been interesting. Of course at some point,you have to draw the line at film length.

Here's what Sonny in the novel says:
"I’d like to have it going again before he [Vito] gets better. We have the go-ahead from the cops to operate. The first thing is the policy banks in Harlem. The black boys up there had their fun, now we have to take it back. They screwed up the works but good, just like they usually do when they run things. A lot of their runners didn’t pay off winners. They drive up in Cadillacs and tell their players they gotta wait for their dough or maybe just pay them half what they win. I don’t want any runner looking rich to his players. I don’t want them dressing too good. I don’t want them driving new cars. I don’t want them welching on paying a winner. And I don’t want any free-lancers staying in business, they give us a bad name."

Another reason for Frankie's comment is FFC/Puzo's making a parallel with the Rosato brothers and the real-life Gallo brothers. Crazy Joe Gallo got close to blacks and Hispanics while serving a long sentence for extortion, and used them after he was released. The other Rosato/Gallo parallels have been much-discussed in this forum.

Yeah the Rosato - Gallo connection has been made. Did the Gallos also go heavier into drugs and prostitution and leave gambling to the small timers?

That was the point I was going to make but of course I'm 4 days late....lol. I agree in that the Rosato's were using Blacks for far more things just like Gallo was rumored to do when he took out Colombo (if that is true)

Look here for my view of the Columbo shooting:

http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthr...true#Post493613