Cosa Nostra is infamous for its infiltration and subsequent domination of certain “key” industries throughout the decades. Having been honed over the years, their shark-like scent flawlessly zeroes in on their helpless prey, enabling mafiosi to survive and endlessly thrive by feeding on the “carcass” of the unwitting public.
Although their strangleholds are far from what they were at the mob’s zenith, I thought it would be interesting to investigate the other industries where the mob exerted the greatest control.
The mob’s domination of the New York City garment manufacturing industry had nationwide implications, but airport racketeering was relatively new in the mob’s portfolio of crimes.
Only with the advent of airline travel after WWII and the subsequent development of flying freight shipments across the country and the world did racketeers and mafiosi become interested in the airports.
Although we New Yorkers boasted two airports at the time, the Mafia first cast their greedy eyes upon Idlewild Airport (later named John F. Kennedy International Airport), which opened in 1948. Why?
Although LaGuardia is bustling, it is primarily a passenger airport. JFK handles freight almost exclusively back then and today.
JFK International is considered “open territory” and “open season” to all NYC Families. Like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Miami, and Cuba, any connected guys could operate and “earn” there.
But originally, JFK International Airport was the primary domain of the Lucchese and Colombo Families.
This came about due to several factors.
