ray ferritto - MOB hitman

[TommyG]

@ stevie Cioti was indeed a mafia member, the PA crime commission from , I believe 1968 in their report on organized crime named him as a "made man" of the Magadinno family from Buffalo/Niagara Falls. The Mafia in Erie hid their money by running Cigar stores(there were dozens of them in Erie in the 1950's and 60's) Erie Coin Vending, and various nightclubs like the Beaver Club in the 1950's.

[paulie walnuts]

Who cares? This is the 21st century. The Erie "mafia" is nothing but a bunch of has-beens and wanna-bes. Good luck having a crime syndicate in a little town with its own FBI office.

[caza ouns117]

Ned Digs wrote:

<quoted text>certainly not a dago

This guy has a problem with Italians one must of screwed his mom or wife or daughter you no what they say Italians are the best lovers and are very. Well hung

[Dee]

Atupid wrote:

All these guys re dying or dead. Y would a cop b on here asking questions about a bunch o dead people. U idiot. It's just interesting stuff

http://murdersunsolved.com/active-cases/owen-...

[alvy moore I]

I know - it is an interesting history, but very shameful in that we tend to romanticize these lowlife criminal pieces of shit because of the movies and books.
They regularly stole from honest hardworking folks which in itself is a scumbag activity, and bullied many innocents via numbers those who didn't go along with their program.
For the most part they hid behind their 'organization' and were a bunch of cowards, petty thieves, thugs, bullies and murderers who were too lazy to work for a living.
If I was Italian I would be ashamed of this legacy; "I never asked who gave the order, for this life that we chose".
Gimme a break.

[a rose is a rose]

alvy moore I wrote:

I know - it is an interesting history, but very shameful in that we tend to romanticize these lowlife criminal pieces of shit because of the movies and books.
They regularly stole from honest hardworking folks which in itself is a scumbag activity, and bullied many innocents via numbers those who didn't go along with their program.
For the most part they hid behind their 'organization' and were a bunch of cowards, petty thieves, thugs, bullies and murderers who were too lazy to work for a living.
If I was Italian I would be ashamed of this legacy; "I never asked who gave the order, for this life that we chose".
Gimme a break.

not too much different than bankers

[Dee]

a rose is a rose wrote:

<quoted text>
not too much different than bankers

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

[TommyG]

@ Alvy Moore 1,
I agree that these people are among the lowest of the low, a hit man might be scummier than even a serial killer. As a matter of fact the 21st century equivalent might be the "bloods" and "crips" and we do tend to romanticize "mobsters." That said, I would hate to see the influence of organized crime in Erie swept under the table. The Mayor was driven from office in the 1950's and sent to prison because of his desire to profit from crime he should have been trying to prevent. I find Erie's criminal past fascinating, but I agree that we shouldn't forget that these were bad people who lived off thehard work of good, honest folk.

[harold]

Ciotti owned the old Calley Club, sat at the door freshly dressed with a cigar in his mouth, he looked shady

[khp33]

harold wrote:

Ciotti owned the old Calley Club, sat at the door freshly dressed with a cigar in his mouth, he looked shady

because he was.

[Stevie]

How was he shady?

[ben there]

ciotti was not shady he was a good man, he just played by his own rules

[TommyG]

@ ben there,
does that mean that crime is ok as long as it fits into "your own rules," because Ciotti was a criminal, it is how he made his living. It was for pretty much his whole life.

[ben there]

how was he a criminal, did he ever do anything to you? u r just going off of what u have heard, u dont know him personally

[Nasty]

ben there wrote:

how was he a criminal, did he ever do anything to you? u r just going off of what u have heard, u dont know him personally

That's weak,really weak!I didn't know Capone either so should I take the stance that I'm "just going off of what I heard"?Using your argument then,since he didn't do anything to you I suppose you'd believe that Al Capone was a law abiding citizen!Don't tell me you do.

[ben there]

im not saying that, im just saying he was a gambler, what else did he do that was wrong??

[Michelle]

stevie wrote:

Just saw the movie called to kill the irishman with ray ferritto in it. Just wondering what this guy was like in erie, anybody know him or have any good stories about him? please share

My mom was best friends with his niece I'm named after her!=D

[yoo hoo]

alvy moore I wrote:

I know - it is an interesting history, but very shameful in that we tend to romanticize these lowlife criminal pieces of shit because of the movies and books.
They regularly stole from honest hardworking folks which in itself is a scumbag activity, and bullied many innocents via numbers those who didn't go along with their program.
For the most part they hid behind their 'organization' and were a bunch of cowards, petty thieves, thugs, bullies and murderers who were too lazy to work for a living.
If I was Italian I would be ashamed of this legacy; "I never asked who gave the order, for this life that we chose".
Gimme a break.

A good book is "Evil: inside human violence and cruelty". Actually the mafia started as a way of protecting Sicilian farmers on the dangerous journey through open country on the way to market. Also an example is a transaction of on man selling another a horse. If the horse was lame and a man got ripped off the mafia would intervene. This was needed because in many countries with a weak government / police structure the common man has no recourse to being taken advantage of. Once groups get established they get power and it is power that corrupts.

Actually the KKK got it's start as a club devoted to fun with no political or racial purpose. They would play pranks on one another, then citizens at large and eventually blacks. It was originally an organization devoted to "good family fun: picnics, bonfires, parades, fireworks, baby shows and pie eating contests mixed with the costumes, rituals and secret words".

The point is "evil" is not a cut and dried thing. It often happens as something more akin to what mission creep is in the military. All of it starts by finding it easy to demonize people. Just what topix is all about.

[Jack Dovishaw]

Bolo was my cuz. He took care of his widowed until he died. He made his living being a bookie. He was a great guy. If he lived in Vegas....he would have looked up to.

[Aaron Weinberg]

What about Abe "Kid Twist" Reles & Harry "Pitsburgh Phil" Strauss? Some historians believe they executed 3-500 contract kills. That hardly seems possible but who knows.