"Government Always Win"

The other day I heard a professor of organized crime discuss the shift in organized crime structure and culture in Montreal from Bike gangs and Mafia control to street gangs since the arrest of Vito Rizzuto. Specifically, he and an Italian author and expert on organized crime, spoke about law enforcement and its successes against the bikers. Montreal's police force, the Surete Quebec and RCMP are organized and efficient police forces and when organized crime push their luck - for example, killing innocent people in public - they go into full force with the blessing of the government. The professor said, "when the government pours resources into fighting crime, government will always win."

Actually, the government will always win on anything. Anyway. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a casual friend (from the 'hood) at the gym I used to go to years ago. Just released from prison, he had been caught in the daring and famous police drag net earlier this decade where they arrested over 100 gangsters and bikers in the same vain they recently did. We got to talking and he explained how it went down.

I paraphrase:

"One minute I'm all comfy in my bed, the next thing I know spot lights in my window from a helicopter and cocked guns in my face. My mother was freaking out. She had no idea. Off I went in handcuffs and pjamas."

"No pasta on Sunday's for Tommy (I changed his name to protect the guilty)," my buddy (who was closer with Tommy than I was) replies. We all laugh. "For real," Tommy says. "It was like 'Goodfellas.' I shut up and did my time."

He did and when he came out he owned a piece of the action in various clubs and restaurants around town. At this point, this is where the naive need to realize something. If you think corporate interests, government officials (and that includes government programs and unions that serve as perfect fronts) and mafia money is not involved in money laundering schemes to "legitimize" their operations you need to open your eyes and stop being so thick. Until we face up to this, there will never be a true investigation into the matter. That's why it's good the PQ demanded an inquiry into the corruption in the construction industry. That stuff costs taxpayers millions of dollars that end up lining up the pockets of crooks and liars.

I grew up around these guys. This is the dirty secret behind the scenes.

Back to Tommy. He did his time and so we talked about the whole biker thing between reps. "They're fucken idiots. One minute one of their Frenchmen (he used a more rugged term) runners is a morte di' fam (starving deadbeat in Italian slang) on Hochelaga St. (in the poor de Maisonneuve district in the east end of Montreal) the next he's wearing three pagers, decked out in the best clothes and flashing his gun everywhere causing trouble. You think the police don't notice that shit? They became too cocky. Next (Tommy liked the word 'next') thing you know, to kill one fucken guy they blow up an area and a kid gets killed. NEVER, ever, never, ever wake up the brotherhood. Society won't tolerate it. We (the mob) know this. In a war between the cops (and government) and us they will ALWAYS win. Next, you're pinched and your mother is crying on the steps of your house. That hurts."

Tommy still lived at home. 

The professor's words were true. Don't push the government. That's why the mafia has always been low key. However, things are changing in Montreal's crime culture. In fact, it's changing everywhere as the case in Mexico showed. The Mexicans have taken over the drug trade from the Colombians and this will change Montreal's place in the drug cartel trade.

There's a fear young street gangs are looking to fill the power vacuum that's taken place and these thugs don't care and are willing to engage in violent, open warfare in broad daylight as witnessed (though not proven) with the shooting death of Nick Rizzuto (my father made his family many suits over the years) in the day time. 

Fighting gangs are tough. They operate like loose confederacies and don't have solid structures. The Mafia is extremely well organized and militarized. In addition, the mob didn't look for trouble with law enforcement directly. This method of criminal activity is likely to change. Still, it can be quelled just like you can subdue terrorist cells. If the government really, really, really chose to, it can quash and squash all terrorist cells at the snap of a finger. I know a few cops and an RCMP officer. They know who the players are and where they live and operate. They just can't do anything about it.

Which makes me wonder. In a way,  do the cops prefer having to deal with the Mafia? A lesser of two evils type thing.