HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1977-07-13, Page 11Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
The real Mafia
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FEDERAL
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT BANK
elville Guild
Discusses keys for better living
At the conclusion of the
business, lunch was served by
Winnifred Edgar, Leona
Armstrong and Joan Exel.
usway
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You were probably surprised and' a bit
shaken by that recent CBC television show
"Connections," all about the permeation
of Canadian society, by organized crime:
The Mafia, the French Connection, the
Hong Kong Connection, and so on.
It neither surprised nor disturbed me.
I've known all about it for about four
decades. In fact, I'm amazed that the CBC
didn't interview me, if they wanted
something authentic about the beginnings-
of organized crime in this country. I was
there.
Of course, at the time, I didn't realize
what I was getting in to. I was in my early
teens. But the pattern, looking back, was
obvious.
There were two Families in my home
town, the Salvatis and the Guaracchis.
Showing little originality, both operated
behind the front of a fruit store. They were
both from Sicily, and they were bitter
enemies. If Sammy Salvati ran a special on
fresh asparagus, you can bet your
armor-plated vest that Joe Guaracchi, after
sending one of his boys down to check the
prices in the store window, would undercut
him by a dime.
Back and forth went the skirmishes, but
we ordinary small-town punks caught only
once in a while the savage internecine
warfare that went on behind the fruit store
fronts.
The Salvatis, for example, tried to
assimilate. They joined the United
Church, to set up another front, and it's
been rumored that they "laundered" a lot
of their illgotten gains by syphoning them
through that organization as donations.
On the other hand, the Guaracchis went
on speaking Sicilian, threatening to murder
their kids 'if they clidri't work harder, and.
muttering aboui their "connection". with
Rome.
At the time, I belonged to a gang
of young hoodlums who hung about in the
• town's two pool rooms, those- of Bob
Loblaw and Sylvester O'Toole. One of our
gang, the Chinese connection, was Joe
Hoo, scion, of the only Chinese family in
town. As you can see, it was quite a
cosmopolitan municipality, although the
population was only 4,000. •
We were a pretty vicious crowd, but it
was Depression years, so that we didn't
have the opportunities of today's punks.
There was no point in snatching purses
from old ladies; there was nothing in them.
No point in mugging elderly gentlemen for
the same reason: broke. We didn't drink,
because our fathers couldn't afford to have
it around the house to steal.
Helling around on motorcycles, of
course, was out of the question. But we did
terrorize a few neighborhoods by riding our
second-hand bicycles on the sidewalks and
occasionally right across someone's lawn.
Idon't want you to think for one minute
that we weren't taking out our subliminal
J64t1 Exel opened the June
eeting of Melville Presbyterian
iilld with a poem. Hymn "I
eed Thee" was sung followed
y the scripture reading taken
In Matthew 16. Winnifred
dgar led in prayer,
Piano selections by Carla night followed and Leona nnatrong discussed "Keys for
etter Living" some of which
ire' love, consecration, Sthile, utY, usefUltieSs, achikd i faith, neoiiragenielit - polished liy iptnit and prayer:
The singing of the hymn
'What a Friend we have in *s" brought the ' devotional
frustrations and latent aggressions against
society. We were.
At least once a week, we'd lean out the
third-floor windows of the local Chess,
Chowder and Cribbage Club, which we
were allowed to use, as junior members,
from nine to 11 on Sunday nights, in
exchange for janitorial duties, and spit on
passersby below. There weren't many -
passersby, that is - on a Sunday evening in
a small town, but occasionally we'd hit one,
shout "Tally-ho!" and toast each other in
PepSi.
But it was through our other thuggish
(yes, 1 admit it now) activity that we
became deeply invOyled with. The Mob.
This activity was stealing from the outsdie
stands of - you've 'guessed it - the town's
two fruit stores.
From the outset, it was obvious that
we'd come under the wing of one of the two'
Families. It didn't take long to see where
we were heading. The Salvatis kept a good
lookout, shouted loud, in English, and
would chase you all the way to the river to
get back a lousy peach.
But the Guaracchis, although they too
shouted, in Sicilian, were fat and couldn't
run. And we had an ace in the hole. One of
our gang was one of their boys, Phil
Guaracchi; We terrorized him 'into utter
submission by. threatening to expose his
membership in the club to the Godfather,
Joe Gauracchi, who would have thumped
him into a very small pizza, indeed.
So we had an inside man. He'd tip us off
when his old man was off with the truck to
Buffalo, where he had a close connection
with the Bananas gang. We knew exactly
when he'd arrive back with a truckful of
bananas, grapes, you name it, andlaid our
plans as carefully as the IRA.
The minute the new fruit was put on the
outside stands, one of our gang would go
into the store and ask Mama. Guaracchi if
Phil could come. down to the pool room.
While she was haranguing him, the rest of
us would stuff our shirts and• head for the
park for a gluttonous gorge.
It was only a step from there to getting
into the Godfather's cellar and homemade
wine when he was out of town. Next thing
you know, a couple of us were running
dances, at 50 cents a couple, with beer in
the back room in a tub of ice. We used to
promise- the orchestra $25 and then beat
them down to $15. The money just rolled in,
Some weeks we made enough to pay a
little off on our bill at the pool room, where
we habitually played on our "nerve". That
is, without funds to pay for the table, if you
lost.
There was only one direction we could
go, and we'd have wound up more debased
and debauched than the Dubois Brothers of
Montreal, if the war hadn't come along.
Some of us got killed. Some of us had a
worse fate. We stayed alive and eot
-_,married. The old gang broke up. But don't
tell me about the Mafia. I was there.
THE BRussEles. POST. , JULY 1,3, 1977 -,41.
Bayfield orangeWalk
to be held July 1.6
Walk to be held in Bayfield on
Plans for the traditional Orange co-operation with the County
Lodge will hold a number of
July 16 were completed at a events at the- arena and fair-
committee meeting in Varna last grounds. Included will be a
refreshment booth,' rides for week.
children, a ladies softball The celebration, sponsored by tournament and a dance to be the lodges of South Huron, held at night.
includes the county lodges of
Essex, Kent, Lambton, Middle-
Ralph .
sex-Elgin, West Bruce, North and
South Perth as well as North and
South Huron.
Pearsons A speaker's platform will be
erected in Clan Gregor Square
and the speaking will precede the honoured parade.
Main speaker will be the Rev.
S. Bell of Wheatley. Mr. Bell was on 25th a member of Woodham L.O.L.
Iwhile he served as rector of
Kirkton Anglican Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Pearson The parade will leave the were guests of honor on Saturday
Square at approximitely 2:00 at a dinner given for them by their
p.m. It will proceed past the family at Turnberry Tavern on the
Senior Citizen's apartments and .occasion of their 25th Wedding return to the Square by Main Anniversary.
Street and will be followed by a
Members of their immediate fife and drum competition.
family attended. The Bayfield Lions Club in
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on the 3rd Tuesday of each month
Jul); 19
For prior iinformation call 271.5650 -'Or write
1036 Ontario , -Street, Stratford.
part of the meeting to a close.
Margaret McCutcheon
presided for business. Reports
were giVen by Isobel Adams and
Kathleen Semple.
LET US MAKE'YOUR OLD FURNITURE