Take some time out to appreciate your local mobsters

Coming up soon, Joey Merlino, the reputed Philadelphia mob boss, will go to trial for a number of charges. Some of these charges are pretty serious, and the prosecutors are going for the death penalty. I actually heard one of them say that they think that getting Merlino would effectively end organized crime in our city. Yeah, right.

• I don't claim to know a whole lot about organized crime, but I do know that the mafioso is an intelligently run organization. There are Jots of bosses, mini-bosses and hit men. Merlino is supposedly the big boss, but I'm pretty sure that he also has a boss. I'd also be willing to bet that Robert DeNiro is involved in all this somehow. How many times has he played a mob boss in movies? Can't be a coinci-

of OLD N

dence.

I always said that if I could I would Jove to join the mob. The whole problem is that I'm not Italian, I'm Irish, and the Irish have their own wars to fight. One kid I grew up with could probably better fit the role, and he wants to start a mob out of Springfield. He is part Italian, but mostly Polish. The guy is more Polish than Kielbasa, but you wouldn't know it to see him in his Armani wardrobe.

The mafia has a lot of good things going for it. Sound silly? Think about the mafia values. They put family first. Respect is everything. They fight eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. These are all good virtues.

who goes here has a grandfather who is a reputed mobster. I wanted to talk to him for this commentary, but he refused to testify.

So I make this final defense for Merlino and friends: Where would we be without the mob? There would be no Atlantic City to gamble at, nor Las Vegas. There would be a lot less Italian restaurants to eat at. Hell, there would probably be no construction going on anywhere without the mob.

If the Philadelphia mob syndicate does somehow go down, we could all pay the price. A new, more violent mob could take over the city, with no hometown pride whatsoever. The dreaded Chinese mob could even take over, and those guys mean business. Merlino, DeNiro, and all the rest of you, I'm pulling for you. We'll all miss you when you're gone.

Chris "the Bull" Nielsen is the perspectives editor of Loquitur. Mess with the Loquitur, and you'll be swimming with the fishes. yeah, they kill "rats," but hey, who likes a tattle-tale..-------------------------, anyway?

Has the mafia ever hurt you or any of your friends? Probably not. That's because the mafia doesn't kill respectable citizens, they just kill other mobsters. And

If you trace your family line, you may well find a mafia connection in your family. A friend of mine

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