Sunday, April 13, 2008

Mafia pursued missing millions in Singapore


Over the past week or so, I have been eagerly lapping up the thrill and suspense in each page of John Grisham's 1991 #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Firm (which became a hit movie in 1993, starring Tom Cruise).

In the process, I have grown to become really intrigued by the Mafia and FBI.

Cocooned in sterile Singapore, the Mafia, in particular, is similar to what 'terrorists' meant to me before 9/11. That is, unreal.

Here on our sunny (and safe) island, underworld activities seem to be nothing more than a handful of small-time gangs that go by monikers in a range of dialects or a combination of digits, whose activities don't affect the majority of us relatively clean-living, law-abiding ones. Even when the existence of considerably more organised gangs was revealed to us sometime ago when an 'execution-style' shooting resulted in the death of a man in his flat, the picture of the killer suggests that he's not one with a good sense of style, nor one who takes pride in his personal grooming.

Not exactly glam. Not exactly Mafia material.

So imagine my, er, pleasant surprise when I read in The New Paper that an infamous Australian Mafia boss had trooped down to our land in pursuit of missing millions.

How exciting!

The Straits Times today even published a picture of him and his two 'mates' (a more friendly term for henchmen?) in Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.

The Mafia! Posing for a picture for our local newspapers!

I am a tad disappointed by their dressing, though. According to my research, our main man, Domenic "Mick" Gatto, is known for his sharp suits back in Down Under. Over here, the three of them were dressed in a rather dowdy manner.

Perhaps they had simply noted the way local men were dressed and had adjusted accordingly to appear less conspicuous. Perhaps.

And one other thing.

Despite coming 'up close' with the Mafia, they still strike me as unreal - the boss's remarks in the the newspapers sounded way too...contrived. And melodramatic.

In the end, it all seemed rather comical.

And why the hell were they giving interviews and posing for the press? Gawd...they are supposed to be shadowy figures who are heard but never seen.

But well, at least now I get to put a face to a Mafia boss.

Anyway, in Singapore, with the Mafia concept being so foreign and unreal, they are not likely to be much feared. And, we too have a powerful backer - the government.

APOLOGY: Dear Mr Domenic "Mick" Gatto, if you are reading this, please, do not take this to heart. And do not hunt me down. I do not have much money nor the means to be on the run. By the way, you looked real good in the picture I found online (see above), our local photographer did you no justice.

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