by Patricia Bellomo | May 30, 2013 | Mob Blog
The Mobster’s Mistress.
(Not the Crime Fiction Writer)
[dcs_p]Mob Blog: Mob Movies, May 30, 2013[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Louie Morelli doesn’t like mob movies. As a Mafia prince, and the firstborn and only son of the mobster reputed to have mastermind JFK’s assassination, Louie takes offense to Hollywood’s dramatization of the life. He kind of takes it personal, particularly when documentaries show footage of his long deceased father and dredge up the conspiracy theories Louie’s had to live with for all of his life.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]On the other hand, Louie’s loyal soldier, Victor, loves mob movies. He’s got a collection of every mob movie ever made, and when Louie says, “Victor, it’s all a bunch of bulls__t,” Victor is quick to point out that it might be BS, but there is always a little bit of truth in fiction, and what the heck, it is entertaining.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Come on, Lou,” Victor says, extolling the virtues of Goodfellas (1990), Victor’s absolute favorite mob movie. “You gotta admit Scorcese nailed it.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Louie doesn’t tell Victor what he thinks. He admits it’s entertaining. Louie likes Vegas, and he does favor the Vegas themes: Casino (1995) and Bugsy (1991). He likes some of the old stuff too, like On the Waterfront (1954) and Angels With Dirty Faces (1938).[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]But Louie doesn’t like to talk about it. Ironically, he’s never viewed himself as a mobster, but Stella di Mare would make a hell of a mob movie and Hollywood couldn’t dream up a better mobster than savvy Louie Morelli. A dark hero on the silver screen.[/dcs_p]]
[dcs_p]Victor’s a bit of a romantic. He tells Louie’s youngest son, Michael, that “your old man doesn’t like for people to misjudge him.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Hmm. And Michael’s just learning the family business, or some of whatever it is that the Feds refer to as “the last vestiges of the New Orleans mob”. Michael doesn’t know everything and Victor assures him he never will. “It’s all water under the bridge, kid,” he says. “Ancient history. Just think of your old man as a real estate investor and forget the rest.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“That’s quite a lot to forget,” says Michael. But he’s not getting any answers from his father, who can be maddeningly elusive. He gets more out of his cousin, Anthony, who runs the day-to- day ops of those last vestiges the Feds refer to.{/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Michael doesn’t have a problem with mob movies either. In fact, they’re his favorite type of movie. Sometimes, he debates their merits with Victor. Michael thinks Godfather 1 (1972) & Godfather 2 (1974) are the tops, with Goodfellas (1990) a sweet third. They both agree that Godfather 3 (1990) is garbage and doesn’t rate. Michael’s brother, Tony, concurs with this.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Michael recently saw Key Largo (1948) for the first time. Ordinarily, he doesn’t like old movies—certainly not if they’re in black and white, but Victor assured him it was worth watching. Coincidentally, they were on the Stella di Mare, cruising off the coast of Key Largo, and Victor started feeling nostalgic. Casually mentioning that he did “a job down here recently”, Victor popped in the DVD and upped the volume. Michael noticed his father and Victor exchanging glances, but before he could comment, Bogart was on the screen.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Michael had to admit it was a good movie. He guessed Louie liked it too, because he watched the movie along with them. Later, when the credits were running, Louie said, “They don’t make movies like that anymore, Victor.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Then Louie asked Victor if he had The Maltese Falcon (1941), which Michael knew wasn’t a mob movie. But Victor liked Bogart. He had the movie.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]So here’s the question: What is your favorite mob movie?[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Patricia Bellomo is the author of the crime and mob thriller books, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Books available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Also in ebook format.[/dcs_p]
by Patricia Bellomo | May 21, 2013 | Mob Blog
The Mobster’s Mistress.
[dcs_p]Mob Blog: Oil Man, May 21, 2013[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Sitting on my terrace with the Louisiana oil man, Jay Connolly. Jay’s an old friend, and a good fifteen years older than me. Jay knew my father. In fact, it was my old man who bankrolled him in the beginning, when he was a wildcatter down on the gulf. Jay’s a character. His wife died years ago, and every couple of months he has a new girlfriend. They all look like the type Victor goes for: trashy.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Jay doesn’t have his girl with him today. He’s a little beleaguered and out of sorts. He doesn’t like Palm Beach, considers it a little too prissy and liberal, yet he had his pilot fly him in on his Gulfstream this morning. Jay called me from the air above Mobile, letting me know he was en-route. Now he’s sitting beneath the overhang on my terrace with a glass of Booker’s Single Barrel Bourbon (he brought his own), telling me he has a problem. He wants my help “eliminating an obstacle”. I know who he’s talking about. A hard-ass victim’s rights attorney doing a class action. “It’s a tricky situation,” he says. “It has to look like an accident.”[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
I give him a long look. I can see he’s worried. I say, “I hope you saved some of your money. My guy’s expensive.”[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Patricia Bellomo is the author of the Louie Morelli mob series. Her books include Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, & Louie Morelli’s Daughter. This blog is written in the voice of her main character, Louie Morelli. Books available at Amazon & B&N. Also in ebook format.
by Patricia Bellomo | May 14, 2013 | Mob Blog
Louie Morelli’s Mistress
[dcs_p]Mob Blog: My Favorite Mobster, May 14, 2013[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Who’s your favorite mobster?”[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
The question arose at a recent luncheon, where I was the keynote speaker to a ladies social club. I answered without hesitation. “Louie Morelli,” I said.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
How can he not be? After all, I created him. The ladies appreciated this answer. They liked Louie too. In fact, some of them loved Louie. It’s true on page and off. Women do love Louie. They love him because he’s a dark hero–an enigmatic mobster who employs violent and, occasionally, underhanded methods. The ladies don’t mind that he cheats on his long suffering wife. They love Louie because he’s Louie—darkly handsome, filthy rich (not all of it come by honestly), and very powerful. Power is sexy. Louie is sexy. [/dcs_p][dcs_p]
It’s easy to love Louie because he exists on the pages of my novels: the ultimate badboy. Operating from a code of honor and possessing a suave sophistication that’s a bit like Bond, as in James Bond, Louie has his share of male admirers too. He’s a pretty cool cat. And he always gets the girl. [/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Frequently, mobsters in fiction come off as corny caricatures of Hollywood psychos. Bad to the bone. As an author, my advantage comes from having known a lot of Louie Morelli types in my life. And no, I don’t care to elaborate. Anyway, as Louie’s creator, I get to be prejudiced. Louie is my favorite mobster. How about you? Do you have a favorite mobster?[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Patricia Bellomo writes about mobsters and millionaires in South Florida & New Orleans. Her books include Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Books available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble
by Patricia Bellomo | Apr 26, 2013 | Mob Blog
Mob Blog: An Old Soldier.
[dcs_p]Mob Blog: An Old Soldier, April 26, 2013
[dcs_p] I‘m in Grand Isle visiting an old mobster, a man who first worked for my father, and then for me. He’s a soft-spoken man, eighty-eight years old and still going strong. He’s staying in a cottage built on stilts, with a front room cooled by a noisy window-unit that clicks off every now and then, leaving us with the faint sounds of boat motors and seagulls. The green island sits in the gulf, south of New Orleans. When I was a kid, my father brought me here to to visit this man. He was a legend then, although now he’s been largely forgotten. But not by me. I visit whenever I can, a sort of surrogate son to a man who taught me to do some very unpleasant things. An old soldier, fading away.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]Patricia Bellomo is the author of the crime and mob thriller books, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. This anecdote is written in the voice of her main character, mobster Louie Morelli. Books available at Amazon & B&N.
by Patricia Bellomo | Apr 12, 2013 | Mob Blog
Mob Hit incites riot in New Orleans
Mob Hit Incites Riot In New Orleans, April 12, 2013
Mob Hit Incites Riot in New Orleans … In October of 1890, Chief Hennessy was assassinated by the Mafia.
The fateful scene in The Godfather, in which Michael Corleone guns down Captain McCluskey and the infamous Turk, Sollozzo, is pure fiction. You may even recall the plotting beforehand, when Michael broaches the idea and Tom Hagen smartly slaps it down, affirming that, “Nobody has ever gunned down a New York police captain and gotten away with it.”
As a crime novelist, I agree that there is always a little truth in fiction. And here’s a bit of history for you: In October of 1890, in the city of New Orleans, Police Chief David Hennessy was gunned down on the street while walking home. At the time of his death Hennessy had been investigating feuding “Sicilian” gangs in the Quarter. Gasping his last breath in Charity Hospital, Hennessy was purported to have whispered that “the damn dagoes got me.”
Nineteen men of Italian origin were arrested; ten were charged with the murder. A long trial ensued, fervently covered by the newspapers. Emotions were running high, and when a jury acquitted seven of the men and a mistrial was declared for the remaining three, the city erupted. A mob formed outside the parish prison on Treme Street, demanding justice. Forcing their way inside, the enraged vigilantes killed eleven Italian prisoners. Those they didn’t shoot outright were hanged.
Since most of the men were not American citizens, the Unites States paid a whopping twenty-four thousand dollars in reparations to the victim’s families. But the townspeople and their municipal leaders, spurred on by a fomenting media, applauded the violence. Eventually, a grand jury concluded that the Mafia did exist in New Orleans, and that it had been responsible for the murder of Chief Hennessy.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
All this … one hundred and twenty-three years ago. And in New Orleans, which makes me wonder if Louie Morelli’s ancestors were involved. Then again, that’s fiction. Louie’s a figment of my imagination, or is he? One of these days I’ll have to write the story of how his family seized control of the city.
Patricia Bellomo is the author of the crime and mob thriller books, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Books available on Amazon.com.
Photo courtesy of NOLA Times-Picayune. (Archives.)
by Patricia Bellomo | Apr 7, 2013 | Mob Blog
Mob Thriller Book, Stella di Mare
Bellomo’s Mob Thriller Book Gets New Look
[dcs_p]Patricia Bellomo’s mob thriller book, Stella di Mare, is back on the market.[/dcs_p] [dcs_p]First published in 2010, Bellomo’s sexy thriller, Stella di Mare, has undergone a transformation. Pulled from the original publisher in 2012, Bellomo made some editorial improvements, including a basic restructuring of the novel, while leaving the plot intact. The South Beach crime/mob thriller has been re-released with Libreria Publications, recently becoming available for purchase on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble. Stella di Mare is also available on Kindle.
