Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [34]
“People hear a lot of things about being made that sound good, but just aren’t true in the real world. For example, made men aren’t supposed to be involved in drug dealing. You’ve gotta kill somebody to get made. Everybody who gets made has been there and done that. They won’t tell their men to do anything they haven’t done themselves. That’s all bullshit. The human element involved makes some of these so-called rules a joke.
“Does anyone really think organized crime doesn’t make a huge amount of money from the drug business? I was involved in dealing pot and shook down dealers of hard drugs. I kicked money to Nicky and he passed some of it on to the family boss. And one of the reasons John Gotti was at odds with Paul Castellano was because Gotti’s crew was into the drug business in a big way selling heroin and Castellano was pissed off about it. He didn’t mind collecting his envelope. But he was worried that if those guys got busted, it would be bad for the family’s image.
“I’ll tell you how this made-man thing really worked in New York City. In order for guys to get straightened out [become made], their names had to be submitted to the Commission [the heads of the five New York City crime families] when the books were open. Opening the books was like an enrollment period. And all the families opened the books at the same time. It didn’t happen that often, because with all the pressure the law was putting on, it was tough to get the five bosses together in the same place at the same time. It might happen once a year or it could be a couple of years between enrollments.
“When the books did open, the crew boss gave his list of candidates to the head of the family, who put the names in front of the Commission. Any of the five bosses could block anybody’s name regardless of what family the guy was associated with.
“Let’s say the nominee had robbed somebody from another family’s crew, then didn’t make it up. He might have borrowed money and didn’t pay it back. Or maybe he went into an establishment run by another family and acted like a cowboy, getting in fights and causing damage. Any of these things could be seen as meaning the guy wasn’t honorable or mature enough to become a member. He could get a no vote because one of the five thought he was too young and needed more seasoning.
“Contrary to popular belief, money and politics play a big part in whose names get submitted and who get their badge [are inducted]. I know of people who had lots of money and bought their way in. I’m talking about guys who never broke an egg, much less shot or killed anybody. You’d be surprised at how quick tradition goes out the window when a wannabe dangles a hundred thousand dollars under a boss’ nose. But these types want the prestige of being made. They don’t really want to work with or run a crew. So other than making a mockery of the eligibility requirements, they don’t really hurt anything.
“The same isn’t true in other cases, though. I said earlier that the Mob is rife with nepotism. When a boss sponsors a blood relative or close friend for membership who isn’t qualified, problems can result. I mean, how much credibility will a guy have when he orders somebody to do some work if he’s never pulled the trigger himself?
“When I was doing time in a federal prison in 1997, a Lucchese capo named Georgie Conte was inside with me. He was a trigger man with a solid reputation and was highly respected. He told me about how one guy tried to get around that requirement. Another Lucchese capo wanted to get his son made, but the kid had never committed an act of violence. So the son was assigned to participate