Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Although they're capable of good deeds, one should not forget that by and large mobsters made their livings in businesses that depended on murder, extortion, and various other crimes, most of which were hardly "victimless". Therefore, though they may have been quite genuine in their more admirable acts, the quiz taker should hesitate before giving any of these individuals true admiration.
The most prominent of all American Mafiosi was probably Al Capone. At the height of his power during prohibition, Capone practically controlled the Chicago suburb of Cicero and was able to throw around thousands of dollars as gratuities with barely the blink of an eye. He was popularly known (though rarely in his presence) as "Scarface Al" because of the prominent scar on his left cheek. Though Capone was a veteran of several gangland brawls, this scar was actually a reminder of his service in the army where, as a guard at a POW camp, he successfully stopped two German escapees single-handedly, incurring the wound in the process.
2. A major prohibition-era rival of Al Capone, this Irish gangster had no ambitions to expand into Scarface's Chicago territory. Rather, he was content to run his own clandestine brewery (with its very own cooperage that made barrels comparable to those before prohibition) and control the local action in suburban Des Plains, IL. Capone, however, had other ideas; Des Plaines had very little prostitution, and Enterprising Al saw great profits to be made in remedying that situation. Showing remarkable devotion to his community (and his very privileged position therein), the Des Plains beer baron teamed with local police to convince Capone (albeit temporarily) that the smaller town's mob was too tough and well-armed to be trifled with. Who was this suburban bootlegger who put the well-being of his community above the chance to make a quick buck in prostitution?
3. One of Al Capone's most valued associates, this St. Louis-born attorney made his first haul as the partner of the man who invented the mechanical rabbit used in dog-racing. He later partnered with the Cicero mob in promoting illegal dog races and assisted Capone in fixing countless trials and several elections. In the 1930s, however, he turned on Capone, providing valuable information for the Treasury department's encroaching tax-evasion investigation in exchange for both immunity from prosecution and an appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD for his son. Though the father would predictably be murdered by mob associates in 1939, the son would later earn the Distinguished Flying Cross for extreme heroism in World War II's Pacific Theater and, following his 1943 death in combat, would have a major city airport renamed in his honor. Who was this mob lawyer turned informant whose son so thoroughly redeemed the family name?
4. World War II saw the US government form an unholy alliance with several mafiosi to help fight the fascists. Among the services provided by organized crime were assistance in policing the New York waterfronts against saboteurs (the mob had long been a dominant presence on the New York docks) and eliciting intelligence services from their allies in the Sicilian mafia. What legendary New York crime figure, doing time in Dannemora at the beginning of the war, was moved to a more comfortable institution in exchange for his assistance in these endeavors, and was pardoned and deported to Sicily following the Allied victory?
5. An earlier unholy alliance between the legal and illegal authorities in the United States against fascism was struck even before Pearl Harbor. Prior to US involvement in World War II, there was a budding fascist movement building a power base in America. The "brown shirts" (fascist sympathizers) held rallies in Madison Square Garden and other notable venues, and anti-Semitism was clearly on the rise.
In the midst of this wave of ugliness, New York State Judge Nathan Perlman asked a prominent organized crime figure to use the uniquely persuasive talents of his associates to wreak havoc at the brown shirt gathering; they were cautioned only to stop short of outright murder. What legendary mobster was only too happy to oblige?
6. Perhaps the most fervent anti-fascist of all mobsters, this notoriously erratic Jewish crime figure once planned to use his Sicilian connections to arrange a meeting with Mussolini and kill him on the spot; he was restrained by his Syndicate peers. According to other accounts, this stone-cold killer nearly murdered Nazi leaders Hermann Goering and Joseph Goebbels at a Los Angeles party in 1939, only to be restrained this time by Italian Countess Dorothy DiFrasso, the hostess who had committed the nearly historic gaffe.
Following the war, this homicidal genius (he was a co-founder of the Syndicate's assassination branch, Murder, Inc.) provided financial support and munitions to Holocaust refugees settling in the embryonic state of Israel. He was also one of the prime movers in establishing Las Vegas as a tourist center, though his visionary Flamingo Hotel would only prosper after his death. Who was this fascinating figure?
7. This proud "cosa nostra", who gave his name to one of the New York mafia's "five families" (which was later to bear the name "Colombo"), was a generous donor to numerous charities, and was once in the running for a Vatican knighthood for his Church contributions. That campaign was stymied by a direct appeal to the Pope from New York law enforcement. Who was this gangster whose attempt at pious nobility would inspire portions of "The Godfather, Part III"?
8. In the 1930s, the New York mafia found itself immersed in a torrent of killing that came to be known as the Castellemmarese War pitting the old-school "Mustache Petes" against a new wave of cosa nostra. One of the major beneficiaries of this conflict was, by most accounts, the youngest man ever to lead a mafia family, taking the reins of what would one day become one of the "five families" in his twenty-sixth year.
In 1983, he published his memoir, "A Man of Honor", in which he claimed to have vociferously opposed the mafia's connection with narcotics, preferring to invest in more legitimate businesses like dairy farms and Arizona real estate. Who was this self-proclaimed honorable man?
9. Following World War II, there was a separatist movement in Sicily, the goal of which was for the island at the toe of Italy's "boot" to gain independence and, in the wishes of many, eventually join the United States; this movement was supported by many mafiosi, who surmised that it was much easier to conduct their business in a constitutional democracy than in Italy's more authoritarian environment.
One of the leaders of this movement was a bandit who, like the mafiosi, was a violent thief who killed those daring to oppose him. Unlike the mafiosi, however, he had a stalwart reputation of only stealing from the wealthy and, like Robin Hood before him, giving the lion's share of his booty to the poor. (Sources differ on this point; some say his beneficence was greatly exaggerated.) Who was this Sicilian bandit whose actions trod the grey area between good and evil?
10. A reformed criminal who did time for armed robbery in the 1960s and 1970, actor Tony Sirico is a fine example of a man who has turned his life around. He has used his past to good effect, convincingly portraying mobsters in films like "Goodfellas" and "Mickey Blue Eyes". He is best known for his character on HBO's "The Sopranos", a role he accepted under the condition that his dramatis persona would never turn "rat". What role did Sirico play on "The Sopranos"?
Source: Author
stuthehistoryguy
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
