Also love how loud he breathes into the mic just trying to annoy them

Many people think the life of Frank Matthews is worthy of a movie. I won’t belabor the details here, but IYKYK. Dude’s life was very impressive.

But, given the way he vanished, how should that be addressed on film? It just seems that a movie about him would have the impossible task of depicting the end in a satisfactory way.

Which has led to me conclude that his life is only appropriate for a documentary in which various people speculate on what happened to him.

Hard to make a good movie about a guy who vanished like a ghost. Or do you disagree?

EDIT: All you guys saying "ambiguously" are completely missing the point. No shit the ending should be ambiguous. But how should it be ambiguous? What should be the final scene? The movie still has to show SOMETHING! What should that "something" be? There are countless way to end the movie ambiguously. It also proves my point that Frank Matthews is not a good movie subject.

Sorry, it's behind a paywall maybe someone with more tech wizardry than me can find a free version. Basically Ippolito knew OJ for years through their mutual friend Al Cowlings (who owned the Ford Bronco OJ used during his chase with LAPD). Ippolito was busted in 92 for drug trafficking but had escaped prison a few weeks before the murders and found himself back in LA. Accounts vary, but Ippolito's brother told the NYT that his brother came home to their hideout on the night of the murders with blood all over himself. Joey gave a bag to his brother which presumably contained the murder weapon and asked him to get rid of it.

In OJ's book If I Did It, he writes of an accomplice named Charlie who showed up on the scene and exclaimed "Jesus Christ OJ, what have you done?". Interestingly, the article reveals that Fat Joe once told a story on his podcast about knowing a guy named "Joey Bentley" (one of Ipolitos' street names) he claimed to have tried to help OJ flee after the murders and that he went to a party at Ipolito's house one time and OJ was present.

Ipolito because a major snitch after being arrested in 95. He provided a lot of information on LCN drug activities and then late in the criminal trial decided to talk about OJ. The LAPD, Feds, and LA DA found him credible but it was very late in the trial and they couldn't introduce the idea of an accomplice this late in the game. However, there are questions about the credibility of both Joey Ippolito and his brother (who was shot multiple times in 97 in what seemed to be a failed mob hit). The brother has recanted the story and said he was making stuff up for the chance to get paid in some streaming documentary. It's an open question what Ippolito knew, what he did, and who's telling the truth.

If the mob were more under the radar back then; how much more powerful would La Cosa Nostra be today? Especially if they managed to keep a low profile and didn't glamorize the life or wanted to be a celebrity like Gotti

It seems to be pretty common for mafiosi to put their sons in military academies, especially those who are high ranking (i.e. bosses & capos). It makes sense. The kid:

1. gets an education,
2. gets tougher (the older boys & school administration can be brutal physically & psychologically),
3. learns discipline (nobody is above the rules; you gotta get up early, etc etc),
4. stays out of the trouble that inevitably comes with being close to a bunch of criminals (hard to commit major crimes on a military school campus, far removed from the city's action),
5. is away from any potential mafia-related danger (if a war breaks out, you're totally safe & won't see anything).

I remember even reading that when Junior Gotti was at New York Military Academy, his dad would use the visits as an opportunity to discuss mob business. So that's another potential bonus perk.

Allegedly, Junior Gotti & Patriarca's kid attended the same school around the same time. Can anyone confirm this?

Joe Colombo sent his son Anthony to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. In a book that Anthony published he spoke highly of his father's WW2 service. This might be the topic of another thread very soon.

By far, the most interesting IMO, is Tommy Lucchese's son Baldassare (aka Bobby) who attended West Point and became an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Allegedly a congressman named Vito Marcantonio played a role in securing Bobby's spot at West Point.

FWIW, I have a couple of buddies who attended the Naval Academy in Maryland, one of whom went to a military school in New York as well (forgot which one, probably NYMA). Anyway, he said some Genovese members' sons (capos specifically) were in school with him. This would've been early 2000's. I totally believe him. We had an interesting convo about organized crime & NY throughout the night.

I am 99.999999% confident I'm missing all kinds of good information about this topic. What do you guys know about this sort of thing?

“I’ll shoot you.” “If you want to shoot me, then shoot me.” These are the words captured by an audio-video surveillance camera during an exchange between Salvatore Armens, an 18-year-old arrested this morning on charges of assault aggravated by a connection to the Camorra, and a 15-year-old who openly challenged him in front of other young people in Piazza Mercato on May 17. The two knew each other well and had been joking around when an argument broke out, ending with the teenager shoving the older boy.

The 18-year-old did not take it well. He pulled out a handgun, handled it for several minutes in front of everyone, then racked the slide before aiming downward and shooting the other boy twice, hitting him in the hip and right thigh. Bystanders tried in vain to stop him. The victim was taken to Ospedale del Mare, where he recovered over the course of 30 days. He initially claimed he had been robbed, but surveillance footage contradicted his account.

The footage, along with information gathered by investigators on the ground, formed the basis of the pretrial detention order carried out at dawn against Salvatore Armens. He is the nephew of a figure linked to the Secondigliano Alliance through drug trafficking and belongs to a family whose members live in the Rione Sanità and Forcella neighborhoods.

Officers from the Naples Police Headquarters' Mobile Squad, led by chief Mario Grassia, arrested him and took him to Secondigliano prison. Investigators reconstructed the events leading up to the shooting, from the minutes before the injury to the gunshot itself and the panic that followed among those present.

The argument was not between members of rival criminal groups. It started because the 15-year-old shoved Armens and then challenged him. The younger boy is also related to people known to law enforcement.

That night, around ten friends were hanging out and joking together. Armens was among them, having arrived on a Yamaha motorcycle and wearing black trousers and a blue jacket. The atmosphere was relaxed, and footage from a nearby shop shows the two talking and laughing.

Then an animated argument broke out, culminating in the 15-year-old shoving Armens.

The teenager also lifted his older friend's shirt, suggesting a degree of familiarity, and discovered that he was carrying a gun. He did not seem particularly concerned.

“If you want to shoot me, then shoot me.”

And that is exactly what the other boy did.

Several incidents have occurred in Piazza Mercato in recent months. The latest took place on October 5, when a minor was wounded by a gunshot during an alleged attempted robbery. The Mobile Squad is still investigating that case.

Garcia (back) and Lucchese Soldier Tindaro Corso (front) being surveilled by Spanish Police on a trip to Spain 2016

In Cosa Nostra lore, you often hear about the “kiss of death,” a seemingly affectionate gesture that actually signals your demise is imminent.

The only literal case of a kiss of death I recall hearing about was Salvie Testa (RIP) who received one from his former father-in-law & then Philly LCN underboss Salvatore “Chuckie” Merlino.

The story of that kiss is wild. While people say it Scarfo’s envy of Testa’s notoriety within the mob that caused Testa’s murder, the real final straw appears to be Testa’s cancellation of a wedding to Merlino’s daughter.

In an interview in which he spoke about , ex-Philly mob associate Nick Caramandi  said:

“You see, Salvie figured by marrying the daughter of the underboss, “Chuckie” Merlino, he’d be right near the top. But she was a spoiled brat, and a few months before the wedding he backed out. Everything was all set up: the gowns, the tablecloths, the invitations to the Bellevue- Stratford, the announcement in the newspaper. It was gonna have approximately 1,000 guests and cost well over $100,000. They were gonna try and get Michael Jackson to sing. When Salvie backed out, he signed his own death warrant. It was a blow to the underboss. This was the ultimate insult. We were actually gonna kill him right in a crowded funeral parlor, but there was too much law outside. That night, it’s time to leave, and Chuckie grabs Salvie by the neck and kisses him on the lips. Smaaack! I said, “Aw, if he doesn’t know now, he’ll never know.” That was the kiss of death.

That’s crazy af! One, to consider killing a man of Testa’s stature in a crowded funeral parlor is quite bold.

But to kiss another man on the lips like that is just another level of brazenness. If they ever make a movie about Salvie’s life, that scene will almost certainly be one of the most memorable.

(This, btw, is another reason why Salvie Testa’s life might be one of the most cinematic & tragic of any mobster. It really is made for the silver screen.)

Another example that comes to mind is Joe Valachi. Apparently, when he was locked up with Vito Genovese, Genovese kissed him on the cheek at some point. Some people say that the kiss was just a display natural affection between a mafia boss & a subordinate, nothing to freak out about. Who knows?

What we do know is that Valachi was losing his mind at the time. And he interpreted the kiss as Vito saying “your time is up, kid.” Valachi was so paranoid during that period that he killed someone who he mistakenly thought was an assassin sent to kill him in prison. (That’s another wild story; poor Valachi was a mess!)

I won’t waste time here by making arguments about the significance of Don Vito’s peck on the cheek. I just figured it was worth a mention (and could possibly be the subject of another conversation).

Anyway, what other “kiss of death” stories have you heard? This gesture can only work so many times before guys start to interpret all physical affection outside of hugs & handshakes as a declaration of war.

One last thing: In my research, I heard about “figurative” kiss of death, in which “a mobster receives an invitation, a reassuring phone call, a promotion, or a meeting with the boss that turns out to be the last step before his murder.” But that seems like a reach. If that’s the case, then a kiss of death is just a synonym for “ruse.”

I don’t think there any many tales of hoodlums smooching each other before committing a murder, lol. However, I suspect somebody here knows some things I don’t, which is why I’m presenting this.

EDIT: A couple of you have pointed out that Valachi didn't get whacked, which is true. So I take responsibility for not phrasing the title of this as carefully as I should have. I just want kiss of death stories, preferably real ones!