Barboza was a loose cannon and was uncontrollable he had a bad reputation amongst “made men”. Since Bratsos was connected to Barboza he thought it best to take an extended leave of absence. But before he took off he decided to bail out his friend Barboza. Not the smartest idea. His springing Barboza did not sit well with the mob. This proved to be fatal, Bratsos was eliminated. Another Barboza associate was loanshark, James Chalamas, who was also a hired thug for the mob. He was offered $25 thousand to murder Barboza.

Chalmas declined the offer. Nevertheless, the local mob took Barboza out in front of Chalamas on February 11th, 1980. Chalamas soon relocated and was considered “retired”. The Anguilo brothers ran the Boston mob hierarchy for years, their private driver was William Kazonis. The Anguilo brothers held a high regard and trust for Kazonis. Kazonis was caught on an FBI bug shaking down a loanshark victim who was delaying payments. His partner in the shakedown was Joseph “Joe Porter” Patrizzi. Kazonis and Patrizzi served 8 years for the shakedown and garnered more respect from the hierarchy. Kazonis’ luck began to run out in 1987 when he served another 6 years for conspiring to impede on a grand jury investigation. Because Kazonis refused to cooperate his position on the mob ladder rose.

One unfortunate mob associate was Louis Venios who owned and operated one of the most exclusive adult clubs in the city (called Mouse Trap) with his co-owner and son-in-law Walter LaFreniere. They ended up in debt to the same people who protected them. Walter owed large amounts of gambling debts to the Anguilo brothers. Walter felt he could salvage his loses at a game of barboot (a Middle Eastern card game). But he did not succeed and had to borrow more money from the house. Venios tried to save his son-in-law by consolidating the funds from the club, but that was useless. Venios survived retribution from the Angulios but Walter, his fate was different. If it weren’t for the intervention of William Kazonis, Louie would have tasted the same fate.

Across the United States in sunny Los Angeles three Greeks controlled a piece of the mob puzzle. All three were associates of leading capo turned government witness, Jimmy “the Weasel” Frantianno. One of the most animated to be under Jimmy’s wing was Nick “the Greek” Simponis. Nick owned a gambling operation in Cabazon in the mid west. During his ownership a low level wise guy by the name of Delmont attempted to muscle in on Nick’s business. In turn Nick went to mob associate Jimmy Frantianno.
Delmont was disposed of for his expansionist ideas. Simponis a sharp card player would later develop a tight relationship with Las Vegas wild man Anthony “the Ant” Spilotro.

Simponis and Spilitro arranged shakedowns and casino schemes throughout Las Vegas . When it came down to casinos Jimmy F. was obsessed to have his own place. Nick was there to help Jimmy expand and introduce him to Greek entrepreneur Duke Countis. Duke was a wealthy bookmaking agent who held the key to Jimmy’s dream.
The proposed hotel/casino was to be named The Crystal Bay in Tahoe. It was to run about $2 million to start. But the deal stood still for Jimmy and Nick were unable to convince mob higher ups to invest. Duke backed out as well and maintained his position as a casino courier. Spilotro and Simponis soon ended up doing time. Nick was imprisoned in the late 1980’s and Spilitro ended up being assassinated in the cornfields of Indiana in 1986.

Another major associate of Jimmy F.’s was Nick “the Greek” Diacogiannis. Diacogiannis was a close friend and confidant of Jimmy’s while they served time in Folsom in the 60’s. Upon Nick’s release he became Jimmy’s bodyguard, for at this time Jimmy was rising fast and animosity was high. Jimmy along with Nick, headed up a trucking business that proved them to be good earners (a cornerstone of mafia importance).

But Nick was soon back in prison in 1966 for assault. This began the downfall of the trucking business he started with Jimmy. Nick was unable to be released on bail and needed “outside” help to get him out. Jimmy in turn went to then L.A. mob boss Jack Dragna for help. Hence, they sprung Nick from jail. Nick and Jimmy went back to business until Jimmy was arrested on a murder charge which became the beginning of the end. At this time he decided to turn states evidence. He became one of the highest-ranking mobsters to inform on the society at that time. He would go on to bring down most of the West Coast mafia along with Nick the Greek in the late 80’s.

Before Nick Simponis and Nick Diacogiannis there were two brothers in the swampy fields of Florida who ran the most lucrative bookie operation on the East Coast. They were, John and Chris Prokos, who were under the protection of Sam “Momo” Giancanna from Chicago . Their operation was bank rolled by mob associate Gil Beckley . The brothers also ran a café’ as a front for their office this was in the early 50’s when Florida was still an open market for the mob. Their operation soon came to a close in the early 80’s with the emergence of the Cuban mafia and the cocaine explosion. The Greek gangsters as powerful as they were always seemed to elude the public eye.

George Saroukos, now 61, is the only remaining builder of traditional Greek sponge diving boats in the Western Hemisphere.  During the first half of the 20th century, many sponge boats were built by Greek Americans from Tarpon Springs to Apalachicola. Saroukos is the third generation of his family to master Greek sponge boat building.  His father and grandfather were celebrated boat builders from the island of Kalymnos, the Dodecanese island from which most of the Greek American residents of Tarpon Springs trace their roots.  Saroukos continued the tradition of building fine boats without using any printed plans and making some of his own tools.

For that distinction, Saroukos was among five recipients of the 2009 Florida Folk Heritage Awards recently awarded by Gov. Charlie Crist and Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning.

“As a tradition-bearer highly regarded by the Tarpon Springs area Greek community, he contributes significantly to Florida’s rich and diverse cultural landscape,” said Robert L. Stone, outreach coordinator of the Florida Folklife program, based in Gainesville.

“George Saroukos is not only an excellent practitioner of this tradition, but he is the last in a long line of such boat builders in the area,” said Tina Bucuvalas, curator of Arts & Historical Resources for Tarpon Springs.

“The Florida Folk Heritage Award recognizes the importance of his work as well as the importance of this tradition to Tarpon Springs and the Gulf Coast.”

• • •

In the early 1970s, Saroukos and his father traveled to St. Augustine with the intention of starting a boat-building operation there. But a visit to Tarpons Springs changed those plans.

Saroukos was drawn to the place that reminded him of home. The aromas of Greek food filled the air. People spoke Greek in the cafes and listened to Greek music. And the sponge-filled Gulf of Mexico called like a siren song.

The young man convinced his father to start Saroukos’ Boats in Tarpon Springs.

“My father was the only one in his family who stayed here to continue the family business,” says Tony Saroukos, George’s 26-year-old son. “The family traveled the country and made (Tarpon Springs) Saroukos Boats’ base, but dad was a homebody. He stayed to build boats and made his family and life here.”

Saroukos reads and writes in Greek, and speaks broken English, but builds boats that all people admire.

(With Information from Dos.state.fl.us & Tampabay.com)

That execution triggered one of the most violent mob wars in history. Loyalists to Angelo Bruno were vying for control while the “new order” was trying to take over. The new order eventually won and the new defacto boss was Nicky Scarfo. In the mist of this entire racket was Greek mob boss Steve Bouras and Harry Peetros. The Greeks controlled a vast market for drugs and during the Bruno years were under his protection. Harry Peetros was a powerful loan shark in the Philly area and operated under the wing of the Italians as did Bouras. But after the transfer of power to Scarfo their carefree days were soon numbered.

As their counterparts in other cities like New York, Texas and New Jersey their power base was not as solid. Philly was almost open territory to many mobs. But New York had a more solid foot hold in it because of Atlantic City. Atlantic City was an open city until the Philly mob took most it under its control. Nicky Scarfo made sure of that. But the New York crews made their presence known. The Greek mob had their fingers in A.C. through wise guys like Nick the Greek and the Bouras brothers.

As the Scarfo power surge came to reality so was the decline of the Greek mob. Scarfo wanted total control of the rackets in Philly. On May 27th 1981 Steve Bouras was quietly seated at the Meletis Restaurant with several friends including Scarfo confidant Raymond “Long John” Martorano, when suddenly gunman entered the establishment. They motioned Raymond and the others out of the way. They then opened fire on Bouras, his girlfriend Jannette Curro was also killed. The laissez-fare era of Bruno was over; Scarfo wanted a piece of everyone. Harry Peetros was gunned down a few months earlier. Speculation that this was a revenge hit for Peetros was declined. The Greek mob soon came under control by Scarfo which then diminished due to Nicky’s rough house ways. But even today after Scarfo’s imprisonment the Philly mob is not even close to what it was during the Bruno days.

On the rough plains of the western town of Houston, Texas where cowboys and Indians can be found a lone immigrant immerged as a leading criminal mind. His name was Andreas Kouvalakis. Andreas brought with him an age-old society from the scenic island of Patmos, affectionately named the “ Oikoyennia” ( The Family) dating back to the 1800s.

The society whose roots are vague was brought over to the New World in the late 1800s as a form of a Men’s club. Yet it turned out to be no different than any other organized criminal element. Andreas, first set up his business in restaurants that offered bootleg liquor and gambling. In the early 1900s Andreas began to create a secret society without any interference from the traditional mafia. Andreas received some guidance on setting up in America by the then New York Greek boss, Pericles Diamantopoulos who also introduced Andrea to his future wife.

He eventually managed to surround himself with loyal “adelfia” ( soldiers) who controlled mostly all of Houston’s everyday workings. Andreas’ right hand man was Nassos Papaspiratos, who built an unbreakable wall of power that could rival any New York operation. Nassos a mastermind when it came to criminal schemes set up gambling dens and political connections. This kind of power base permitted the organization to flourish till its downfall in the early 1980s. Nassos was to Andreas as was Gus Alex to Al Capone.

Nassos and Andreas were strongly supported by their crew of adelfia: Anthony Hadzimenos, Vasili Krifakis, Theodore Manolakis, Manolis Tsiklou, Strato Kleftoulas, Mihali Vergoitis and others. As the years passed and the society prospered Andreas decided to hand over his title of “patera” ( Father) to his son Dino. Through intimidation and violence they monopolized on every facet of Houston’s lifestyle. Even though the organization committed every sin under the sun they were all devoted churchgoers.

For every member donated large sums of money to the cultivation of the church. Dino even held his meetings in the church to avoid FBI surveillance. Dino was a paper cut out of his father due to his loyalty and strong convictions when it came to the society. Yet he accomplished what his father dreamed of doing. He infiltrated the political machine by gaining a seat in City Hall.

Dino became the Mayors controller in the mid 60’s. His father’s dream was to fill City Hall with as many Oikoyennia members as possible. That dream came to a screeching halt after the reelections. Yet, Dino and his adelfia soon found another avenue to exploit. The strip clubs started to become an open market. Dino did not let this opportunity pass him by. The Greek underworld was the first to set up an adult club in Houston. The club Dino opened was named Vieux Carre’ Men’s Club.

To this day most of the clubs are owned and operated by Greeks. The Oikoyennia, similar as it was in structure of the traditional mafia, had few rules. On one occasion a gambling den run by Dino came under attack by State Rangers. Dino along with his adelfia were cornered instead of going peacefully they opened fire. A gun battle ensued which left four Ragners dead and one of the adelfia. In the Italian mafia it is outlawed to gun down an officer.

The fall of the Oikoyennia in the early 80s was due to an informant close to the patera. The informant was non other than Dino’s son Andrew. According to FBI documents Andrew detailed the structure of and the history of the secret society. His testimony crippled the Greek mob. Yet the soul of the society lingers within every adult club along the southern belt , thanks to the marketing genius of Dino Kouvalakis.

The Holiday anti-climax in the U.S. pi**** a lot of people off. The first holiday anti-climax wave comes right after Christmas day and the second hits on January 1st. North Americans feel cheated. “That was it?”, they keep asking themselves. All this fuss, the sales, the marketing frenzy…for what? One lousy day? Ok, two lousy days? Can’t blame anyone feeling this way. However, Greek-Americans, have it a different way.

Today is St John’s day. So HRONIA POLLA Giannides! Yesterday was Ta Fota! A huge deal and a national holiday in Greece. And for those who wonder, yep, kids still sing the Fota Carrols in Greece. Even in Eleftherios Venizelos Airport stores in front of surprised young clerks that never heard of this particular brand of Carrols before!

Holidays & the holiday spirit is a die-hard state of mind for Greeks. Some people claim the holidays don’t officially end till St Thanassis day on January 18. I’d say, it is naturally so! This year let’s push it up till inauguration day. Or better, till the end of January. Not sure if it’s my American optimism or my Greek craziness but these holidays I’m feeling no after-holiday stress whatsoever….!

Keep the holiday smiles coming people…it helps keep recession nerves down and incessant positivism up. And that never hurt anyone.

Quincy Jones calls him “An icon of the American popular music industry.” Nicknamed “the legend of Broadway”, William “PoPsie” Randolph was Broadway’s most famous jazz and rock photographer from 1945 to 1975. He documented the transformation of popular music from jazz and big band music to rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He photographed everyone from Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday to Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones.

PoPsie was born William Sezenias to Greek immigrant parents in New York City in 1920. Being exposed to musicians through early jobs as a towel boy and shoeshine boy, PoPsie was attracted to the entertainment lifestyle and became a manager of swing era bands in the 1930s. He worked his way up to become Benny Goodman’s band manager. Benny and PoPsie had a very close relationship, acting like brothers. PoPsie was even featured in the movie Sweet and Lowdown which starred Benny Goodman in 1944. His character was played by actor Jack Oakie.

By the mid-1940s, PoPsie had married a showgirl and was ready to settle down in New York. He told Benny Goodman that he was interested in photography and Goodman gave him his first camera as a wedding gift. With his connections in the music business, PoPsie built up an impressive clientele of photography subjects.

PoPsie spent his career as a photographer on the streets of New York City at recording studios, jam sessions, concert halls and nightclubs. He was a huge music fan and spent hours and hours taking portraits of musicians and singers at his photography studio on Broadway near the Brill building. His photos appeared frequently in Billboard, Record World and Rolling Stone magazines.

How did William Sezenias become William “PoPsie” Randolph? William got his nickname “PoPsie” during one of his early jobs at a nightclub. The Greek waiters were not happy with how loud PoPsie was and used to tell him “Popsie vreh!” meaning “Shut up!” or “Pipe down!”. The bandsmen heard this and started calling him “PoPsie” and the name stuck.

In Chicago in 1945, PoPsie was working with Benny Goodman’s band serving as their manager. The band was playing at the Chicago Theatre and PoPsie had to make hotel reservations in a hurry, so he went outside the theater to a phone booth to call the hotel. Tired of spelling out his Greek last name to the operator, he looked up to see the Randolph Street sign and said his last name was “Randolph.”

PoPsie’s son, Michael, recalls tagging along with his father to all the major TV studios in New York to photograph guests on shows like American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. With an office located in the heart of New York’s entertainment district, Popsie was available to capture spontaneous moments on film as well, like Frank Sinatra at Sardi’s restaurant or Barbra Streisand during the recording of Funny Girl.

PoPsie decided to retire in the 1970s to Arizona. However, he died soon after relocating in 1978 at the early age of 57. Thirty years after his death, PoPsie’s son, Michael Randolph, has published a book of PoPsie’s photography called PoPsie NY: Popular Music through the Camera Lens of William “PoPsie” Randolph. The book features highlights from the 100,000 negatives PoPsie left behind when he died. For more information about PoPsie, visit http://www.popsiephotos.com/