Pete meets Paul the Waiter Ricca again.  

Pete heard many things about Paul Ricca like how he started working for the Camorra in Naples when he was just a teenager.  All the kids that started out in crime during their youth were called the Young Turks which was meant to be an insult but must wear that tag as a badge of honor.  They proved that the Young guys would lead the American La Cosa Nostra greats like Charlie Luciano, Frank Costello, Vito Genovesse, Peter Gangi, Al Capone, Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo, Tommy Luccesse, and Carlo Gambino.  

It had been heard that Paul killed a man for breaking an engagement to his sister.  He was was convicted of murder, but only served two years in prison.  When he was released he then killed the man that testified against him by slitting his throat.  What people didn’t know was that the man that testified against him was his best friend and cousin.  Pete got that information from his family back in Sicily who also told him that Paul was to be treated as family, a man to be respected. Pete knew Paul’s birth name which was Paul De Lucia.   Paul  Ricca arrived in the states in 1920 and met Charlie and Johnny Torrio. Both men took a liking to him, even Al Capone.   Pete worked with Paul on a few things in fact it was Paul that witnessed Pete making his bones and receiving his button.   

It was Pete who used his political connections to help Ricca receive shorter sentencing for the crimes he was arrested for while they worked together in New York.  It was Pete that recommended Paul go to Chicago to help Al Capone.  Pete didn’t think that Capone top guy Frank Nitti was someone that commanded respect.  Pete spoke with Capone and sold Capone on the benefits of taking Ricca into his outfit.  It was then that Al remembered that he and Paul met and got along well together.  Johnny Torrio agreed and they paid for Ricca to come to Chicago and set him up with a place to sleep and a car to drive.  Ricca came there with his own heaters ready to work.  

When Al went to the big house to get his education for tax evasion, Pete was disappointed that he selected Nitti to run the outfit.  Pete spoke with Charlie, Meyers and Frank telling them that Al only selected Nitti because Nitti would quickly release the reins back to Al.  Al did give Paul the lesser position of street boss which was considered in New York as the underboss.  In the eyes of the Commission and the People in New York the word was that Ricca was the one to talk with and that Nitti would do whatever Ricca says.  

It was Pete moves in the movie business that got Chicago looking into getting in on the movie unions rackets.  The Difference was Pete wasn’t greedy and knew how to keep his people happy and those that got ahead of themselves found themselves taken to Vegas becoming headless in the desert.  Pete spoke with Ricca because Ricca wanted to get an understanding of the movie business.  Ricca had spoken to Joey Adonis because he was working with Pete and Charlie in that area.  Pete explained the different unions but wasn’t planning on giving up the unions he controlled or cutting the Outfit in on them.  Pete did explain that they could get in on the unions that they did not have a hand in and Pete was willing to help them make the right connection for fifthteen percent of their rackets in LA.  Ricca agreed and there it was Pete and Paul back together again.

Part two the intro into the moive business.  

It was Pete moves in the movie business that got Chicago looking into getting in on the same industry, Ricca liked the sound of union rackets to replace the Prohibition racket.  The difference was Pete wasn’t greedy and knew how to keep people happy and those that got ahead of themselves found themselves taken to Vegas becoming headless flowers in the desert.  Pete spoke with Ricca because Ricca wanted to get an understanding of the movie business.  Ricca had spoken to Joey Adonis because he was working with Pete and Charlie in that area.  Pete explained the different unions but wasn’t planning on giving up the unions he controlled or cutting the Outfit in on them.  Pete did explain that they could get in on the unions that they did not have a hand in and Pete was willing to help them make the right connection for fifthteen percent of their unions.  Ricca agreed and there it was Pete and Paul back together again.  

Pete and Paul Ricca caught a train to Los Angeles, they checked into the hotel Alexandria.  The Alexandria  is a luxury hotel in downtown Los Angeles.  The next morning Ricca met Pete in his room and ate breakfast along with Willie B, a “small-time hoodlum;  who worked for Pete as a truck driver and heist man running booze across the country..  They also ate breakfast with George B who came up with the idea to extort money from movie theaters.  These two had dedication but limited resources and needed Pete.  They knew Pete was always square when conducting his business.  Pete heard they plan a few weeks ago when they saw him in Vegas in his casino, but Pete decided to toss the scheme over to Ricca, Ricca to help the Chicago Outfit get their feet wet and going into their own directions.  Willie and George's plan was to unionize the employees, Pete was already charging a fee for the movies that they wanted to play and those that didn’t pay didn't get the movie Pete kicked up some of the funds to the studio heads to go along with the operations.  

Ricca would have the owners on the fence they pay Ricca and Ricca would tell the union leaders not to strike and would not raise the wages of the employees beyond the point that hurt the owners pockets to bad.  The ticket price would go up and the food and candy prices would go up in price they would purchase the food and Candy from Ricca and only Ricca.  The workers would not strike and the mob would combine them into bundles to cut the cost of benefits like medical and vision to get the employees better insurance to the bigger and better companies..  The dues would go to the union, the mob would take twenty five percent,  Some coming as jobs within the union locals, some in fees for union investments from the so called union banks.  Some would come from fees for support regardless if the union or owners needed support.  Ricca understood that sometimes he would have to  lean on any employee that made problems for the union and the union would also allow the owners to remove those employees.  The union would replace employees with people that understood the need for a union and agree to be in the union.  

Ricca was happy with the plan and when Willie and George left Ricca informed Pete that he would drop this into Frank Nitti’s ear and let it stew and as usual Nitti would speak to Ricca as if it was another great idea from Nitti.  Pete laughed and asked Ricca why give Nitti the credit.  Ricca laughed and said if the plan falls apart it will be Nitti that takes the blame.  Pete nodded and replied smart, very smart.  Pete told Ricca that this first venture would be a sixty forty split.  The Outfit would get the lion's share because they were closer and could keep an eye on things.  All other union rackets in LA would be the fifteen points Ricca agreed to earlier. Pete then went on to tell Ricca that New York had their hands in the casinos, but not the unions for Casino workers.  The Outfit would form new unions and help build more casinos to grow the unions and then use those union dues to help build more casinos and stores and hotels.  They would use Pete construction business and garbage hauling business.   Ricca wanted to know the split.  Pete said that it would be a forty sixty venture and  all five families would get their cut from Pete’s sixty percent.  Pete explained Ricca’s people would be the enforcers and collectors and kick out forty percent of the start-up cash.  

Part three coming soon