WISEGUY: WE KEEP IT IN THE 'FAMILY'

New York Post ^ | December 11, 2004 | CARL CAMPANILE

[nickcarraway]

A mob turncoat said yesterday his old Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights were above the law because they are filled with "wiseguys" who settle turf disputes by themselves. The claim was made by former Gambino captain Mike "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, during testimony in the trial against Peter Gotti in Manhattan federal court.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Dykers Heights?

A Mob refuge?(!)

Pfft!

As if...

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Ooh, my neighborhood made the dailies.

Ooh, Look At That!

-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)

[shibumi]

And I thought the only people in Bensonhurst were City Bus Drivers and Sewer Workers.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

The funny thing about "The Honeymooners" is that hardly any of the names dropped during conversations among Ralph, Alice, et. al., corresponded to the actual neighborhood that was-supposedly-depicted on that series.

[shibumi]

Thanks for the enlightenment!

I am from a famous neighborhood too, The East Side of Gary, Indiana, and I don't correspond to anything either.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

I think you have one up on me.

Since I'm almost positive that the great American composer Meredith Wilson never penned a catchy melody in tribute to Southwest Brooklyn.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Organized crime takes in over forty billion dollars a year and spends very little on office supplies.

-Woody Allen

[tuliptree76]

Nothing like that ever happens around my neighborhood.

[shibumi]

And, I bet your mother wasn't Karl Malden's English teacher, either.

[arasina]

Hey! Wachoo got against Bensonhurst? I like dat neighbahood. Nice little Italian restaurants; lawn statues of the Pope or The Blessed Virgin encased in glass and covered with fake flowers; filigree fences; clotheslines that stretch from the back porches all the way to the end of the skinny yards.

I know it ain't Flatbush, okay? Same amount of gobbij there if you look close, and the graffiti is maybe more flamboyant, but don't be dissin what you're really just missin. Hunnert times better than Hoboken 'fyou ask me. :o)

[Clemenza]

Actually, these days, Bensonhurst is filled with Tongs, Russia Mobsters and various Mexican gangs. Dyker Heights on the other hand.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

That's just an elaborate, media-generated myth.

In reality, there is no "Mafia."

Just ask our good friend, Mario Cuomo.

Mario Cuomo:

It's malicious insinuendo! Spread by the right wing media.

(Combs over remaining strands of Homer Simpson-like hairdo. Prepares to bore Charlie Rose to death over the course of the next hour.)

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Hey!

How did you guess???

[Clemenza]

Remember: there are no DYKES in DYKER HEIGHTS!

Great Christmas decorations though.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

There are only two-more recently, three-reasons that the neighborhood I reside in will ever be mentioned in the press:

1. Someone living there has just been indicted, arraigned or convicted in a case involving something that might be a typical plot written by David Chase for an episode of The Sopranos.

2. Someone stumbles upon the realization that people living there have discovered the novel concept of decorating their houses during the Christmas/New Year's season.

3. It's mentioned by a publication like Ha'aretz, in the context of how many more Orthodox Jews voted for President Bush this year than four years ago.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Then it's safe to assume that you don't live anywhere near Chicago?

[tuliptree76]

I'm in the southern part of IL...hours away from Chicago. ;-)

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

It's funny.

I remember asking this guy who came from Chicago whether or not the deep-dish pizza there was as great as everyone says it is.

He essentially told me that it was a bunch of hype.

I can't tell you how devastated I was when I heard that information.

First Santa Claus, then the Philly cheese steak, and now...this!

(Sigh.)

[proud American in Canada]

"I remember asking this guy who came from Chicago whether or not the deep-dish pizza there was as great as everyone says it is."

It's not hype! Deep dish pizza from Pizzeria Uno is terrific (I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and have had it many times).

http://www.pizzeriauno.com/menu/hpizza.html