Music and the Mob | 3

If there’s money to be made, chances are organized crime will want a piece of it…call it the mob, the mafia, the costa nostra, or “this thing of ours,” these groups, these families are close to the action in some way…

Construction, drugs, alcohol, prostitution, protection rackets, gambling, loan sharking, tax fraud, stock manipulation, corruption of public officials, porn—you name it and there’s a boss and a family that’s looking for a taste if not for outright control…

One thing that I didn’t include on that list is the entertainment industry…I mean, just look at the stories involving Vegas and Atlantic City…stories about movies and studios…and mobsters who are fans of the music industry…

The mob has been involved in music almost since the beginning…as soon crime families began to evolve, consolidate, and exercise power in the late 1800s, hooks were put into performers, composers, venues, and later, record labels…

Money came from shakedowns, skims, theft of copyright, counterfeiting, and fraudulent bookkeeping…businesses, careers, and lives were ruined…people got hurt…and some people died…

Show contact info:

X (formerly Twitter): @AlanCross

Website: ajournalofmusicalthings.com

Email: Alan@alancross.ca

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