Book Excerpt
…And so it begins….
I was born when the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. At times as a child, my life was filled with hardship. At an early age, I associated with “tough guys.” My life was constantly on the line. I could’ve gone the wrong way, though that was not to be my destiny. Born on the New Jersey waterfront, smack in the middle of Bayonne, New Jersey, I was a member of the infamous River Gang. These were tough young kids; I happened to be youngest. In those days, you stole because you needed to eat.
When I was 12, my family moved to the west side of Bayonne. I had a longer walk to the school that I was attending; this meant I was in enemy territory. I expected a rumble sooner or later. As luck would have it, the scrap went down on the first day of school!
Walking home, I noticed a gang of kids waiting for me. I knew I had to take a beating, so I boldly continued to walk toward them. If I backed down, I knew I’d have to fight every day. As I approached the gang, they formed a circle and took turns pushing me around.
“OK, OK,” I said, “let’s get it over with. Who wants to fight me one on one?”
One of them stepped forward and began throwing wild punches. I knew he was an amateur. Where I came from, kids were constantly in the gym working out; I knew I had the advantage. I waited to get a clean shot, in turn, taking a few of his wild punches. The next thing I remember, the fight was over: the other boy was on the ground.
After he had regained composure, he stood some ways away from me, considering my opposing force. With some hesitation, he stepped forward, with hand extended. I took his in my own and shook. Up close, a “shiner” (a black eye) was rising angrily, purpling the skin above his cheek bone, slowly making its way around the eye socket. I’d clocked him perfectly!
The leader of the gang stepped forward and invited me to the poolroom that same night. That’s how it was; you were either a boxer or a football player. It wasn’t easy, because there was no such thing as a free trainer or special diets for athletes. You did everything and anything to survive. Half of the time, we suffered from malnutrition.
When I came to a crossroad in life, I had two choices. One was to stay with the bad guys. The other was to follow in the footsteps of my family. What influenced my decision was an event I witnessed as a teenager: I watched as a man got his brains kicked out by some of my closest friends, who later would become “made” guys.
I was by no means soft, because when it came to defending me, I did quite well. I would find out at a later date when a mob informant spilled his guts, some of the wise guys mentioned were my friends. I always had the inkling, but I was never privy to that knowledge. At an early age, I knew that being part of the mob wasn’t to be part of my destiny.
Everyone likes a mob story, as illustrated by the popularity of long-standing weekly series, The Sopranos. Of course, The Godfather was one of the greatest mob stories of all time. Unfortunately, neither one of those stories depicts true life of a “made” guy.
When I saw the movie, Donnie Brascoe, it reminded me of one of the guys I associated with in the early part of my career as an Astrologer. Donnie Brascoe depicts the plight of a man in the mob, although it was taken out of sequence in order to make the movie more enjoyable.
I shouldn’t like the reader of this work to think I relished in the fact I was involved with the criminal element; in fact, it’s quite the contrary. There is nothing I would have enjoyed more then to be an Astrologer removed from the criminal element. This wasn’t to be the case, because at the start, I was a magnet constantly attracting the criminals. During the ‘70 and ‘80, I lived on the edge. If I hadn’t had the stars as a guide, I would have fallen by the wayside. Thus, the universe was my savior.
I can recall sitting on the beach in Atlantic City looking at the ocean and pondering my relationship with a man crowned’ “Mr. Atlantic City.” In my wildest dreams, I never could imagine in my life I would meet and advise one of the most influential characters of the 20 th century. He was the man who made Sinatra and put Dean and Jerry together. When Sammy Davis Jr. couldn’t get work, it was Skinny D’Amato who made a call to Chicago. My association with Skinny D’Amato was too short. Meetings with Mr. Atlantic City and other mob characters have influenced my career in so many ways.
In my spare time, I practiced and trained for the Golden Gloves. The gym offered forms of recreation and became a place where I could vent my frustration. Boxing was a rough sport, as I found out.
While taking time from sparring to heal my fractured nose, a group of talent scouts walked into the gym. They asked others and me if we we’d like to be extras in a movie. The New Jersey waterfront happened to be the set for the movie, On the Waterfront, directed by Elia Kazan. I didn’t know how famous this man was nor, did I know who Marlon Brando was.
“Put your best suit on and groom yourself as well as possible,” the casting director said.
As a group, we lined up to be handpicked for certain scenes. I became an instant star in my hometown; I was placed in a position the audience couldn’t miss me. We gathered around a pool table, watching TV in the poolroom scene. We were in other scenes; however, you couldn’t distinguish who was who.
Meeting Marlon Brando, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint, and Karl Malden was a treat. I rode in a taxi to New York with Rod Steiger, who appeared on TV special on the Philco Playhouse. All of these actors proved to be mega stars in the future. My claim to fame gave me the idea of becoming a movie star. I can dream. Can’t I?
Again I put my name on a list for the Golden Gloves. I began to spar with good fighters. When I was defeated in a four round bout at the C.Y.O Center in an elimination bout, I decided I’d end my fighting days.
As a young man, I worked on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey. It was hard work but offered a good sum of money. Drinking and gambling was where the money was spent. If there were no work, the poolroom would be the meeting place of friends and hustlers. Bookies were eager to take your action, and hustlers would try to tout you with schemes. One thing was for sure; I was a born gambler. As quick as I made money, it was spent on women and bets.
Joe Riccio was always there when I needed to place a bet on a horse. I took a liking to Joe, so we began to “pal” around. When there was no work, we would spend time at the racetrack. Joe knew the neighborhood I came from, and he also knew my friend Johnny Di.
At that time Johnny Di was boxing as a welterweight and would later become the head of the Hudson County mafia, when boss. Bayonne Joe retired. Afterwards, John took control of the New Jersey waterfront. Due to that connection, Joe encouraged me to be his sidekick and take action. I didn’t have to be concerned about the mob; Joe made sure of that. I never knew his connection, that is, the people we were connected with who got the action. Joe made it easy, so I couldn’t resist the temptation. As money began to flow, I felt like the “king of the hill”…