As to lying, in or out, my father had a real talent. Although I was Gertrude's only child, I am not sure if I am Monte's only one. I am quite sure there are other Mutt's running around this earthly sphere with the Muttnick brow and a nose that is our family's signature.
My father ran a Pony Parlor and Book Joint for Lucky Luciano on Madison Avenue. Monte selected my first name because of the address of his business. Gerty accepted it as she always did. She was a very forgiving lady, of necessity. In that time, off track betting was illegal, and by betting you supported the Mafia not the state or city government.
Every one had his bookie. Whether he worked from a shoe shine stand at Penn Station, or sat in the back of the local tavern smoking his cigar or had a whole room or two dedicated to betting the horses - the forerunner to race books in A.C. and Vegas, these gentlemen allowed you to play the numbers too. Everyone was protected by one of the five families, because if they weren't they went out of business faster than a Stakes quality nag can breeze two furlongs.
Bookies were in high demand at that time. Everyone chased the dream of getting rich in the early fifties, and while the government made a show of shutting down some parlors. Usually the ones owned by Lucky competitors. It had not started to openly compete with the bookies by instituting a universe of lotteries. Who knew that the Mob and Big Brother was competitive siblings? The lotteries going head to head with the numbers.
Two differences between legal and illegal numbers play, win a lottery you get to pay income tax. Never paid any taxes on winnings paid by the Boys. The government is smart enough to double dip in your pocket. They get you when you play and when you win, if you do. Two, hit the lottery, no matter how large the amount, and you get paid off. The government is not going to leave the neighborhood in the middle of the night to avoid your big score. Hell the government is the neighborhood, and the bigger the score the larger the tax on it. They are praying for a single winner to hit a large number, because they are everyone's constant partner in any winnings.
Back to Monte, who moonlighted as an enforcer/hitman.
Since many of the bookies operated on credit and trust?, a player could dig himself a hole (deep debt, can you spell bankruptcy?) and his markers could be called anytime. If the loser had assets, sometimes they were signed over in partnership to Lucky (helped him launder money) until the debt was paid off. The interest rates on the loans were such that once you owed money, you needed to hit the number big to break even with your partner. The chances of you reclaiming your property and canceling your debt were so small that you would need an electron microscope to locate them. Not a good thing.
But some players were particularly unlucky. They didn't have assets to sign over, and their debts became a life threatening event. They needed to find money quickly or ... and borrowing from a loan shark was not available to them, as the word went out that they were in debt to a pre-mortem level. Friends tended to avoid them so as not to get caught in the path of a stray slug. The loser might as well have lived on the moon for all the human interaction he get in his neighborhood.
One time at home, Monte joked that someone's debt level had reached the threshold of Bubonic Plague. I was five and didn't realize what he meant until I reached Medical school. Bubonic Plague was uniformly deadly. Apparently my father, TheWidowMaker, was a symptomless carrier, but he did infect many others. The police and the FBI never proved he was the source, although they examined him and inspected his life and tried him several times. He never spent a day in prison.
Sometimes, if the player was lucky he only got roughed up, as a display to others. Being a visual presentation to the community, the loser survived. Sometimes, and occasionally but rarely, the loser became a demonstration. Demonstrations were found in public places with a bullet hole behind the ear, or they were never found, but often discussed as among the missing, usually when my pop discussed such people it was to educate other losers. It was a solemn event. He would removed his hat and don a very serious face out of respect for the missing. The few times I heard the speech, the listener turn absolutely pale. I guess they were worried about catching the same disease.
That was my childhood and I was oblivious to my father's work until I was almost a teenager. To me, when he was home, he was just pop, not like the report of a gun, like in dad.
That all changed in middle school.
- Madison Muttnick M.D.
Karmic Knight grade one
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