Ripped from the Headlines

Striking Law & Order writers are going to have a lot of headlines to rip from when they eventually return to work (assuming this strike does not mark the end of scripted television).

I came across this article in my favorite Reuters section, Oddly Enough. I could already see it forming as the plot of an episode. Of course, as I haven’t watched Law & Order recently, I saw it as Briscoe and Green kicking in the door.

Anyway, in a made just calling out for a television adaption, a high ranking mafia leader was arrested last week. Officers busted down the door of Sicilian mobster Michele Catalano as he was sitting watching television.

In the Law & Order adaption, you’ll be able to watch ADA Jack McCoy charge Catalano with various counts “of drug trafficking and extortion.” They’ll probably tack on a conspiracy charge to in the hopes of bringing down organized crime, because that’s how McCoy does it.

The best part of the story is, of course, left for the end. Before the police burst through his door, Catalano was sitting in his living room watching television. He was watching an Italian miniseries called Boss of Bosses about organized crime in Italy. Get this, he was watching the final episode “recounting the arrest in 1993 of real-life Cosa Nostra leader Salvatore “Toto” Riina, when he was detained.”

[Ed note: Art imitates life (episode about arrest) imitates art (of man watching show) imitates life (show is about similar arrest)].

Giuliani ‘08, Endorsed By 3 Out Of 5 Mafia Dons

Well, I guess that is one way to look at this one.

It’s not really that surprising that some people want Rudy Giuliani dead. He has been controversial in what he has done almost since day one. So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that while he was a U.S. attorney the mafia discussed taking him out (especially since he was going after organized crime).

Well, as it turned out two of the five family heads, mafia bosses John Gotti (Gambino family) and Carmine “The Snake” Persico (Colombo family) were in favor of having Giuliani sleep with the fishes. But this is all kind of old news. The memo that states this is from 1987 and was found in a file being reviewed during the prosecution of a former FBI agent Roy Lindley DeVecchio who is on trial for leaking information.

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