Yes, I remember that scene, but I don't remember what was said. Actually, what I do remember is consistent with your tho
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dhmason6155 — 11 years ago(June 29, 2014 05:20 PM)
Donnie told Lefty the money was from "a couple of jewelry things I have going on", in so many words. That was before or after Lefty showed Donnnie the photo of the boat. I think they both knew that Lefty knew Donnie was a cop, so there was basically a lot of subtext (like most conversations between mobsters).
What I came away with was that Lefty refused Donnie's offer and accepted his fate. He lived by the Mafia code and chose to die by it. He may have thought any other life (after taking the money and running) wasn't worth living.
This reminds me of Nazis who killed themselves after the war, and also Samurai committing Seppuku, both choosing to die with honor.
We got a job.
What kind?
The Forever Kind. -
Getoboy730 — 11 years ago(June 30, 2014 02:08 AM)
Lef was a mobster's mobster. He loved being made and lived it to the fullest. And while he didn't wanna die, he knew he had to take the good with the bad. Rather than to bring shame to his name or family. He also knew being late, even by a minute or two can result in dire consequences. That's just for meetings with guys at and slightly above your level. He probably was sent for by the boss. Who was, by then, Joe Mussina if I recall. Missing that meeting would've meant he was either a snitch, a coward, committed suicide, or was pinched.
Lefty although in jail, probably was still connected.
As far as Donnie/Joe is concerned, some ambitious young guy woulda wanted to clip him to make a name for himself. But Paul most likely put standing orders out like you said, but he can't live a normal life.
And going back to Lefty being a mobster's mobster, not only would he refuse the 300k from Donnie, he probably had thoughts of killing him for not kicking anything up sooner. He woulda did the hit with Donnie and told Sonny about his so called score and Donnie woulda been killed, probably when he thought he was gonna get made. He woulda kept the info about the boar to himself though. Especially considering that had Donnie killed Bruno, he would have proof he wasn't a cop. If he said something about the boat, he would get whacked too.
Embrace Debate. -
ShannonTriumphant — 11 years ago(September 23, 2014 10:16 AM)
I was just thinking about this but the answer seemed to be, as others have said, that this was the rule, the code of honor that Lefty had accepted (though other wise guys might not). He had said, "When you're called, you go."
As for others in the same situation, Henry Hill, as portrayed by Ray Liotta in "Goodfellas", was busted in 1980 for drug trafficking and after a short stint in prison, emerged convinced that he would be killed. In exchange for entrance to WITSEC, with his wife and two kids, he testified against his former cohorts and it resulted in 50 convictions. He had no doubt that he was a marked man since he did not react as Lefty did, by voluntarily going to his death.
Though he was kicked out of WITSEC in 1987 for drug charges, he was able to elude getting killed, and moved from state to state, dealing drugs and selling other stuff, including his own spaghetti sauce, online, opening a restaurant in New Haven, CT, and other endeavors. He also appeared on Howard Stern regularly and was a consultant for Scorsese's film. He hardly would be called low profile! But he died in 2012 in California of heart failure related to smoking, according to his girlfriend.
I don't think anyone went after his family after they left WITSEC.
I agree that the Italian mob code did NOT (usually) include going after families, but like the code of each individual mob guy, there is no one standard procedure or reaction.
And yes, with a cartel, this doesn't apply. It's one main way that people like Pablo Escobar kept their members in linefearing that their families would be killed. -
cabal24 — 11 years ago(January 07, 2015 08:58 PM)
Agreed it was an exceptionally well done scene.
But where do you get it was true? Pistone didnt try and get either Lefty or Sonny a pass. Hell, he didnt even like the real Lefty. He liked the real Sonny somewhat but said in the book that he had no qualms about putting a guy like him in prison. He said he was an undercover officer, not a counselor.
The true part was the part about the jewelry and the bartender. But it was Sonny not Lefty. That said, if thats what you were referring to, Ill just shut up and say you were right on
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asiamatron — 11 years ago(February 02, 2015 11:43 AM)
It wasn't really about honor as there is no honor among thieves, however there was a code of ethics and Lefty followed it.
The hit on Joe Pistone was indeed called off after the feds had a chat with the boss. Also, there was an understanding in the Mafia that an undercover cop was just doing his job.