The Italian Mafia & Dignitaries with @Carolyn_Arnold #AODTour

Today I get the great honor of joining Carolyn Arnold in the blog tour for her upcoming new novel.

 

 

The relationship between the Mafia and dignitaries can be both symbiotic and a source of conflict.  While the job for appointed dignities, such as judges, attorneys, and governors is to uphold the law and to be a superlative example, the Mafia makes a great deal of its livelihood from illegal practices.

Due to this, there have been times when these relationships have been taxed to the breaking point and resulted in ordered hits from the Mafia.  But as with any family, there are rules among the Italian Mafia as well.  Any hits against dignitaries must have the expressed permission of the Boss.  When hits are executed without this authorization, it means death for those involved.  Sometimes it doesn't even involve action--motive is enough.

In fact, there was a case when "a Jewish mobster was killed by his Italian peers out of fear he'd carry out a plan to kill a New York City prosecutor."*

"The Mafia did carry out hits on law enforcement in its earlier history.  New York police officer Joe Petrosino was shot by Sicilian mobster while on duty in Sicily.  A statue of him was later erected across the street from a Lucchese hangout."*

But, sometimes the hit is authorized.  An example of this is that of Giovanni Falcone.  He was an Italian Judge and was assassinated by the Mafia on May 23, 1992.  "Mafia hit men detonated a roadside bomb that killed him, his wife, and three bodyguards as they drove near Palermo, Italy.  The assassination was payback for all the organized criminals Falcone had put behind bars as a prosecutor and judge."^

"Although the Mafia for years threatened Falcone and his family and assassinated his Italian colleagues, he carried on," said Michael Kortan, assistant director of the FBI's Office of Public Affairs.  "He was a champion of the rule of law."

"...although Falcone's life was under constant threat, he always felt safe in the U.S. surrounded by his American law enforcement colleagues...the Mafia made a "serious miscalculation" by killing Falcone.  Instead of intimidating the Italian police, they-and the FBI-"rallied to the investigation of his murder."^

So in conclusion, how is the relationship between the Mafia and dignitaries - Delicate.  While hits more commonly took place in the Mafia's earlier history, they can still happen.


The above-noted piece was written for promotional purposes in reference to Assassination of a Dignitary by Carolyn Arnold coming March 14th to Amazon for Kindle, and in April for print.  YOU can sign up to WIN your copy here.

Here's the overview of the book:

Raymond Hunter's dark past has returned and demands one final favor.  Now fifteen years later, settled as an accountant and family man, he assumed life would be calm.  He thought wrong.  The Italian mafia wants him back.

The directions were simple:  Kill Governor Behler and be out for good.

This is an odd request since the mafia typically respects dignitaries, however, in order to protect his family he has no choice but to accept the job.

He picks the date and location-Niagra Falls, New York-two hundred and forty miles away.  But by the time he returns home, he finds out the assassination attempt failed, his family has been kidnapped, and he has twenty-four hours to set things right if he wants to see them again.

With time running out, Raymond discovers the real reason they wanted Behler dead and finds out he's placed himmself and his family right in the middle of a mafia power struggle.  What he doesn't realize is that law enforcement is also closing in.

CAROLYN ARNOLD is the author of the best-selling Madison Knight Series, and the Brandon Fisher FBI Series.  You can find out more about Carolyn and her novels online in the following places:

Amazon Author Page
Website
Author Blog
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*Resource taken from Wikipedia
^Resource taken from the FBI site