The Mafia Gazette
For All The News That Is News (E&OE)
Editor In Chief: Carmela DeAngelis


SLANDER! REPUTED MIAMI MOB BOSS READIES HIS LEGAL TEAM
By Anonymous

The man cut an impressive figure as he emerged from his Miami headquarters into the early afternoon sunlight, accompanied by Made Guys Tre and VitoCorleone.

Yes it was none other than Marco_Polo. Sighted in a coffeeshop earlier that day, apparently in a rage and throwing coffee cups around like confetti at a wedding, he'd now considered the implications of an article which focused on his leadership and was determined to come out swinging.

Mobsters in attendance tell us that he was composed and methodical, beginning by advising those in attendance:
"I have always made it fair for people to come and go as they please as long as they do nothing to bring Miami into disrepute. Yesterday’s antics were over and done before any innocent bystanders got hurt."

It was a rare street appearance for the reclusive Miami boss and it was generally considered to have went well. He clarified the rumours around Miami unfortunates BiggiE-SmallS and Mr-Black and was diplomatic to a fault.
As the discussion continued it became apparent that Mr Polo is looking at all available options legally available to him, in order to remedy what he feels was slander against his good name.

The Gazette's lawyers stand ready and waiting to answer the call, amidst rumours that LA kingpin Angelo_DeCarlo or Las Vegas crackpot Lord_Lucan may offer the assistance of their own elite team of lawyers, to help Mr Polo with any lawsuit.
Privately, police have made Gazette staffers aware that Mr Polo may also be pursuing options that are ILLEGALLY available to him as well.

Staff have been advised to take care when heading home that they are not followed and to avoid leaving their homes after dark for a few weeks, as Mr Polo continues to search painstakingly for any information that will lead him to the source or sources of the article, through his underworld connections and regular appearances at all the mob joints.

TROUBLE COMES IN THREES
By Hellfire

It's an old saying but one which occasionally rings true.
And so it was that, fresh after a well-received defense of his good name, Miami leader Marco-Polo found himself back out on the streets that he had shortly departed to drag Carloz_ZZaper, another hapless Miami gangster and coke dealer, from the scene of a worsening crime.

Having already sanctioned the deaths of two of his own members in the previous days, the neutral observers looked on, fearing the worst.

No shot rang out. No scream in the darkness. No suspicious men left the Miami headquarters with a rolled-up carpet at 6am.

The punishment instead was banishment, with Marco allegedly taking Carloz on a long drive, during which he explained that the man had failed him twice and was banished from Miami, with 12 hours to leave the city.

The timing of this latest street spectacle, coming so soon after Marco's legal woes with the Gazette and accusations of member-whoring, was unfortunate.

However his decision to act immediately and decisively may just take the sting from the tail in a world where image is so important.

And Marco is changing his. Visitors to Miami are now advised that he is selectively recruiting. He has come out fighting against his anonymous detractors in the paper and he seems resolved to stamp out the whispers of criticism while he can.

While you can't please all of the people all of the time, Marco's solid appearances in the street are reassuring to the other families in an unsure world. A new and arguably more serious man now leads the Miami crime family, as Carloz was quick to find out.

Regrettably the new man is unable to give an interview to this paper, having been snapped by for an exclusive that is contractually protected with the LA Times.

THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH
By Neighlad

Downtown Detroit was the scene as Ciara emerged with her bodyguard Marcus to rail against the Gazette, denouncing it frequently as "crap."

The latest in a long-line of mobsters who felt aggrieved at the negative headlines, her appearance was noticable only in representing one of the rare occasions that Detroit has commented on a leading national issue.

As the previous edition told tales of dissent and disharmony in Detroit's ranks, Casper Ryker seemed to take it all in his stride, making it clear that he cared neither one way, nor the other for the press speculation.

Publically unmoved, he was seen continuing on his daily rounds in the city, business as usual. His city business scheme seems to be operating as outlined, netting high profile mobsters including Benjamin_Siegelbaum, PeterWhitman, Tre and James-McElroy considerable returns on their investments in the city.

The appearance of Ciara in the streets begs the question, is she a good member, standing up for her boss? Or is she articulating Detroit and in particular, Casper's true thoughts on the matter?

Is this perhaps an attempt to smoke out disloyal Detroit members or even Gazette staffers, with Casper's calm exterior nothing more than a crafty ruse, as he prepares to go against his enemies that continue to whisper in dark corners?

In the smoke and mirrors of organised crime, the only thing surer than Casper's motivation is his success.They say heavy is the head that wears the crown. On this evidence Casper, publically at least, wears his heavy crown lightly.

EDITORIAL: PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED

Edition 16 of the Gazette turned out to be something of a mixed success. The first edition of the Gazette to make it to print since Independence Day and only the third paper published since the September 1st, it's fair to say that it had some talking points.

One prominent mobster is rumoured to be considering legal action against the Gazette, while the word on the street is that several others were plainly unhappy.

The Editor wished to address some of the points that have caused the most grievances:

1) Accusations that the paper printed "half-truths and minor assumptions, was "rubbish and crap" and written by people who didn't do their "homework."

Have you read the stories? If so, you'd not fail to notice that the bulk of the detail was already in the public domain. Put simply, it came from the cobbled streets that you all walk.

The Miami story for example, caused much consternation for the crime family there and its boss.

However it was simply a fact that BiggiE-SmallS was a low-level cocaine dealer for Miami, who made a fool out of himself in the streets and got into an argument with three LA members, all of which was explained in the article.
It was a fact that he threatened the three people named in his last words and it was a fact that he was shot dead in New York, with PeterWhitman suspected of involvement.
With a second Miami member, Mr-Black, it was a fact that he got into an argument with a more senior member of his own family, it was a fact that he offered a 20 million hit on that member and it was a fact that he killed himself before Miami could.

Contrary to claims, the paper did not suggest that innocent bystenders were hurt in either of these incidents. It simply reported what had happened with the Miami members in question.

Marco-Polo alleged slander of his good name. A paper relies upon its sources. Two weeks before any of the events above transpired, well-placed sources indicated that Polo was becoming unpopular in some quarters. The specific charges levelled at him were "member-whoring," an old charge that in days gone past demanded a severe punishment, and being absent on the streets.

Specifically it was alleged that he would recruit a tailor's dummy if he thought it would get him closer to Boss, with no care for the consequences, while his lack of street presence was explained by the fact that he has nothing to say.

Some of this was idle chat and gossip and some of the people speaking may not have known that their comments would form the basis for a news article on the topic. But we're a community paper and make no apologies for that.

Such submissions were reported "off the record" by default, to spare further legal woes and quite possibly a few lives.
Rather than publish a hard-hitting article there and then, the Gazette opted to wait. However when allegations about his apparent lack of standards seemed to have substance, the Gazette made a decision to run with the story.

By having to sanction the deaths of two of his members in quick succession for making bad decisions in a very public way, leading to talk amongst his fellow criminals, Mr Polo, rightly or wrongly, came into the spotlight.

It's regrettable that Mr Polo was not sought for a response to these charges, but in the view of our staff not overly so because, ironically, his response to the article was one of the few times he has appeared in the streets since becoming a leader.

2) People aren't quoted by name. How can you trust a story when someone won't put their name to it?

A very good point. But the simple truth is that we don't have to put names to anything. Harsh, I know, because it means we could make up a lot of baloney to try and sway public opinion one way or the other.

But let's not forget, it's your choice whether you believe any of it. Either people said the things our paper claimed, or they didn't.

But one thing I learned from working as a delivery boy for a daily paper in Hong Kong, many years ago, is that you always protect your sources.

It's undeniable that a culture has grown up whereby people are afraid to speak their minds on the street. This is a culture that the Gazette has a duty to change. And in doing so, we try to balance on that fine line between bringing you the stories that you otherwise wouldn't ever hear about, versus bringing you what amounts to simply scurrilous or mischevious rumour.

If that involves protecting the people who give us our stories, then we shall continue do so. Articles have names attached which may or may not provide clues, beyond that, if they request anonymity, we provide it.

3) When did it become right to start trashing family leaders in the first place?

When did it not? Family leaders, by their very definition, are in the spotlight. It's the rare leader that has an entire career without criticism, public or otherwise. Criminals feasting on tax-payer dollars and running huge illegal enterprises spanning entire cities should always be the target of investigative journalism. If you think otherwise, perhaps you're in the wrong racket.

Criticism is also instructive. Take the cool and detached way Mr Ryker has handled the rumours about his own leadership with the emotional and very public way that Mr Polo has handled the same criticisms.

In simply running these stories, the Gazette has given you, our readership, more talking points than have otherwise existed in months. Stories such as these improve circulation and get people talking.

Is it unfair? There's a certain unfairness to the anonymity, we agree. People can have their own motivations. But that's a price we're willing to pay to get the talking points which we publish. And we can assure you that what we didn't publish was considerably more offensive that what we did.

In closing, we're not convinced our last edition was particularly fair and we're not convinced that it was particularly unfair either. We deal in rumour as easily as fact and will continue to do so for as long as we operate.
But to partially offset any imbalances, we are henceforth operating a letters page, where anyone can send us a letter about anything and provided it's within established realms of taste and deceny, we'll publish it, anonymously if requested.

Simply address all mails to Carmela_DeAngelis, our Editor in Chief, marked "LETTERS FAO THE EDITOR" in block capitals, adding if you wish to remain anonymous or not. Begin your letter "Dear Editor" and say or ask whatever you want. We'll endeavour to add an editorial comment where we can.