Reply #7: I'm all for getting rid of the mob in our NY and Chicago (etc.) bars... [View All]

[readmoreoften]

I'm guessing that the connection stemmed from needing protection from police in an era when police wouldn't protect us and/or entrenched mafia presence in the neighborhoods where the bars are. I imagine both can feed off one another. I could see how in the 70s and early 80s (what with all the extreme police corruption in the urban northeast) the bar owners might've needed to buy protection from the mob, then once they established the area as 'their turf', new bar owners were forced into making arrangements with the mob because the need for the mob in the area (due to police corruption and refusal to protect us) created a stronghold for them. If this is the case, then I can imagine it might be tough even today to get rid of them.

The mafia become less powerful when police actually serve and protect (and also when society isn't so prohibitive that normal life is outside the law.)

Belated welcome to DU! :hi: