Family Business II

Family Business II: Death by Chocolate

The Don as an Honorable Man

Organized crime is not what it once was. There once were rules, codes of honor almost. At least, that was the way for Sicilians. Nowadays, crime families are everywhere, the Polish, the Russians, even those filthy Irish. All now seemingly making their own rules. Codes are long gone, replaced by a bloody free-for-all mentality where no one can ever be trusted, no one has honor.

Giuseppe Zizzo, Don of the New York Zizzo crime family, still maintains his honor code. Where the law sees criminal activity, Zizzo considers his way of doing things beneficial to the family. Regarding right or wrong, Zizzo believes his business and the way they conduct such as just. However, he also believes in fairness, insisting that justice takes place if righteousness is not applied. And he has proved personally willing to ensure his form of justice always prevails.

Just Another Day

Our story of Zizzo justice begins with Zizzo family Caporegime Giovanni Di Prima and his Soldier Paolo Gaspari heading to Vienna, Austria on a "business trip." The intent was a money laundering exchange with Irish syndicate member Timmy O'Boyle out of Dublin.

These exchanges often took place in Austria, as members in the customs department consistently are paid associates of the Zizzo family. Simple paperwork stamps and intentional oversights made money exchanges quick and straightforward.

This particular transaction had O'Boyle holding over 140,000.00 Lira (value of $1.25 million in US Dollars) that had been stolen and hidden for years. When discovered by the Irish, they were more concerned about converting it to US Dollars than to care about what the value once was. The lure of a quick payday led them to the Zizzo family.

The agreement was to exchange the stolen Lira for $200,000 US cash, and the Zizzo's would then distribute it through their contacts in Sicily. A profitable move where they would receive the total value amount of approximately one million dollars after expenses.

So, the two parties met on a Saturday afternoon in the restaurant of the prestigious Sacher Hotel, perhaps you have heard of it, the hotel happens to be quite famous for Sacher Torte, the world's most decadent and delicious slice of chocolate cake ever.

Both parties met, and DiPrima verified the physical condition and amount of the stolen Italian currency. Once satisfied, both agreed on the final exchange price. They then talked about how and where the transaction would take place.

The plan was to have the Irish mule it to the Palmisano barn in upstate New York on Sunday, allowing the remote farm location's seclusion to assure a safe exchange may be executed.

The Austrian customs agency typically operates on limited staffing on Sunday, so as added insurance, O'Boyle would travel and move the large sum with little worry then.

Giovanni and Paolo returned home that evening, anxious to tell the Don the excellent news. Everything was a go, and by Sunday night, an easy one million profit for the Zizzo's. Not bad for a short weekend's work.

Double-Cross the Double-Crosser

The Irish had somewhat of a different plan. Greed can change the best-laid plans. O'Boyle knew there would be $200,000 ready for him at the exchange. He also knew that this stolen currency could be sold to another crime syndicate in Canada for a minimum of $150,000 or maybe more. If he could set up the Zizzo's and take their $200k, he could easily transport the Italian money the short drive into Canada and add another $150k to his earnings. Nothing personal, strictly good business.

He could be back in Ireland before anyone was the wiser. A transaction like this taking place on a farm in the middle of nowhere seemed to warrant almost no risk. Double-crossing Don Zizzo posed too little danger with too good a pay-off. O'Boyle and his boys were all-in.

O'Boyle arrived with three of his Soldiers at the designated location but much earlier than the determined time. To keep the stolen Italian money and pocket the exchange currency, he needed to hide his additional manpower and devise a plan of action to overtake his opposing trading partners.

The Irish discovered a crawl space beneath the old barn freight elevator platform that would perfectly conceal the two heavily armed men before the exchange. O 'Boyle and his remaining Soldier were now ready for their meeting with the Zizzo partners.

They returned to their rental car and drove far enough down the road where they could watch the barn activity from a secluded distance. With assassins in place, the men waited and watched until the meet time was to occur.

Murphy's Law

Everything was proceeding as expected, or so they thought. When the meet time neared, two cars containing six men approached the barn entrance. O'Boyle was not expecting six but was not concerned. He and his crew were all highly skilled marksmen, and fear was not part of their vocabulary. So they moved forward and arrived for the exchange.

O'Boyle and his Soldier were on the Irish side in plain view, his two hidden Soldiers waiting and listening under the elevator platform.

Representing the Zizzo family were lead Capo Giovanni DiPrima, Capo Angelo Palmisano, Soldiers, Carmine Battaglia, Dominic Varrone, Carlo Salata, and Luca Sciortino.

The transaction began with O'Boyle presenting an oversized cardboard banker's box filled with the previously stolen Italian currency. It was all there, he insisted. He then offered the opportunity for DiPrima to inspect and identify as he had the previous day in Vienna. DiPrima again verified the currency to be correct.

Next, Palmisano opened a black leather briefcase containing the $200,000 as agreed. O'Boyle quickly looked and appeared satisfied with the contents. DiPrima and Palmisano looked to each other as if to be thinking such a quick glance to be strange, suddenly arousing both their suspicions.

As O'Boyles man reached for the cash-filled briefcase, Carmine and Dominic began to carry away the banker's box. The exchange was now complete. O'Boyles plan was once the cash was in hand, he would yell the word "tine," a Gaelic term for fire, and together the gunmen would send all the Sicilians to their demise.

But this was the notorious Zizzo crime family. Fairness only occurs as to how Don Zizzo sees it. As far as the Don was concerned, the Irish represented the lowest form of human life imaginable, and the fewer of them that walk the earth, the better.

In the Don Zizzos mind, true fairness to all in this circumstance would be confiscating the Italian money the Irish stole and ridding the world from further criminality or suffering at their sleazy Irish hands. But, unfortunately for the Irish, they would soon learn the Sicilians had alternate plans for this transaction just as they had.

In an instant, the hidden gunmen would appear at O'Boyles Gaelic command. In the blink of an eye, they were both fatally shot and killed. At that exact moment, O'Boyle and his accomplice were also fired upon and gunned down with the same impending result.

A good day's work for the Zizzos, one that would earn a relatively easy quick million in profits, plus eliminate four known Irish criminals who will never again take advantage or terrorize good people again.

The Palmisano Farm potato field crop was sure to be robust and bountiful again this year as another four men would begin to serve their time on the farm. Once again, the Zizzo family had prevailed.

Look for other upcoming posts in this Family Business series to find more of the case studies and reports of this unique crime family and the Don Zizzo justice system.

About the author:

Thomas Doyle is a professional career chef, entrepreneur, restaurant consultant, writer for the food industry, storyteller, and humorist. A Green Bay, Wisconsin resident, avid Green Bay Packer fan, and lifelong season ticket holder, Doyle now can be found as a feature writer for Packerstalk.com.