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March 15, 1996
Well, there might be something to it.
Of the mob indictments handed down Thursday, 13 of 17 were for men with an east side suburban address.
In Metro Detroit, the east side is just about everything east of Woodward.
Only two of those indicted had suburban west side addresses.
"You hear the talk," said Robert Dryer, 68, of Clinton Township. "They are everywhere. It's no surprise."
In fact, few longtime east-siders interviewed Thursday were surprised a federal grand jury handed down the indictments. The charges ranged from racketeering to extortion to gambling.
According to the indictment, Metro Detroit's Mafia are comfortable suburbanites who live in quiet neighborhoods such as Grosse Pointe Park, St. Clair Shores, Clinton Township and Harrison Township, often called "boat town."
The indictment said they met in 1992 at places such as Bobby T's Foods and Spirits and Luciano's Restaurant in Clinton Township, Elizabeth by the Lake in St. Clair Shores and Travis Restaurant in Mt. Clemens.
"It's a nice area, pretty affluent," said James Granderson, 72, of Detroit. "Wherever it's nice, it's going to attract people with money, including Mafia."
Yet the alleged mob members of the east side keep a relatively low profile compared with those in Ohio, said Shannon Victors, 18, who lived there before moving to Harrison Township recently.
"Down there everybody knew about them, what buildings they owned," she said. "Here, it's not as open."
Marissa Maiurine, 24, of New Baltimore said she has met reputed mobsters in the area.
"Anywhere you go, there is Mafia," she said.
Dryer said the indictments will help improve the east side's reputation.
"It's great," he said. "They (the mob) are a plague, like lice. You don't touch them or come in contact with them but you know they are there."
But Red Sloan of St. Clair Shores was not impressed with the indictments, saying mob suspects often are accused, but seldom imprisoned.
"Look at the Wolverine Golf Course. Nothing came of that."
In 1993, the federal government brought 80 charges against 14 defendants -- accusing them of mob connections -- and never won a conviction in court, although two men pleaded guilty.
Like Thursday's announcement, that case once made headlines.
"They get off," Sloan said. "They've been around since Al Capone."
In fact, during the 1920s, organized crime got its start by running liquor from Canada across the Detroit River to secluded towns such as St. Clair Shores.
Maiurine, an Italian American, said she didn't think the indictments injured the reputation of her culture.
"If they are guilty, they are guilty," she said.
Julie Adragna, wife of an Italian American in Troy, agreed.
"There are good ones and bad ones, and I got a good one."