One of the more important industries that the underworld, and more specifically Cosa Nostra, has infiltrated over the years has been the rubbish removal industry.
A vital industry at that, garbage hauling or the “carting industry” is a pivotal function of any major city or jurisdiction. An important necessity in the daily lives of both urban and suburban residents, one could not imagine life without the removal of the daily waste and rubbish that every human being steadily creates.
It is an unspoken service that we seldom even think about. But when we do, you quickly realize what a mess we would have on our hands if removal of our daily garbage was not disposed of quickly and properly.
Many municipalities handle their own garbage removal with a city-run sanitation department. For instance, the city of New York has the NYC Sanitation Department, run as a formal department much the same as the NYC Fire Department and NYC Police Department.
It is a civil service job. After 20 years or so, these city employees are entitled to a pension like any other city worker. New York City residents all pay a small annual fee built into their tax bill that goes to pay for this weekly service.
But we are only talking about the garbage generated by New York City’s private residents. All commercial garbage, the waste that is generated by a million businesses both large and small, throughout Manhattan and its four outer boroughs and outer suburbs have always been privatized.
A bevy of literally hundreds of private garbage removal/carting companies has controlled this segment of the industry since day one. And literally, millions of small and large businesses and major corporations depend on this steady, unwavering service.
Many of New York’s suburban areas such as Long Island, Westchester, and other municipalities have contracted out both residential and commercial garbage pickups to private companies for decades. They felt it relieved the financial burden on local governments as well as the complex logistics required to operate such a sprawling, monolithic government department.
Many cities and municipalities in other states have also “privatized” this industry. They outsource this service the same as New York does through an annual bidding procedure where private carters put in secret “bids” to service certain neighborhoods, towns, or sections of the city.
The awarded contract typically goes to the lowest bidder. It could be a contract for one year, two years, or even five years. It depends upon the bylaws put in place by those in local government. For instance, many townships within the counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island have always had private carting firms pick up their trash.
Enter the mob!
