The murder is one thing ..I feel the government basically lied, suborned perjury w extremely shady witnesses to get a dubious conviction for murder in aid of racketeering,BUT that’s because they’re secret CI’s are telling them he directed the murder..because he did ..he’s the underboss FOR 25 Years of the 3rd most powerful Cosa Nostra family in the country..that means second in command of a criminal organization....you guys are acting like he’s the Vice President of Publix Supermarkets. Like John Gotti said on tape “people aren’t stupid,they know what we are†in these cases Steven Crea Sr has to take some self accountability by choosing this way of life and choosing to accept the Underboss position in the Lucchese family..I say that, at the same time and also agree that the prosecutors at a minimum should be fired if not prosecuted themselves.....but with all that said he was clearly guilty as hell of racketeering conspiracy and that carries 20 years w it. I mean Vinny Asaro got found not guilty of the Lufthansa Heist but he did it..the law isn’t always right or fair but when you choose to be in a Cosa Nostra family and be an underboss and life that live to the fullest. The Multi million dollar house And the ability to loan NY City builders millions of dollars and have influence on places like hospitals being built in the Bronx. ALONG WITH the possibility you might be framed or have the law not fall in your favor some time and get life in prison. The funny part is your taking up for a guy like him. A MURDERER, that’s a part of an organization where murder is a way of life, that got framed for a murder he shouldn’t have been convicted of and ended up w life in prison. When HE HIMSELF, ALL HIS LIFE EXPECTED IT TO END THIS WAY or WITH HIM DEAD IN THE STREETS(wonder why he thought this..do any of you expect your life outcome to be this way??? I would assume no and there’s a reason for that)
The only thing positive I can say is I’m sure he set up his immediate family for life. I would assume he made something in the neighborhood of $50-$100 million dollars in his 25 years as underboss.Not to mention the money he made before that earning his nickname of “Wonder Boy†and cementing his reputation of earner and gangster in the 1970s and 80s.
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Hi there, I'm "The Other Guy", the partner, and other half of NYMafia. I'm the fella who puts out all the mob-story content.
Louiebynochi, you speak well and make several good points Louie. My partner is the one who follows the Crea case, Campos, and several others. She feels passionate about these people being "railroaded". And in some case "they are." The Crea case I do think is a good example of government overreach and "illegal" tactics.
I don't always agree with her viewpoints (in fact most times I don't agree or see it her way - lol), but I always agree with her right to say and feel the way she does. Thats HER thing. Her choice. I don't feel the need to denigrate her for it. What I do think she neglects to consider is why these events happen the way they do....the "base" case so to speak.
In actuality I do support her exposing these "underhanded tactics" of the government for two reasons. #1 - because it is wrong, and does go against our Constitution. Whether or not these fellas are gangsters, hoods, criminals, or mafiosi, there are way more than enough "legal" tools and stringent laws on the books (Rico etc), that they (the G) shouldn't have to resort to lies, schemes, perjury, fraud, etc etc, to win ANY conviction. The "playing field" is tilted so far in their favor already that it's a joke (and a tragedy that we even need to have this conversation). #2 - If the government, OUR government, can do that to a Crea (whom by the way we have no connection to or ulterior motive here), or a Campos, then they could do it to you or I, if the mood, desire, or need ever hit em. Could they, yes! Would they, who knows?
Today it is a Crea for being what they perceive is a mafioso. Tomorrow who know? It's been done in the past history of our country to people or groups they have targeted for whatever reasons. And it most certainly WILL be done in the future, for whatever reasons they so chose...and thats just wrong! In fact it's a chilling thought that anybody could be intentionally targeted even when they know he's innocent of a particular crime because they need to get em. (forget about being charged accidentally which we also know happens often enough).
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That said, I do feel that Crea and other guys in his category should have been smarter than to stay on "front street". He's NOT a choirboy, never was, never will be. We all know that. He knew that they were gunning for him. The G had brought several cases against him years earlier and he HAD to know that they had him under intense surveillance. Stevie also had to figure that there were "bugs" planted in his club, car, and home. That just as sure as I'm typing this now, that the G must have had a few rats close to him as well. In his gut he had to know it was just a matter of time until he fell, and fell hard.
You wanna have "position"? You wanna walk the walk? Then you know the feds, one way or another, are coming for you because you are way too high profile. It's gotta end bad. And it did! Crea himself had put a bullseye on his back. And the "bulls" went for it!
Members of my own family were targeted in much the same way years back. They were deeply in "the life", and were extremely savvy in their ability to evade prosecution for decades, so the FBI used many underhanded and illegal tactics to jail them. And in the end they were jailed. We made no excuses, they just went and did their time. The difference being that they eventually hit the streets again. Unfortunately Steve Crea will not.
I feel bad for his son Dominick, and of course Crea's wife and their immediate blood family. It's also tragic that his other son Stevie Jr. fell as hard as he did. 13 years in the jug for shit is a long time. Knowing the life as well as Stevie Sr. did know it, I'm actually very surprised that he kept his kid close to him. I personally would have chased the kid to go into legitimate business or at the worst, kept him sidelined so he could earn well but not be knee deep or as close to the flame as he obviously was.
If there's any "silver lining" here, and admittedly thats a tough one, it's that Crea didn't go away until he was in his early seventies, So he had a great run. Still, I'm sure thats of little consolation to his family at this time.
I do agree with you Louie about those Fee-Bee's at the least losing their jobs, if not getting arrested for their illegal actions....but we both know thats a pipe dream. The only reason why they were allowed to do what they did in the first place was because if was "green-lighted" at the highest levels of the government. Our government!
And THATS the scariest thought in all of this!
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Until next time... "The Other Guy"
PS: one more thing, and I'm speaking here directly to this "Moe Tilden" and whoever else is of his ilk, There is a way to disagree and convey your "counter" thoughts and viewpoints without resorting to nasty, and insulting words. Regardless of whether my partner Lisa spews a position you agree with or not, to try and be a "keyboard racketeer" makes you look very uneducated, and quite frankly like a punk. I would think and hope that was not your intentions and that you are not that way. Surely there is a better way for you to communicate your feelings than to resort to name calling and insults. There are always 6-8 horses in a race for a reason. Pick your horse (the position you like) and run with it. But there's no reason to denigrate others who chose another pony. Am I correct here?
I think NYM contributes a hell of a lot of great content to this forum. And it would be nice that we are shown a little "respect" and common courtesy. I do appreciate all the wonderful commentary and thumbs up for my stories and exposes', But Lisa is the "Ying to my Yang", I research and write all the stories and gather all the photos and news articles, and her contribution is to design the story layout artistically for all our forum members to enjoy.
So whatya say Moe, lets be cool and nice to each other ok?
