The following post comes from personal experience as well as a little light research. I am not advocating either one of these organizations. I just wanted to make that clear.
I am confused as to the difference between the FBI and the Mafia. Some of that confusion comes from close contact with members of both organizations. Maybe you can help me sort it out.
The first contact I had was with the FBI. As a college student working my way through school, I used to clean a building that had the local FBI office on the top floor. The FBI office was never cleaned unless agents were there to watch every move I made while cleaning. I noted that of the 5 or 6 agents I was in contact with, all of them were tall, broad shouldered and wore suits with ties, black shoes with a shine so bright it taxed your eyes, and they all had a small lump under their left shoulder that signified a holster with a handgun.
They treated me with friendliness but also suspicion as if I was going to steal some of their secret documents or something. Sometimes I felt they were talking down to me.
The office was never very dirty. I would dust the desks and table, sweep the floor and finish by moping it until the hardwood shone like a new day. There were never any papers out anywhere- not on the desk nor the table. It wasn’t like the bank downstairs where I had to move a lot of work in progress to get to the desktops.
I had two different contacts with Mafia members. One came about because an acquaintance of mine needed a place for a job interview with a Mafia member. He was looking for work after having spent a couple of years in prison and a few years more trying to go straight. No one would hire him because of his record. I was curious, so I allowed my living room to be used for the interview.
The man who did the interview was large, broad shouldered, and wore an immaculately tailored powder blue suit and shiny black shoes that could put your eyes out. He also had a small lump under his left arm indicating he was packing some heat. He was cordial and respectful. The interview was conducted like a conversation between old friends.
When he was through interviewing my associate, he turned to me and said, “We understand you are a pretty smart guy. The organization wants to get away from violence and use our brains instead. Would you like to apply for membership in our organization?”
I declined the invitation saying that I was a creator of poetry and stories and that my joining the organization might not work for me. I didn’t say that I was not happy with their retirement plan.
He smiled and said, “Thank you for being so upfront. The Family will not bother you again.”
The second time I met a Mafioso, I was hitchhiking around the country and somehow wound up in Jackpot, Idaho. The temperature was over 100 degrees and there was no traffic going through the little berg which consisted of a motel, a few trailers and a casino on the Nevada side of town. I wound up walking out of there that night. It was 50 miles to the interstate. Tired and hungry, I fell asleep on the side of the road.
The next morning, I woke up to a brand spankin’ new Lincoln Continental driving down the road toward me. To my surprise, it stopped and a broad-shouldered, well-dressed man got out. Despite the heat, he wore a nicely tailored suit, shiny black shoes, and had a slight lump under his left arm.
He noticed my noticing he was packing and smiled and told me he was an enforcer for the Mafia but I didn’t need to worry as he was on vacation and in any case, there wasn’t a hit out on me. I gave a sigh of relief.
The man helped me load my gear and off we went. He drove me all the way to Stockton, CA. On the way, he would ask me if I was hungry or thirsty and if I said yes, we would stop somewhere, and he would pull a BBQ out of the trunk. He had two ice chests there as well. One had burgers, hot dogs and all the fixings while the other had cold drinks.
Our conversation was friendly and he never disclosed any information about the Family or his job. He did ask me several questions about my travels and what it was like to live in California. His home was in Virginia.
Now we know the Mafia has a reputation for theft, fraud, murder, drugs, gambling, and prostitution. With what has come out recently about the FBI, they seem to be in competition with the Mafia in several areas. Also, it must be noted that during WWII, the FBI collaborated with the Mafia and has apparently done so on several occasions since then.
I humbly ask you, based on my stated experiences and the information that has now come out on both organizations, when the bad guys come, who ya gonna call? And who are the bad guys, anyway?