Say what you will about American Organized crime but one thing that can’t be denied is that some of its figures truly were characters. Here you have these men; most of who lack any formal education yet have managed to create a nationwide syndicate of criminals that likely rakes in billions of dollars a year. You can find them in most of the 50 states dressed in tailored suits, driving fancy cars, their nails manicured, likely with a gun in their waist. They’re basically movie stars, minus the whole legitimate lifestyle thing. One thing is for sure; they are interesting men and out of the mouths of interesting men come some unforgettable quotes. We at MMD rounded up some quotes by famous gangsters and compiled them here for your reading pleasure. Some are philosophical, some are funny, and some you wouldn’t want said to you.
“This American system of ours, call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you like, gives to each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it.”
-Al Capone
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Look at the Astors and the Vanderbilts, all those big society people. They were the worst thieves-and now look at them. It’s just a matter of time.”
-Meyer Lansky
“Las Vegas turns women into men and men into idiots.”
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
“Judges, lawyers and politicians have a license to steal. We don’t need one.”
-Carlo Gambino
“If a man is dumb, someone is going to get the best of him, so why not you? If you don’t, you’re as dumb as he is”
-Arnold Rothstein
“You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.”
-Al Capone
“It takes many stepping stones, you know, for a man to rise. None can do it unaided”
-Joe Bonanno
“This life of ours, this is a wonderful life. If you can get through life like this and get away with it, hey, that’s great. But it’s very, very unpredictable. There’s so many ways you can screw it up.”
-Paul Castellano
“I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid”
-John Gotti
“Always overpay your taxes. That way you’ll get a refund.”
-Meyer Lansky
“There’s no such thing as good money or bad money. There’s just money.”
-Charlie “Lucky” Luciano
“I have killed no men that in the first place, didn’t deserve killing”
-Mickey Cohen
“Other kids are brought up nice and sent to Harvard and Yale. Me? I was brought up like a mushroom.”
-Frank Costello
“Don’t lie, Tell one lie, then you gotta tell another lie to compound on the first.”
-Meyer Lansky
“There are three sides to every story. Mine, yours and the truth.”
-Joe Massino
“Honest people have no ethics”
-Sam DeCavalcante
“When I sell liquor, it’s called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it’s called hospitality”
-Al Capone
“A little violence never hurt anyone.”
-Benjamin Ruggiero
“My Uncle always told me, “you always have to use your brains in this thing, and you always have to use the gun.”
-Phil Leonetti
“Mafia is a process, not a thing. Mafia is a form of clan-cooperation to witch its individual members pledge lifelong loyalty. Friendship, connections, family ties, trust, loyalty, obedience-this was the glue that held us together.”
-Joe Bonanno
“We only kill each other”
-Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
“If the President of the United States, if he’s smart, if he needs help, he’d come. I could do a favor for the President.”
– Paul Castellano
“We’re bigger than U.S. Steel.”
-Meyer Lansky
“Let him go. He cheated me fair and square”
-Joseph “Joe Batters” Accardo
“Ever since we was kids, we always knew that people can be bought. It was only a question of who did the buyin’ and for how much”
-Charlie “Lucky” Luciano
“The United States of America versus Anthony Spilotro.’Now what kind of odds are those?”
-Anthony “Tough Tony” Spilotro
Article By: Jon DaBove
