@Michael Pickett posted:@edsnova, wow, I'd forgotten the RISDIC debacle. Your ex-roomie knocked it out of the park on that one.
So, with all of the mob ties, arm twisting, subtle persuasion and good natured thuggery, do you ever wonder why both you and your ex-housemate both wound up in other cities than Providence? Maybe someone had plans that needed for you to be somewhere else?
Yeah, John and two collaborators won a George Polk Award for that in 1991. For investigative journalists that's probably like #2 to a Pulitzer. I was in Hartford by then, writing about our crooked city manager, who was thereby deposed, before moving on to the county sheriff, who ended up a federal convict. It was an enjoyable time to be a young reporter.
Connecticut, then as now, pretends to be mafia-free. I found that contention dubious, and the myth more dangerous than in neighboring states where the mob's influence was a little more honestly acknowledged.
Same thing in Baltimore City. It was famously deemed to be mob-free about 35 years ago by a literally-blind state investigator (great guy, btw; I got to know him during my time here). But then "organized crime" comes in many forms and flavors, and I'm here to testify, eyes wide open: there's still plenty of it in Mobtown.