I grew up mere blocks from where many of them hung out and lived. My father, a non-criminal, regular guy, working stiff, hung out at one of the bars several of them did. Guy’s Vinegar Hill, across the street from Aqueduct, in Ozone Park, NY. But I doubt he knew or talked to them. Gotti’s club was in Oz Pk, too.
Aqueduct racetrack, that is.
A Bronx Tale.
Sounds like you have been around the tracks for awhile.
“I grew up mere blocks from where many of them hung out and lived.”
Small world. I lived across the street from the famed bamboo lounge (illustrated in the movie) back in the early 70s, years before henry turned witness. I was just a kid though and didnt live in the neighborhood for long.