Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [35]
“Some people aren’t capable of doing violence and I’m okay with that. But don’t put somebody like that in a position of power where he can order people to do what he doesn’t have the guts to do himself.
“And there are lots of guys who deserve to get in, but don’t. Maybe they don’t kiss the boss’ ass enough. Maybe they’re too good at their job and pose a threat to the boss. Those capos aren’t about to give more power to somebody who could end up replacing them.
“These things don’t sit well with some of the old-time made men or the younger guys waiting for their chance. But what can you do about it? Even John Gotti bent the rules to get his son made. So in the modern-day Mafia, you can get your badge if you’ve got enough money, know the right people, or are a big enough earner.
“And the benefits of being a made man aren’t cast in stone, either. It all depends on who does what to whom. For instance, Gambino crewman Roy DeMeo [car thief and cold-blooded killer] could get away with about anything he wanted to, because everybody was afraid of him. He could take out a made man and nobody said shit. If somebody not as strong looked at a made man the wrong way, he could get the death sentence.
“But in 1988 I thought there was a good chance Nicky would put my name in when the books opened. I’ll never know whether he would have or not, because Ralph Burzo came along. And that deal blew me out of contention.”
RALPH BURSO
As described in the first chapter of this book, on April 8, 1988, Andrew shot a man named Ralph Burzo. In order to put that incident in context, it was necessary to review several years of his life immediately prior to the shooting. That accomplished, Andrew can tell his side of the story, explaining what happened that day and in the days that followed.
“At that time my relationship with Dina was strained. We weren’t living together. She was staying with her mother and I’d started dating another girl. Had she not been carrying my child, we probably wouldn’t have been in contact at all. But Dina said she wanted me to be at the hospital when the baby was born and asked me to attend Lamaze classes with her. She also told me she needed a car to get to the classes and doctor appointments. So I gave her a substantial amount of cash to buy a car. She said she had an uncle who ran a car lot and she’d get something from him. A day or two later, she came to the horse room on Stillwell Avenue driving a green Tnunderbird. She said she’d purchased the car from her uncle.
“That night, I went to her place to go to the Lamaze class. My new girlfriend was using my car, so we took the Thunderbird. On the way, the cops pulled us over for a traffic violation. They ran the plate and checked the insurance card and found everything had expired three years earlier. I asked her how her uncle could have let her drive out of his dealership with no insurance and expired plates. She gave me a story that I bought, but it turned out to be a lie.
“After the class we went back to her mother’s and I spent the night. The next morning we went outside and as we approached the car, I saw this guy there changing the windshield wipers. I’d never seen him before and had no idea who he was. He was about ten years older than me and looked like a weight lifter. He wasn’t that tall, but he was stocky—around two hundred forty pounds or so. I thought maybe he worked for Dina’s uncle and he’d been sent over to put on the new blades.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I learned later that as I was getting close to the car, Dina was walking behind me gesturing to this guy to get out of there. When we got to the Thunderbird she said, ‘Andrew, this is Ralph.’ Ralph didn’t say hello or offer to shake hands. He just turned