NY: Mob rap in bagel boom (Deli firebombed in extortion plot; 'Sonny' and 'Vinnie' involved)

The New York Daily News ^ | December 22, 2006 | ERNIE NASPRETTO and JOHN MARZULLI

[Stoat]

Mob rap in bagel boom

 

Feds tie S.I. attack in '01 to gangland rivals

 

BY ERNIE NASPRETTO and JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

 

My Deli in Staten Island was the target of a firebomb attack in 2001.

Only in New York would a Mafia associate nicknamed The Irishman allegedly provide a bomb used to destroy a Pakistani immigrant's deli that was competing with a bagel store protected by the mob.

The feds yesterday charged reputed Gambino crime associate Edward Fisher with orchestrating the December 2001 arson attack on My Deli and Grocery in Staten Island.

Police had originally suspected the attack might be connected to the 9/11 terrorist attacks because the firebomber had yelled, "Merry Christmas, Bin Laden."

The feds now say the attack was an old-fashioned mob attempt to eliminate competition.

"Cowards threw a firebomb into an occupied grocery store and then ran away," said William McMahon of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Deli owner Hamim Syed was warned by an acquaintance that his plan to open a second convenience store would not sit well with "two strong Italian partners" with ties to a nearby bagel store.

In what may have been a staged extortion scheme, Syed was paid a visit by "Sonny" and "Vinny" - later identified as Luchese crime members - who warned him "things could get ugly," according to court papers.

The plot thickened when Syed sought help from a Pakistani businessman with ties to the Genovese crime family who arranged a sitdown with two other gangsters at the Hooters restaurant in Staten Island in the summer of 2001.

Syed thought the matter was resolved and went ahead with his expansion plans.

According to court papers and sources, the owner of the bagel store - also a Pakistani immigrant and allegedly paying protection to the Gambino crime family - sought to get rid of Syed's rival store.

Fisher, a retired city Sanitation worker known as The Irishman, was allegedly tasked to give a bomb to another Gambino associate, Salvatore Palmieri. On Dec. 22, 2001, at 4:50 a.m., truck driver Anthony Maniscalco held My Deli's door open while Palmieri tossed in a bowling bag containing the device.

The deli was destroyed, but Syed, a founding member of the borough's Pak-American Civic Association, later reopened. The bombers pleaded guilty and are serving jail sentences.

Fisher, 54, facing at least 35 years in prison, was ordered held without bail. His lawyer denied the charges.

[Stoat]

But the best cannoli is in the Bronx....

<<< making a note to visit the Bronx ASAP   :-)

I think that it may have been Clemenza who told me that most of the old Italian bakeries around NYC are now staffed by Russian immigrants, many of whom don't know the trade and don't know how to cook the Italian pastries so well.

Very sad.

[durasell]

Well the gubmint has either "socialized" or legitimized all their big money makers -- gambling, pay day loans,numbers, etc. etc. etc.

[durasell]

Ethnic food is usually an immigrant profession in NYC. When a group has been in NYC for 75 or a hundred years they start to move away from the restaurant or bakery business, giving it up to more recent immigrants.

[Stoat]

Well the gubmint has either "socialized" or legitimized all their big money makers -- gambling, pay day loans,numbers, etc. etc. etc.

So all they have left is prostitution, drugs and bagels then?

Sounds like rough times for the Gambinos. 

[Stoat]

Ethnic food is usually an immigrant profession in NYC. When a group has been in NYC for 75 or a hundred years they start to move away from the restaurant or bakery business, giving it up to more recent immigrants.

I see.  I suppose that means that the original Italians who started those businesses have found something more lucrative to do, which is great.

But you say that there is still good Cannoli to be found in the Bronx.  Do you have a favorite spot that you might want to recommend?

[durasell]

...and bagels are a loser. A couple of years ago all these little alumninum carts started popping up around Manhattan during morning rush hour. They sell hot coffee, bagels, donuts, pastry, and to be truth, they ain't bad. The deli owners were (and are) furious.

[Solamente]

Thanks all the same, but I have fortunately lived in tandem amongst the phenomenon that most of you enjoy from afar, in romanticized format, of course. I'll tell you this: Scorsese has done a fine job in nailing it.

[durasell]

Any of the little bakeries on Arthur Ave. are good. There's one on the corner, but can't remember it's name starts with a "P"

Immigrants follow a pattern in NYC. They hit town, open small businesses, drive cabs or go into crime. One or two generations later, their kids or grand kids are in sports or entertainment or work for the city. And their kids go to college and move to Long Island or Westchester or LA.

[durasell]

Just don't ever try telling them that Mafia is an Arabic word. It freaks them out.

[kellynch]

Veneiro's on 1st Avenue in the low 'teens is very good.

[durasell]

Good atmosphere. The food isn't as good as it used to be. As I get older, none of the food anywhere is as good as I remember it.

[Stoat]

...and bagels are a loser. A couple of years ago all these little alumninum carts started popping up around Manhattan during morning rush hour. They sell hot coffee, bagels, donuts, pastry, and to be truth, they ain't bad. The deli owners were (and are) furious.

I'll bet...the carts have some real advantages...go where the business takes you, you don't have to pay rent on a building, you don't pay for electricity, plumbing or sewer (although I imagine that the licenses for those carts are not cheap)

[durasell]

...and the carts are only there a couple hours each day. They're off-loaded from trucks around 5:00 or 5:30 and are gone by 11:00.

[Stoat]

Venieros Italian Bakery NYC East Village Pastry Shop Buy Cookies Biscotti Cheesecake Cannoli and more

[Stoat]

...and the carts are only there a couple hours each day. They're off-loaded from trucks around 5:00 or 5:30 and are gone by 11:00.
 

And with hours like that, they don't have to pay lots of staff either...just one person per cart, probably.  Very smart.

[Solamente]

I was sent to repair their espresso machine in '85. No sooner did I remove the top, but a 5 foot electric bolt leapt upwards to the ceiling, freaking out all alike.

"Ah!" I said, "I think I see the problem!"

[investigateworld]

Ethnic food is usually an immigrant profession in NYC. When a group has been in NYC for 75 or a hundred years they start to move away from the restaurant or bakery business, giving it up to more recent immigrants.

Somehow the phrase "leave the guns, take the couscous" don't cut it ;^)

[Stoat]

Any of the little bakeries on Arthur Ave. are good. There's one on the corner, but can't remember it's name starts with a "P"
 

According to this list, the only businesses on Arthur Avenue that begin with a P are Pasquale's Rigoletto Restaurant, Paychex, and Peters Meat Market

If none of these places are the one that you were thinking of, then maybe the list is out of date.

It doesn't matter though, I was only thinking wishfully.  It's going to be a long time before I can visit New York, I think  (sigh)

and in the meantime I'm stuck in Seattle, which has exactly one (LOUSY) "italian bakery".  It's staffed by neighborhood kids who don't know anything and care even less, and whenever I ask them if they have cannoli they are out.

What kind of Italian bakery is always out of cannoli??

((((sigh))))

[durasell]

Crime has almost always been an immigrant profession in NYC. Obviously, some of the second and third generation get "left behind" in the "old neighborhood," but they're generally viewed as throw backs.

[durasell]

http://cannolibymail.com/