It was a somber day in the city of Angels. It had come to Uncle Joe’s attention that his longtime friend and street boss in Hollywood had started making some bad decisions during his tenure. Decisions that would cost him his life.

Uncle Joe was a man in the know when it came to the underworld, he and fellow mobsters operated in. Not much got past the old man. LeoMaranzano had been behaving strangely lately, and it came to Uncle Joe’s attention that Leo was making some very bad decisions within his crew, not to mention his own Right Hand who he had vouched for had only just gone shooting at Joe’s allies in the last few days. You couldn't walk on eggshells in this life and Uncle Joe was a bit of a bull in a China shop.

This behavior of Leo was something Uncle Joe couldn’t let continue. It felt to Joe that Leo was intentionally hiding something from him, and there was an uneasy feeling in dealing with him, especially after certain things had come to light in the last few days.

With a heavy heart, Joe made the call for a quick and accurate bullet to go into Leo’s head. Uncle Joe sent for Carlo Gambino, Leo's current number two in his operation. Joe was going to tap him to take over vice after his boss’s removal as he had detailed information on the ins and outs of their business and rackets in Hollywood.

Upon Carlos arrival to meet with Joe he could tell something was bothering him. The two had known each other a very long time and were close. Sensing his Dons anguish he asked him what was wrong?

Sitting there almost beside himself, Uncle Joe prepared the words he never thought he would have to say.

"I called you here today because certain events have transpired and it’s become clear to me that I can’t rely on Leo and his judgement or lack thereof."

Reflecting on Uncle Joe’s words Carlo knew what had to be done and asked Joe what was needed of him? 

"I've put together a hit squad, it won't be messy. I won't ask you to shoot your own boss and friend. I'll just need you to set up shop and ensure a smooth transition. Help rebuild the district and reestablish vice."

Knowing what his Don needed Carlo set out to wait and prepare for the transition. Leaving Uncle Joe to his thoughts.

Mollena read the news in silence, letting the weight of it settle. He had been in Leo’s crew, one of the few who walked away when the dust settled. That didn’t mean he understood the politics of it all, he was new to this life, still figuring out where he stood. But he understood loss. And today, there was plenty of it.

"I won’t pretend to know the ins and outs of what happened, but I know what it’s like to see people you worked with, people you trusted, gone just like that. Whether you agreed with them or not, it don’t change the fact that they ain’t here anymore. And that’s something to reflect on."

He took a slow breath before continuing.

"As for Carlo, stepping into a position like that, under these circumstances… that ain’t easy. But I’ve seen enough to know he’s a man who can handle what’s in front of him. The district’s got a lot of rebuilding to do, but if anyone can make something of it, it’s him.

To those who fell, I wish them well in whatever comes next. And to those still standing? I hope the road ahead is a good one."

Let's not act like this is anything other than what it is. If the gods don't have a problem with it then far be it from me to have one.

However it bears repeating: we all know the real reason behind the removal of Leo and his district was due to the "unsavory baddies" he was harboring and the distinct lack of respect for him as a leader to trust him to take out his trash when it presented itself.

From the time Leather Wallet Ligambi found out who I was to the time the district was in ruins was 2 hours. Not a single person targeted did anything to deserve their fate and yet here we are.

Upon reaching out to Golden Thumbs Ligambi for a reason his response was that my family line had "broken his heart", referring to the late great champion jumper and his confidants taking up arms against the very same types of activities.

Do not fall for the fairy dust and sleight of hand. They will continue to do to you what they have done to so many others, and they will kill you for shit your grandfather's grandfather's grandfather did until there are only chiefs and no indians.

T

This was slated to happen regardless of who Leo had on his crew. They entrusted in him to go bold, but they cannot trust his decisions. How does that work? If anything, Leo further proved his loyalty by reaching out to sleepy Joe. 

You painted Gambino as a very disloyal person in this speech of yours. So you claimed not to trust Leo but you trust someone that would turn their back on their own leader? Perhaps he is just another place holder for you? Either way not sure why any member of theirs would be loyal to someone that is clearly disloyal by your own claims. Good luck?

TT is so excited she has to shit. 

Hey there sleepy Joe! It's me, your worst nightmare. 

Moryana you clearly dont understand how the Ligambi crime family operates, and that's okay.

 I have some knee slapping, leave you speechless slam the door in your face stories to tell. But why bore the audience with old news. Not only does Moryana know how you do business the vast majority of the country knows. You may ask how we know and or blow it off. You have loose lips. 

Loose lips sip ships  

Joe, let's pretend I know nothing and am basing my thoughts solely on  the speech you provided to the public.

My stance still does not change. In your own words you have stated that Gambino is disloyal. That it was fully acceptable to them to watch their boss and family die while they gain a fancy suit for it. They didn't even have to pull the trigger themselves, how fortunate! 

Why would you think that in the future his members should be loyal to them? He already set the example that disloyalty is acceptable. You have as well. Not exactly a winning strategy for growth.

Moryana, it is not about growth for the weasel. And no need to bore anyone with old news. We are already coping with appears to be a serious disease on these shores. 

Patience is a virtue

He didn't die Chevy he magically came back to life. I swear the medical field is getting better and better in these new age times.

Speaking of la Cosa nostra, soldiers and loyalty from the mouth of a man who reinvents death.

Pretty snappy shit, I look forward to your next reincarnation/coma Mr. Lamborghini.

Moryana, I'm going to say this whilst ignoring the specifics of the people involved, as that's where all our own biases, personal likes/dislikes, and grudges come in. 

A family has a head. Everyone is loyal to that head. We might word it as being loyal to the family, as that all makes us feel a bit more warm and fuzzy, but that's just wordplay. Orders come from the top to take out your underboss, you do it. Orders come from above to take out your caporegime, you do it. Orders come from above to take out your brother, you do it. 

When push comes to shove, are we all capable of following that order? Maybe, maybe not. In terms of blood family, I hope I'll never need to figure out my own limits. But that is the oath that we took, and the life we signed up for. 

I think perhaps the bold suits are making you see some of these underbosses and caporegimes as equals. They're not. 

Uncle Joe, our man in the know, right?

If the above statement holds true however, can someone please explain to me why it takes him a literal age to realise that his (former) RHM is making "bad decisions"?  Decisions so fucking bad that they potentially threaten his entire criminal enterprise.

For someone who allegedly has his "finger on the pulse" of our underworld operations, he sure as shit consistently seems like the last person to catch on.  Maybe if he spent less time thrashing around like a wrecking ball in a teacup and more time paying attention, he wouldn't be in the mess he seems to find himself in more often than not. 

And let's not try to gloss over the outstanding set of leadership skills he possesses.  His grand solution to Leo's supposed betrayal?  A simple one this, call up Carlo and whine about how sad he is.  Poor Uncle Joe, sitting there "almost beside himself", struggling to impart what everyone else with the misfortune of listening to his drivel already knows.  It's the fucking Mafia Joe, not a therapy session, just say the words and move the fuck on, literally no-one needs to be exposed to your dramatic monologues anymore.

And let's not forget the absolute genius strategy itself.  Instead of handling things behind closed doors, you know, discreetly, he puts together a ramshackle hit squad and then, somewhat hopefully, reassures Carlo, "Don't worry, it won't be messy".  Right, because nothing says "smooth operation" quite like an emotional, old man trying to micromanage a murder while simultaneously crying into his cornflakes.

And let's not forget about Carlo, you know, that nobody Joe trusts to "rebuild the district"?  Yeah, his most appealing facet is the way he sits there, nodding like an obedient Golden Retriever while his boss cascades further and further into a downward spiral.  Absolutely zero pushback, zero questioning, just a whole lotta instant loyalty to a guy who is quite clearly wildly fumbling through his own operation like a fucking lost tourist in Little Italy.  Shambolic.

I guess what I am getting at is, Joe isn't a feared crime lord, far from it.  The best description I can offer, to you the masses, is he is an aging drama queen with fucking terrible instincts, terrible timing and a complete inability to handle conflict without turning it into a fucking Shakespearian tragedy.  And we wonder why his operation keeps falling apart?

C'est la vie.

(Also the amount of support shown by the masses is astounding.  Oh no, wait.)

At least, Mr. Ligambi made an attempt at transparency... Rather than just killing off a crewleader and saying "deal with it" and putting some sunglasses on.

As far as I know, Leo shouldn't have freaked out over his insolent member Silvio Dante's death (a member who was refusing to give pro's ordered by the city head and others), didn't even help the other cities particularly when his own RH rogued, had to be pushed to message the crew leaders who had losses because of that event, and then to top it off was intending to hide some people from his boss (one of which continually "claims" whether true or false that he's involved in every little underground move), which was the last straw. Did I sum it up better?

Basically, Leo shit the bed by making several acts of bad judgement, but the biggest one was definitely the intentional deception at the end, despite trying to fess up last minute.

Puts on sunglasses, Persols.

These situations are shitty and there are lots of pissypants around at the moment... But I can say this: Making fun of Mr. Ligambi for having money is a laugh. Money gets you only so far in this world... You can't buy loyalty, and Mr. Ligambi has learned that time and time again. He knows it full well, but it is far from what is valuable about Old Sleepy Joe. One shouldn't be all that green with envy over his pocket wad. 

Old Sleepy Joe is a friend, a real one, to many of us. Something that a lot of the pissypants couldn't be. I sense more jealously in the air about that than anything else. 

Anyway, thank you Mr. Ligambi for coming out here and attempting to share your reasons for doing what you did. It takes some balls to come out here, and take the heat, which is always going to come one way or another from anything we do in this thing of ours. People sling shit. It's how it be, homeslice. I've done it myself. It's fun honestly. But always keep it impersonal, don't get too heated. Remember, business is business.