Ruiz continued: "The Holy Crown League is a small gang in southern Italy. Of course, it is much smaller than the Mafia. They only have one or two thousand people, and their main business is to smuggle goods, arms, and drugs from Eastern Europe to Western Europe. .
This kind of local Italian gang has nothing to do with us, but more than a year ago, one of their leaders brought several people to New York. We didn't notice them at first. They just organized some street gangsters to form a small gang. However, customs later intercepted a smuggling ship and finally found them based on clues.
Because life was difficult in Europe, the Holy Crown Alliance chose the United States as its market destination. By the time we noticed them, the Holy Crown Alliance was already a small gang with dozens of people. "
Ruiz paused and then said: "To correct my statement, the mafia in a broad sense includes the mafia we usually call and the Camorra just mentioned, the 'Ndrangheta, the Holy Crown League, and some other local organizations in Italy. Gangster, but in the United States, what we usually call the Mafia is Cosa Nostra, which only refers to this group of people.
Have you seen the old movie "The Godfather" from the 1970s? They are Cosa Nostra, what we call the Mafia, and other gangs will be called according to their respective names. "
Jimmy: "It's so complicated. They are both from Italy. How can they be so clearly distinguished from each other?"
Ruiz: "Yes, they are organized in different ways. Some exist in the form of families, and some are small gang alliances. Their businesses are also different."
Jimmy: "Okay, there are too many inside stories. It seems that I need to read more information in the future. So what do we do now?"
Ruiz: "Let's go to the monitoring team and see the current monitoring progress. You can follow me first. You don't need to do anything for the time being."
Jimmy nodded, leaned back in his chair, and asked no more questions.
There was a problem with the secondment this time. Jimmy thought it was time to attack the gang. They seconded him just to charge into the battle. Now it seems that it has not reached that stage and is still in the early investigation stage. So why let him come?
Has the superior decided to change his position? Transferred from Peter's group? I thought I was assigned to the Peter team because I wanted to hone my case-handling skills. Have the superiors changed their minds now?
Jimmy's mind was racing and he couldn't figure out the meaning above, so he could only take one step at a time.
Judging from the direction Ruiz was driving, they were heading to the Bronx. I had inquired with Jones before about this area, and there were a lot of small gangs. According to Ruiz, the Holy Crown League only came here more than a year ago, so it was probably Only in this kind of place can you quickly find the right person. If you moved to other districts, you would have been crushed by the big gangs by now.
Ruiz parked the car on the side of the road, took Jimmy to the back of the surveillance vehicle, knocked on the door, and the person inside opened the back door. After the two entered, they closed the door again.
Ruiz's surveillance vehicle is different from Peter's surveillance vehicle. The surveillance vehicle driven by Jones is a van, while Ruiz's surveillance vehicle is a long-axle large van with black paint and glass. Except for the front windshield, everything is covered with black film, and a partition is pulled behind the driver's seat to prevent the inside of the car from being seen from the front.
Perhaps in order to be inconspicuous, this van has not been washed at all. The outside is covered with mud and dust, and it looks very dirty. If you are not paying attention, you may think that the van has been parked on the side of the road for a long time.
Ruiz: "How was it? Did you gain anything?"
Monitoring staff: "More than a dozen people have been recorded and are now being investigated by the bureau. The results have not been reported back yet."
Ruiz: "Where's Morrow?"
Surveillance officer: "He hasn't appeared again since he came back last night. He should still be in the building, unless there is a secret passage we don't know about."
Ruiz: "Continue to monitor, apply for support when necessary, and pay attention to safety."
After saying that, Ruiz pulled Jimmy out of the car. The height of this long bread car was limited. If you were not sitting, you would have to bend down, which was too uncomfortable.
After getting out of the car, the two stretched their bodies and returned to Ruiz's car. Then Ruiz drove away from the surveillance vehicle and stopped in a parking lot nearby.
Ruiz: "Let's go for a walk."
Ruiz and Jimmy walked out of the parking lot and walked slowly on the side road.
Ruiz: "Pay attention to the people around you. Many people here are gang members. Also, pay attention to the people around you. There are many pickpockets."
Jimmy: "Are there any specialties about these people's tattoos?"
Ruiz turned to look at Jimmy, then turned to the front, "Of course, different gangs have different tattoos, and some tattoos are in obvious places, while others are in more hidden places. I will give you some information about these later, Look more."
Ruiz saw a trash can on the side of the road, so he stood next to it and took out a cigarette case from his pocket.
"Try mine, Chinese cigarettes." Jimmy took out his cigarette case and lighter. The cigarettes were still soft and medium-sized that he bought from Chinatown, but the export-type cigarette cases also had disgusting pictures from the United States, and so did Jimmy. I took it apart and put it in my cigarette case.
Ruiz took a sip and coughed slightly. It seemed that he was still not used to flue-cured tobacco. Jimmy also lit one, and the two of them stood next to the trash can and smoked, observing the people around them.
It's still morning time, and there don't seem to be many people in those gangs at this time. Maybe many people haven't gotten up yet, and they are more used to being night owls.
Jimmy: "Ruiz, have you identified the person in charge of the Holy Crown League in New York?"
Ruiz: "Well, Mauro Savastano, according to the intelligence, he should not have reached the level of a secret company, but should only be at the level of a professional company. Oh, don't be scared by the level of the company. In fact, he is from their side. The translation problem is similar to the capo level in the mafia, a small boss who is responsible for an area."
Jimmy nodded and continued to ask: "Where is the Dixie family?"
Ruiz: "It has not been determined yet. Now we can only use Moro to identify the people who contacted him and see if we can find out who is in contact with him.
Usually we don’t pay too much attention to such small gangs, but the Holy Crown League is different. They mainly deal with criminal groups in Eastern Europe in southern Italy. Their methods are extremely cruel and involve human smuggling, drug trafficking and other vicious crimes. This kind of gang cannot be left alone. Its development will cause problems.
I told you before that the Dixie family's main business is smuggling and drug trafficking. For a city like New York, their goal is definitely not to smuggle goods and people from Mexico. The most likely thing is drug trafficking. "
(End of chapter)
