You're only 8 years older than I am. But thanks for reminding me .

i dont think thats a good thing though. i wish there were still neighborhoods like from the bronx tale

Do you feel like you were born too late or that you missed out on something?

I grew up a couple hundred yards away from Chazz Palminteri. He lived at 187th and Belmont Avenue. I grew up at 187th and Hoffman Street. He's 6 or 7 years older than me, though. My point is, I grew up in that area at that time. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but I'm content that my children didn't grow up there.

To paraphrase the movie, When you're older you'll understand .

yeah i wish i did it seemed way better back then

I guess that's understandable. My son feels the same way .

And even Palminteri got out. He lives out here near me in Central Jersey, now...well, he did at least 5 years or so ago, anyway, in Colts Neck.

"I don't care how many pies Palminteri ordered, pizzaboy! You're not making deliveries to that bar anymore!"

Jimmy Emma, Jerry 'Bear' Papa & Sammy 'Bull' Gravano. Also Nicky 'Cowboy' Mormando. I grew up in Bensonhurst/Dyker Hgts at the same time as the above & went to New Utrect HS as did Sammy. Jimmy went to Lafayette HS & was the only one that finished HS. I was closest to Jimmy & Jerry & considered them true friends. Sammy, while close to Papa was never close to me. Nicky came latter, so while I did know him to say hello, that was about it.

Jimmy was killed a few days before my return to NY & that was that. I never really ran with them or others afterward.

There are, but they're going fast. Bensonhurst & Dyker Hgts while still having a sizable Italian population are fast turning Chinese, Russian & Mexican. Plus, hard to believe I know, even the old South Brooklyn still has plenty of Italians left. But we're like dinosaurs & won't be around long.

It's an immigration issue; if an Italian is going to leave Italy- and why would he/she, the Italians live pretty good now, at least equal to the USA-- there are plenty of places to go that are closer to home and offer greater opportunities for immigrants.

I agree it's an immigration issue, or at least it was. My husband moved from Sicily to Bensonhurst just in time to finish up his senior year of HS at New Utrecht. He had a grandmother here at the time on Bay 14th St, so that made it easier for them to come over.
But to say Italians live pretty good now, is not true. Unless, you consider living in a near to 3rd world country living well?

I'd say second world. I've visited Italy many times but only been as south as Rome, the rest is just too hot for me during the times I'm free. I'd love to see it one day.
But anyway, the north is a wealthy place, where people seem to do live prettty good and are as affluent as any Northern-European or American people. In Rome, the squalor begins. But in these globalised times it seems that even the Mezzogiorne as a coveted place to be for immigrants, although it's just a gateway to the rest of Western Europe for many of those. But the mass immigration from the south of Italiy has stopped. I guess people must be really almost starving to do such a thing. Why would anyone give up a life in Africa to sell cheap sunglasses an other crap in Italy. Always wondered about that.

I can agree totally with what you're saying with regard to the north, especially Rome, Firenze, Bologna, places like that.

But when speaking about the ones that emigrated to Bensonhurst and other parts of Brooklyn, those are Sicilians, so those are the ones I was talking about.
And even today in Sicily, jobs are few, many people live just above poverty level and to compare their lifestyle to USA is absurd. They are a happy people, regardless, and eating well and having family around them is all it takes to keep them happy. But economically, they suffer.

Opposite to you, I've never really been to the north of Sicily, unfortunately. Just to land at Rome airport. lol And yes...summer is HOT!!!! haha

My post was based on my own observations; I have been to Italy two times in the last 20 or so years & saw that in my last visit that everybody had a car or scooter. My Uncles cofirmed this, saying yes it's just like the US - 6 people in an apartment, 6 cars. And yes while it seems no one is working, there are plenty of places here in the US where everyone is always having lunch.

The other part of my thesis was that there were other places to go. Germany & Switzerland are close by Italy. An overnight train trip. And there is Australia which is begging Europeans to come before the entire nation is Chinese. And New Zealand.

Well, I've only been there as a tourist, I can't even remember now how may times: more than five, less tham ten, so I'm not an expert, but not totally ignorant. Some parts of the north of Italy like Tuscany seem like paradise on earth to me,(a crude Batavian). I suppose there are more places like that in the world: for instance the Provance region in France and maybe even parts of California, the later I've never visited yet. Yet Firenze, even though it's a Disneyland packed with tourists like me is a treasure, a city full of wonders for the culturalry and historicly interested (end of sponsorend message from the Tuscan-tourism council, but yes, you should visit the place).
Well, as long as they can eat well and don't starve I guess they are doing too well to mass emigrate to the US or Northern-Europe and the Amricain LCN lost it's breeding farm. Perhaps over 50 years in America people will be talking about Latin OC. I suppose that's a good thing for the American-Italians.

Uh-uh-uh. One more thing I almost forgot, Italy has had the lowest population growth in the world for quite a few years now, so there just aren't as many Italians to go around.

Yes, that's true. Do you know if there is a difference beteween North- and South-Italians in that matter? Or is it because most Italians seem to want to live with their mothers untill they are 33?

That's 53.

anyway italians ended moving in the states in the 60s and the mafia is still alive
they create the structure over there and they needn't new italians but just italian-american to go on
nowadays the southern italians move only to north italy and germany to a lesser extent
south italy is still one of the poorest areas in the UE, although poverty in europe is really a joke compared to africa
but for the european standards is poor

B_A_, So. Italians are not knuckle-draggers. FYI, Naples gave us Pizza & Opera. I have read that Michaelangelo Buonarati was born in Naples (other sources cite Tuscany). Gianni Versace is a native of Calabria.

The North gave us Benito Mussolini & the Fascists.

Anyone, pls feel free to enter this conversation.

Carmela, You need to go to Venice. There is no other place in the world like Venice. Next time you go, insist on it.

You know that there are brown UPS gondolas. OK, maybe not gondolas but close enuff.

No, I never thought they were.

I don't know, maybe. I never had any real desire to go to Venice. We only ever go to Sicily so often b/c my husband still has his beach house there that he grew up in and we go to his town, then to my father's town, but still all over Sicily.
I guess one day we'll go north, but I'm not the real touristy type for hiking around looking at old history. lol

Maybe one day I'll add to this mob encounters thread with my own encounters. I wouldn't even know where to start, though.

You made a good first post in here Alex, I forgot to mention. Guess you've met quite a few guys.

First odd i dont have one bit of a problem with you, but SC is a walking talking contridiction. He tells posters not to gang up on or CURSE other posters because of the "family friendly" aspect of the forum but will turn around and do the samething in another thread, most of the time with worse langague, harsher commements and the worst part is he comes from a police mens point of veiw that the rules dont apply to him. I dont see how you can stand off by the way side and not do anything about th biggst "flamer" on th forum. If this gets me kicked off so.be it but it really isnt right for SC to be abpe to turn his blue lights on and speed past every stop light on the forum that the rest of us have to sto at before even getting to speed up to get past th yellow light.

Has he done anything to YOU, personally, daniel? No? Then what the fuck???
PM this stuff to Geoff or whoever, but quit taking topics, off topic.

Buh bye.

Speaking of encounters, I think I just witnessed a HIT

He's not kicked off permenantlyis he?

Ok, let me start off nice and easy to get this puppy back on track, and share one story:

When I was 19, I met a guy who insisted on taking me out. Something wasn't right about him, but he wouldn't give up. So I agreed. Well, he turned out to be a creep like I thought. Anyway, I was already living in Jersey when I met him. After a couple weeks knowing him, he'd ask if we could take rides to Queens, but using my car. I was young, I was naive, I agreed. He'd always have to swing by this mechanic's garage in Queens, first, to pick up an envelope(s) and I'd have to wait in the car. Then he'd go double park in front of houses or businesses around queens and bklyn, and run the envelope in to somebody. One day, he told me to come into the garage with him. Turns out it was Jr. Gotti in there working on bikes and cars and such, and this coked up schmuck I was seeing was working for him running these envelopes. After that, he'd always take me inside and leave me there to hang out while he'd go run his envelopes with MY CAR! One day, I finally HAD it with this guy, I was done. He took me on another one of his runs, and while he was in the house, i jumped in the driver seat and left, and I never went back. Do you know the prick never called me after that?
Anyway, this was a Jr. Gotti story. And as for meeting and hanging out somewhat with Jr, I can say he was an arrogant guy, never mind the fact he was hitting on me everytime coke head left me alone there.

Now THAT is a great story.

And every father-with-a-daughter's worst nightmare, Thanks for sharing

This was 1991. So, was Jr. made, not made..married not married, I have no idea. But that's the story. And the guy I was "seeing" was Fillipe Dimaria, or Diamaria, I don't even remember, but it was one of those.