Walking past a local bakery Tyrion sees a couple of young thugs smashing up the outgoing delivery boxes for that day while screaming at the owner about money. He walks over ignoring the thugs and shakes the owners hand smiling. The thugs see the owner talking to a know mobster and immediately stop what they are doing, make several flustered apologies and leave abruptly. Tyrion spends a few minutes talking with the owner of the bakery and leaves a man behind who didn't know him five minuytes ago but now will always have gratitude and appreciation for him. As Tyrion walked he reflected on the event from the different angles of those involved and thought about the various approaches to extortion mobsters take. It was clear not everyone held his view so he decided to speak to the community.

I've come here to talk about extortion. We've all got styles. How we approach business says a lot about us. I have noticed that many are adopting a cut-throat approach to extortion. The 'Smash everything, big money in the short term and to hell with tomorrow' attitude that I personally find criminally shot sighted, if you'll excuse the pun. It seems that some people have never been taught the real art of extortion and never been shown the full potential of it's gains if conducted in the right way. So, I'll present a couple of approaches that can be taken and let you decide for yourselves which is more suitable for you.

We'll set the scene with two groups, equally matched in terms of resources. A gang leader and his collection of thugs.

You take mobster A over here. We'll call him Angelo. This Angelo guy goes into a local store with his thugs demanding money for protection. He smashes up a display case and some stock to scare the owners and leaves with money. He has no intention of providing any protection for that store. He has no concern for the financial damage he has caused and that business' subsequent struggle to get back to where it was before he hit it. He doesn't care that the next time he shows up they are likely to have less to pay him with. He doesn't care if his visits end up forcing the business to close. He doesn't care if the closure of that business has an effect on the confidence of other local business. As far as Angelo is concerned, he can always move on to the next business and the next neighbourhood if need be. He has no long term view and is quite content to keep using his thugs to lever money until each targeted business goes bust. Angelo has no concerns for anyone except himself and the glory of today. Thus he will never work toward a larger goal.

Now, right at the other end of the spectrum we have mobster B. We'll call him Benito. Benito sends his thugs out without him. He lays low while his thugs spend a few weeks causing trouble for local businesses. After some time Benito goes into one of the local stores and talks to the owners. He asks them about any concerns they have with their business, if anyone is causing them problems. He asks if all their production equipment is of a high enough standard. He takes a genuine interest in the owners and their family situations. He looks at their books and he determines what he can extract from the business regularly without it causing irreversible damage and forcing the business to close. From his pleasant conversation he finds out that the owner needs a new machine he can't afford and that he's been hit twice last month by some local thugs stealing stock. Benito finds out what the machine is, how much it costs and how much the owner can afford to pay for it. He thanks the owner for his hospitality and tells him not to worry. He gives him assurances that the gang will be taken care of and that he will have his new machine at the price he can afford. Benito then leaves without asking for a penny.

Within the next few days the local thugs appear at the business again but this time they come in, doff their hats respectfully, apologise to the owner for the damage they have done and offer to help with work to compensate for what they did. Another day a delivery truck arrives with a brand new machine, much better than the one the owner had said he needed. At the end of the week Benito returns to the business, he is greeted with open arms. He accepts the owner's payment of what he could afford for the machine and explains that he will continue to keep a close eye in the business and help them with anything they need as time goes on. He explains what that will cost and how he came to that figure. The owner knows he can create more income with the new machine and no loss of stock from thieves so agrees to make the payments happily. The business thrives. No longer subject to the local gangs hassling him, he has care to repaint the store and live confidently. The other business owners in the area see him doing well, living free from hassle and being treated respectfully by the local gang that still harass them. They talk to the owner who points them in Benito's direction.

Within a year Benito has all the local businesses making monthly payments. They are all happy. The local gang has been dispatched to another area, the lowered crime rate encourages confidence and the local community in general thrives. Benito makes a ton of money, is loved by the community and can get any favour he needs any time he needs it from anyone in his neighbourhood. Not only that, not one person from his community would ever report him to the police or have any reservations about doing something morally questionable to help him out. They will all actively fight to protect him. One day Benito gets a visit from a business owner in the next district over. Seems the gang he expelled from this neighbourhood moved in over there and are causing similar problems. Benito listens attentively to the distressed business owner and promises to pay his business a visit in the coming days. And so the cycle continues.

Tyrion rolls himself a cigarette. Lighting it he takes a long drag before concluding.

I suppose the method you chose depends on your desires. Its a personal choice. However, if you take a walk around the various boroughs of New York and talk to the business owners there, you will clearly see the approach that Deimne has taken.

Well it looks to me that it is a good arrangement for everyone involed.

Protection and a good clean up crew besides.

Local boys always need some kind of work.

If you running New York like that Deimne is as smart as he is old.

A almost respectable way to do extortion.

A good deal for both parties, just goes to prove while muscle may be helpful brains is what wins support.

I suppose the point was more along the lines of there's more than one way to skin a cat.

The first example is a perfectly viable way to make money and should not be underestimated for the instant gains involved. The second is a long term approach to large scale building. They are examples of different mentalities and approaches to our life in general. The example of extortion was just that, an example. The same mentality can be applied to personal relations with other crews, inter-city politics, strangers on the street, anything.

Many of our relationships with other mobsters will and do cover generations. The way those relationships are cultivated and maintained can have a long lasting impact beyond the current life we live. An impact that can have beneficial or negative effects on our offspring and their offspring etc. Sometimes the point is a little beyond the obvious. Much like a parable is designed to convey a lesson rather than it's literal story. Perhaps I should have made that clearer.

Wise advice, Don Tyrion. Seems to be supporting the old adage that you can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once.

Don Tyrion, as always your thoughts are coherent and well spoken. However I believe Angelo's method is self destructive and detrimental to the preferred method of Benito, so I would like to try change your views on Angelo's method being viable at all if I might. While Angelo does his thing the populace looks for help, sure they may locate Benito, but in many cases they will turn to law enforcement. Pretty soon law enforcement realises they could live better with more money. So they begin to extort the populace through taxes. It isn't long before they realize that people happily pay taxes when they perceive a need, but not so much when things are nice a quiet. So then law enforcement rehires Angelo to keep up the pressure. They extort more taxes which provides for even better equipment and resources. By the time Benito comes in, law enforcement has a jack boot on the neck of the citizenry and better machine guns. Benito ends up squeezed out or dead. If we aren't careful someday we will have roaming bands of Angelo's with armies of cops in military garb running around stealing and taxing the crap out of everyone. By then, maybe there will only be one or two Benito's left, and they will be on the run or worse. The only way to keep this thing of ours safe, is to snuff out the Angelo's.

Wise words are spoken again by You, Mr. Tyrion. I can only imagine myself in that situation on the crossroads of Angelo and Benito. If I am the man of the spotlight,  what method should I do? what extortion method should I use?. You give me the answers in all possible situation. I can applaud you with many words Don Tyrion but it can lead to a gay scandal.

Long-term profits or short term profits, it will always be decided by yourself. You may be this arrogant type that wants it all with a blink of an eye or You may be this smart and patient type guy who thinks for his future stability and at the same time wants a good reputation areound the place.

Bottomline, you choose what you want to be.

I would probably fall in the category of people like Angelo. I dont mind being hostile,or asking first,but if a shop owner is gonna give me a hard time,I dont mind smashing some stuff,or sending him to the hospital,--or morgue-- to make a point.