If you make prisoners work, I am sure there will be some angry human rights groups complaining because it is not humane - in their eyes of course.

Were any of you aware that the mafia was put to work by the U.S. during WWII to find nazi sympathisers in Italy? As far as the stealing hard earned money, take a good look at the American banking system.

Jesus Christ dude the article is about the arrest of gangsters!

Try and crawl out of your one-track Obama bashing for half a freaking hour maybe?

I didn't vote for the guy but it gets a little goddamn tedious when every freaking article turns up some retard who uses it as an opportunity to criticize Obama.

Oh, gotta go. My dog just threw up. Damn that Obama! Why did her make my dog puke?

One of the interesting things about the way that mobs, gangs, and cartels evolve is that they involve all generations of families and neighborhoods. The media tends to focus on the people out in front, the 'foot soldiers', the young men who usually are way down in the hierarchy....often with a grandfather or uncle calling the shots. Churches and police and politicians must be involved for it to work. It doesn't matter which culture...because the whole thing won't work unless families and communities cooperate. I am not implying that people cooperate because they want to...they usually feel threatened or exposed...and then before you know it they are deep into it. I lived for a very short time in a community that took this whole thing a step further. The different ethnic group gangs, mobs and cartels banded together with the police and formed a magnificent operation. Local churches, both Catholic and evangelical Christian were most definitely involved. I could sit on my porch and watch the distribution of the drugs taking place from the back of one the church; believe me, they weren't distributing food to the poor...it was very definitely drug dealing.

There was finally a shake up in the police fdepartment and things have gone under ground a bit, but not stopped. Once people embrace this way of life, there is no turning back. It has everything the corporations have...CEO's, sales people, marketing, distribution, technology engineers, security, lobbying, risk taking, community involvement....and the 'rush' of doing something illegal and pulling it off.

Experts say that 48 cents to every dollar in the US is drug money...it makes one realize why we drag our feet taking care of this problem. The whole economy would collapse!

What city please so I never move there?

A community in LA county. But it doesn't matter, this is going on everywhere to some degree. I have heard it is worse in some of the Midwestern cities. Think about it. There is a reason that every mob or cartel wants to do their business here.

And my observation is, at a certain point, what is the difference between corporations and these people?

The whole experience made me look carefully at the false pretenses and morals our society is based on. In a capitalist society, greed , power and money rule. The way people get it almost doesn't matter anymore.

When I see the right wing crying and whining about regulations that are badly needed to reign in the legal side of all of this, it turns my stomach. When they hide behind their 'gods' to do it, it is the ultimate slap in the face. The Ponzi scheme is alive and well in our society, from corporations, to churches, to mobs and cartels...they are all selling their product, want no regulation, want to evade taxes, and have power to influence.

Sad, no?

You make a good point JGP and I tell you what the difference is. It's the paperwork redtape convention. Big corps pay all the fees and people they need to file the paperwork so they don't have to pay taxes, and these mob, gang, mafia folks don't. So it's interesting to think if they would pay all these fees and filings. Would this article have even been news worthy?

JGP

I can watch business distribute drugs to people as well,those drugs are alcohol,nicotine and caffeine. Either ban all drugs including the ones mentioned above or make all of them legal.

Thanks Dave, I just needed to hear that from someone other than myself. Living on SS and SSI each month isn't easy, then they have the gaul to vote a raise for themselves as to say "so what are you going to do about it?" Now you know why obumma wants to override the First, Second and Fourth Amendments. If not abolish them! Seems they don't know the meaning of the words, "Don't Tread on Me!"

Dave, for one, it is tax evasion. Two, just because they owed taxes does not mean they were evading the IRS. Evading your taxes can come in many different forms, the most common being not claiming taxable income. I think you are trying to say is they have back-taxes that may have been forgiven. I do agree though, we need some fresh thinkers in congress. Out with the old, in with the new.

Luis Gonzalez-1998910, what does your post have to do with the article on the Mafia?

rtbtat - loosen up a bit. Everyone has a right to vent occasionally, and many did in this article. Why are you singling out this person, because his name is Luis????

I love it BillyBoy-298303, a guy like you accuses me of being biased. I'm LOL!

There wasn't one word in his post that had anything to do with the article. What do tax collectors and taxpayers have to do with a Mafia bust in Italy?

Luis,
The tax payer bailed out the banks and other greedy organizations...what about us, the taxpayer?

RTBTAT
Luis Gonzalez-1998910, what does your post have to do with the article on the Mafia?

Well, RT, banks, insurance companies, congress.....all greedy organizations.
Bailed out by taxpayers.
You don't give, they take your taxes. You know, "spread the wealth".

Mafia ....greedy organization.
Don't need taxes because they already have you. You don't give, they take your knees
(or your life, or your family's lives).
You know, "spread the wealth".

I can see the correlation.

There is one part that a few of you guys are forgetting. The feds made banks take taxpayer dollars to ensure that they did not fail. Some of these banks did not want to take the money, but had to. Last I checked, those amounts were paid back in full with the Govt. making money on bailing out the banks. I'm not saying that banks don't screw over patrons(with fees and interest) because they do, but they are not the only reason why the economy took a downturn. Just look at the housing market bust as a perfect example. Credit was extended way too far and too many people bought into it and are now being hounded by debt collectors. My advice, don't take what you can't afford...

Those arrested certainly need to be bailed out now!

We bailed out the mafia earlier this year....

Oops, sorry about that, I meant to say the unions...

Hi SSMIKE, I have been saying that for years!

Really informative post, Barney.

Hey Tyler, if this one doesn't get the boot then nothing here should. The topic is enforcement against organized crime. The fact that Chicago is run by an organized crime syndicate (whether it is the Mafia or not is irrelevant) and Don-1933199 made a comparative statement that many see validity in.

That is not against the Newsvine rules. However, I believe Ed Karesky's personal attacks and name calling is.

Having said that, I agree that the POTUS and certain (many) members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are at least as corrupt as the "Mafioso" arrested yesterday. That is the comparison that was made, it is applicable to this story and should be allowed without personal attack.

Perhaps the alternative to such a tirade should be to work in concert to end the organized crime that is so pervasive in our governments at every level.

Fred, Fred, Fred

Love to see that the right is ready to censor of the things that are inconvient to their "cause". Said cause being undefined and solutions unpresented. Brilliant.

It is not a "fact" that Chicago is run by organized crime it is only your sincere "hope" that America and Democracy fails, all in the name of patriotism so that in the end, you can claim to be correct in your efforts of predicting the future and blame the POTUS to which you are deathly afraid of only because of your ignorant fear of persons of color.

Chicago has crime, certainly. In the days past, that you desperately yearn for, prohibition brought about organized crime to that area and others. Is there crime there today? Certainly. Is it "organized"? Some of it. No more than any other metropolitan area.

The ring leader of the organized crime that is the genocide in Iraq, at a cost of over 700 billion dollars and over 5000 American lives to kill people who DID NOT HAVE WMDs after 1991 and his party of fear mongers were overwhelmingly defeated at the polls. Crushed. Vanquished. Beaten.

The organized criminals in government refuse to accept the outcome of a fair and open election and trivialize the votes cast by the MAJORITY of Americans because their "team" lost.

Ever state the POTUS was not born in America? Your a criminal and a traitor to democracy and our country.

Ever state the POTUS is a muslim? Your a traitor to out country and stupid.

Ever forward an e-mail that you knew wasn't true but met your agenda? Your a liar and a coward.

Ever just delete an e-mail that you knew wasn't true and didn't enlighten the sender? Your just a coward.

Ever call someone who didn't agree with you a socialist? Your a sock puppet.

If you don't respect the man, respect the office. It got me through 8 years of GWB. It's your turn to show some respect and civility. Or just make wild accusations, kick up a lot of dust and run away.

Uberdog, I commend your ability to call it as you see it. I quite agree with you. The righties can't seem to tell the truth or vote for anything constructive. More than the party of NO, they are the party of destruction and fear.

Indeed.

What I love is they expect everyone to beleave that the 8 years of destruction from the previous Adm. and the sacking of a few libertys in the name of security, is supposed to be fixed in less than 1 year lol...Fraking dolts

And I love the Leftist philosophy of "If we say it is, it is and if we say it's not, it's not."

You are either blind to what is happening to America, as equally dedicated to its destruction as Obama or learned that it is not good to think independently.

You presume I am a Bush fan, but you are wrong. However, I hate Obama's plans for Socialism more. You don't have to argue the point; I know you love it to death, but decent Americans will oppose it and November 2, 2010 will prove their are still more decent Americans than Obama supporters.

So you want to be the last human standing on earth. All the rest of us wiped out. Because of course, you would never do any thing to soil the world. Nice aspiration there, Hitler.

Haha that's a funny joke there Bubba. America is the glue that keeps this world together.

Someone please call the village and let them know that their idiot Bubba the Great has been found....

helidiot52, how long have you been watching Newsvine in hopes of using that bit of useless information? "Oh boy!" helidiot exclaimed, "I finally get to correct someone's application of light years!" I get to show that for one whole sentence I may have been smarter then someone else! Hooray for me!"

Now, having put that into perspective, would you like to apologize for calling him a "fool"?

Fred,

Since you have never bested anyone in a battle of wits, you must be jealous. I would be too if I were in your clown shoes.

heliot52:

Better check the definition of a 'light year'. A light year is defined as the distance light travels in one year. Light travels 186,000 miles per second. There are 31,536,000 seconds in a year. I assumed a year with 365 days, close enough hopefully. If the seconds in a year are represented by: "Y" than the formula for how far light travels in a year is:

"Y" X 186,000 = miles in one light year = 586,569,600,000 miles

I try and learn at least one new thing everyday! Just for fun. Hope you enjoy. Oh, by the way I never was very good at math, but I think this is fairly close, like government work.

Thank you scrambolo for saving me the trouble of looking up the figures on the light year fomular. At 72 with a eight grade education I did forget it. Think he will learn it?

I prefer "space year" ya see?

Dear Artie De:

Glad to have been of help saving time. At our age time becomes very valuable. Have a GREAT DAY Artie!

Wow, what'd they do, let all the first graders out today? You want to know why this country is in the mess it's in, just take a look at all you people who do nothing but criticize and berate other people.

The forums are for OPINIONS. If you don't agree with one, look the other way, but calling people idiots and stupid and useless and every other demeaning word you can come with,
is so childish I wouldn't want ANY of you controlling my life or my country.

Good grief, get a grip!

Boy Uberdog, you're just full of baseless opinions and self-created lies, aren't you? Well, why rely on facts when you can make up something and pretend it is valid, right?