Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [4]
Extorting the dealers was primarily a one-man operation for Andrew. But stealing car parts, he often worked with other neighborhood youths.
“Some of the kids I stole with were already associated with organized-crime crews and several more of us got involved later. I made many good friends back then and I thought we’d be friends for life. But shit happens and in some cases, it didn’t work out that way. And some of those I was closest with died before their time.”
In those early days, Andrew and his buddies weren’t proficient at stealing whole cars. Instead, they robbed parts.
For example, Mercedes Benz used Becker digital radios. They were a hot item. The thieves smashed in a window, ripped out the radio, and ran. Andrew’s next-door neighbor, Rocco Corozzo, nephew of Gambino capo and Andrew’s future boss Nicholas Corozzo, had a buyer for the radios who took all they brought him and paid between $150 and $200 a set.
“We were having fun and the guys in the street crews left us alone. We were just kids and they didn’t make us kick anything in to them. Whatever we made was ours. It was all coming in and nothing had to be paid out.”
But even criminals like Andrew can experience economic tough times. In the case of him and his friends, youth, inexperience, and greed were contributing factors, as well as unanticipated business interruptions.
“Sometimes when we had a lot of money in our pockets, we got a little lazy. We stopped stealing for a while and blew what we had buying stuff and partying. We were young and weren’t thinking about saving. When we realized we were almost out of cash, we got off our asses and went back to work.
“I even screwed myself by taking so much from the dealers I was shaking down that I put some of them out of business. By the time they made their payment to me and bought product, they weren’t making enough profit to stay in business. When one of ’em went away, it might be a few weeks before someone stepped in to take his place and I could get to the new guy to explain the cost of doing business.
“And then there were supply interruptions. When the dealers didn’t have anything to sell, they weren’t making any money and they weren’t paying me. Depending on the reason for the interruption, it could last days or weeks. That meant I had to steal more to get through the dry times.
“But I learned a lot and knew I needed to make some changes. I had to work smarter and expand my criminal activities to earn more. Instead of shaking down the dealers for money, I started shaking them down for product and set up my own network of dealers. And instead of just stealing parts off a car, I took the whole thing. I wanted to get into the chop-shop business and start making some real money.”
3
Making Connections
Andrew was ambitious and made a commitment to advance his criminal career. He dropped out of school to allow himself more time on the streets. However, before he fully implemented his bold plans, an event took place that had unintended consequences. Although it resulted in his first arrest, it also brought him to the attention of Gambino crew boss Nicky Corozzo and catapulted him from an unaffiliated street tough into the world of organized crime.
In November 1982, Andrew and a friend learned that a couple of neighborhood boys working in a bagel shop at East 81st Street and Flatlands Avenue were stealing up to $1,500 a week from the place. Andrew and his pal saw this as an opportunity to make some easy cash.
“The owners weren’t around that much, especially at night. The night-shift workers made the bagels, served customers, and handled the cash register, pocketing a lot of the money for themselves. Both were in their late teens. The word was that they had serious gambling problems and needed the money to pay off their gambling debts.
“My buddy Tommy and I figured we might as well cut ourselves in on the action. We told them we wanted four or five hundred a week or else.