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June 21, 2007
Now this is juicy
I have the honor of being 1/4 Sicilian. Despite that, I've never been much into the mafia stuff. In fact, I used to be scared to death of the mafia. I mean, those guys mean business, and my parents used to live in the same neighborhood where the Buffalo mafia ran rampant. (Yes, Buffalo has a mafia, idiots.) Anyway, some of my main childhood fears revolved around nuclear war, the safety of my pets, and pissing off the mafia. I was a fun kid.
Needless to say, I have never watched any Godfather movies, nor have I seen an episode of The Sopranos. However, now that I'm all grown up, I'm starting to get more interested in the stuff. So much so that I think I will try to go to the Federal Courthouse here and watch some of the "Family Secrets" trial that started here this week:
Chicago's biggest mob trial in years started Thursday with a prosecutor urging the jury to forget what they know about movie mobsters and see the aging defendants for who they are: men who "committed brutal crimes on behalf of the Chicago Outfit."
"This is not 'The Sopranos.' This is not 'The Godfather.' These are real people, very corrupt and without honor," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Scully told the jury.
As he regaled the anonymous jury with a blood-drenched litany of murders, Scully showed large photos of the victims on a screen.
He talked about Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, once the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas and the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino." Spilotro and his brother were allegedly lured into a basement and beaten to death, then buried in an Indiana cornfield.
entry no. 889
Posted by oz115 at June 21, 2007 03:57 PM