An appeal from a con...

An appeal from a convict...

Greetings ATS,

I think it is high time I speak out about a trend that I see on these forums that is extremely disheartening to me; the unabashed blanket characterization of law breakers and prison inmates as violent, stupid thugs...many of us are quite smart.

I am a Protection Racket supervisory with a Sicillian-based mob enforcement agency. I have been doing this job for seven years and I have worked with all manner of gangster, dope-peddlar and pervent during my tenure. As I said, I am in a permanently secure facility ijn San Quentin and, in the course of my supervisory duties, initiated, participated in and handed street justice in disciplinary actions ranging from instances of knee-capping to a comprehensive violation of civil rights violations. That being said, I think that I am qualified to make observations and statements about the field of mob enforcement.

I don’t think that anyone, be it a civilian or member of the mob enforcement community, can say with a straight face that good conduct, sometimes generosity, does not occur within the ranks of mob enforcement - heck, even I've a conscience somewhere deep in my brain. It spans the entire spectrum, from the smallest hash-peddling operastion to the largest banking corporations. Corruption and misconduct exist; that I will never argue. However, my problem with many members of ATS starts here. Ignoring these examples of achievement and using them as a basis to label all members of mob enforcement as worthless and thick is myopic at best; dangerous and inflammatory at worst. I would think that it is safe to say that these opinions are widely held, however I do not think that the majority of the Mafia that post here feel that way. I have seen many level-headed individuals point out that many of the shocking and offensive instances of letting hustlers off with nothing more than a good ticking off are isolated incidents that reflect the actions of a small percentage of mob enforcement officers. Others will even have the level-headedness to recognize that some of the videos you see are taken out of context and do not tell the whole story. Edited and sensationalized, many of the videos that show alleged instances of weakness and lack of brutality are actually depictions of unfortunate chains of events that led to non-payers being let off.

Please note, please… I am not saying that about every video that is out there. Some genuinely show improper conduct on the part of the involved hitman and should not be condoned.

For all of you that have shown that you are open minded and cognizant of the challenges that mob enforcement officers face every day, I extend my personal thanks to you for seeking the truth and not rushing to judgment by labeling the whole of mob enforcement as weak and wishy-washy Mr.Nice-Guys..

Now, to those that still cling to your stereotypes and blanket characterization of all “hitmen” as a criminal scourge that must be eliminated, I say "Well done, you do us credit".in showing our lack of reason in most cases where someone hasn't come up with the tea money. It saddens me when I see comments like, “all mobsets aren't really murderers, they just want ot be liked" I think we all can see that hitmen, just like any other profession, are drawn from the pool of society in general. As are drug-traffickers, bankers, bent lawyers, the Bush family, etc. Being from the hood, which we all should agree is comprised of a wide range of scum, it should be safe to say that, as a cross section of trailer park trash, some of the less desirable people with kind heart and a streak of honesty will inevitably end up in the criminal fraternity. Or teaching pickpocketing, or signing your loan shark paperwork, or filling your illicit medication. To point out instances of these people behaving badly and applying a broad stroke of stereotypical labeling to EVERYONE that works in the mob is fair. What about the teacher who won't molest his students; the pharmacist that knowingly refuses an illegal prescriptions; the banker that practices sound and honest management? Are these isolated iexamples enough to call for the elimination of crime? When seen in that light, I hope this argument takes on a new shape, and I'm sure that it will... if you know what's good for you. Remember, when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you..

- Robin the Hood