Andrew kanapic got made by the gambinos
Jackie nose pushed him through

They are Catholic, they're Eastern Byzantine-rite Catholic and not Roman Catholic, but they belong to the Church.

Byzantine/Greek rite Catholics are ex-Orthodox people who accepted the authority of the Pope in Rome but preserved some of the old Orthodox liturgy.

From what I understand, Knapic (Merola) is part Italian. There's no way he could be made if that wasn't the case.

What are some of the Southern Italian names you talking about in your post?

Some of the Moors (which is a name Europeans collectively gave to most anyone of ) were very much black-african. The Moors were an eclectic group of islamic peoples of varying ethnic backgrounds (the berbers are often caught in the catch-all of the term "moor" as well).

At least this is what I recall from my university days. Could be wrong (but I don't think I am).

Oh, Christ. Not this thread again.

Botz's gift to the board that just keeps on giving .

Yes, cultures are quite fascinating.

It's like the Chicago 28 members thread . Give it up already

Well, to be fair the Chicago 28 members thread is quite normal now and has more or less turned into a general Chicago discussion.

Yes its like the subject is about the Chicago 28 members dead then it turns into a subject about The stars in the sky

Don't get offended, Botz. It was a fucking joke.

Better question: who cares?

The Chicago thread became an embarrassment. Luckily it's somewhat back on track.

But quibbling over Gigante's roots is just......eh. lol.

Cultures are fascinating for what they were, but they're futile in a society where the collective is trying desperately to progress spiritually, and to progress together as one. Culture is easy to exploit & use to make war & overall turmoil between countries/groups.

Exactly. But the more we say it, the longer the thread hangs around. A real fucking Catch 22 .

Lmao the title of this thread reminds me of countless other threads and statements (a lot of them can be found over on Youtube) that lead to the assumption that every famous tough guy (or anyone who has ever played a tough guy-role that's famous) is at least partially of Albanian descent

I know quite a few Albanians and 2/3 years ago news coverage on the "Albanian mafia" was booming. It was a hype that could rival that of the big blockbuster movies. Back then a lot of the younger Albanian guys were incredibly (and I do mean INCREDIBLY) proud about the fact that their race was at the time supposedly the most feared and that their criminal organizations were the biggest, the baddest, the best (which in all honesty was complete utter bullshit)

As they get older they mellow a lot. And the so-called "Albanian mafia" isn't the big topic of the day anymore, so that explains.

^^^^

It's very telling that a single indictment and subsequent conviction (the Rudaj crew) put that media obsession (the so-called Albanian Mafia) to bed.

It made good copy for a couple of years. But no one remotely knowledgeable about the life believed it for a second.

I hadn't even really read anything beyond the first and last pages of this thread. I love history, though, so I can't resist any opportunity to talk about it.

Who did Arnold squitieri meet in 2002 I think it was , were they Albanians or Russians ?? They threatened to blow the gas station up , squitieri eventually came out on top and they backed off

That was the Rudaj crew, Dom. They got thirty years and the media finally stopped predicting an Albanian-Italian mob war .

Yeah I thought they where the rudaj crew , cheers pal . Hope u and the family r well

Right back at ya, pal .

In Europe that hype was even worse than in the USA. They even went as far as to claim that the "Albanian mafia" controlled 70% of the world's (not only Europe but the entire WORLD) heroin trade LMAO

The media is constantly searching for something new and fresh, even regarding organized crime. Ethnic stereotyping is never far off. Over here we had the Greeks first, then came the Turks, then the Moroccans, the Georgians came shortly thereafter and then there was the infamous Albanian hype followed by a much shorter lived Chechen craze. Currently the next hot subject are the Calabrians: one large criminal family of Calabrese roots (not even born in Calabria) gets arrested and all of the sudden the media speaks of tens of families holding entire neighborhoods in a vice grip. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Absolutely. Sensationalist journalism has its roots in Europe for sure.

Tell me about It
The pompous writing style is often even more disturbingly irritating than the actual message itself

The best is pages 1-10...Classical just like Mozart!

No offense taken I just had my smart ass syndrome turned on. Lol

The ladies said he was Gigante by name, Gigante downstairs.

That's why he's Big Tom.

Yes he came from Pianna degli Albanesi, Provice of Palermo. Joe is my Great Grand Uncle, my great t grandfathers brother.

Esposito Gigante are Neapolitan. The "extended" family of the Gigante emigrated from Italy to settle between New York , Westchester County and more generally Connecticut and Massachusetts .