Then The Screen Goes Black

When I lived in Boston's North End in the early to mid 90's there were little signs every where you looked. They were cheaply printed about the size of a bumper sticker. They were taped to lamp posts or stuck in the corner of the windows of every Italian owned business. They read "Free Joseph Salvati!"

Joe Salvati was a minor criminal thug who got swept into jail for a crime he didn't commit. Despite being a small time hood, his neighborhood rallied around him when the FBI railroaded him into prison for a crime he didn't commit. 20 years later there were still North Enders who felt outrage over the FBI's obvious miscarriage of justice.

But the damage was done. Not just to Salvati, Limone, Tameleo and Greco. They were the most visibly injured by the FBI. The real damage is to the citizens of the city who equate the FBI with injustice and allow organized crime to flourish. How many mob hits go unsolved because the locals fear organized criminals less then they feel spite for corrupt law enforcement.

And the damage is going to hit me and you. It's the government that will pay 101 million dollars to a bunch of thugs and their families. It's going to come out of our taxes.