Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Father's Day: My Dad and the Mob
wow...that is quite a life. maybe someone should write a book about your dad, if no one has already.
how did he come to step on gotti’s expensive shoes?
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 06/20 at 07:40 AMI’ve pitched such a book idea for years, James...but no luck. As my Dad gets older, his memory is fading, so I’m not sure if his full story will ever be told.
As for Gotti, here’s something I wrote:
The boss of the Gambino crime family was walking out of court one day, as was my father. Deep in thought, my Dad didn’t notice the typical media circus that surrounded any of Gotti’s judicial appearances until he accidentally stepped on a rather expensive Italian shoe. He looked up to see that the shoe belonged to none other than John Gotti.
“Excuse me,” my father mumbled as the Mafia don gave him a bemused grin.
“Aw,” Gotti grinned, “don’t worry about it, Agent.”
How did he know my father was an agent and not a cop? Chalk it up to that Mafia sixth sense.Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/20 at 10:02 AMA Federal Agent deep in thought...you’re dad truly must be one of a kind (just kidding). I hope you get that book deal some day; I’d definitely like to read it.
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 06/20 at 11:06 AMYeah, it’s a tricky concept being critical of federa law enforcement yet being so close to an agent. But just because he’s my Dad doesn’t mean he’s not capable of something I’d diasgree with and it also doesn’t change my general opinion of federal agents.
I think this concept would make the book that much more interesting...but what do I know?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/20 at 12:33 PMIt would definitely make it more interesting…
Most of those types of books are written with a sense of hero worship, and that the guy fighting crime is 100% in the right. It gets a little boring without a more balanced view.
Plus, it sounds like your dad has quite a few great stories to tell. Geraldine in her nightgown? I’m sure your mom loves to hear that one…
The undercover in the mob stories must be great too. When I first moved to PR a little over a year ago, I was staying at my wife’s grandmother’s apartment and I found this old true crime book from the 70’s about an Italian NYC cop (not Serpico), who gave in to his conscience and started working with the DA’s office against his fellow cops and his mafia buddies.
He eventually worked with a young Assistant DA named Rudolf Giuliani. At the time, who knew he would eventually terrorize the black and Latino communities throughout the five boroughs as mayor of NYC. I always laugh when I hear, “he really made the city safer,” yeah, just as long as you had the right skin color.
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 06/20 at 01:07 PMYou’ve certainly inspired to try this idea again. I’m going to Texas later this week to hang with my Mom. I’ll talk to my Dad about it then.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 06/20 at 01:15 PMcool! either way, at least you’ll get those stories on paper.
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 06/20 at 02:06 PM
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