"A Mob Informer Says Gangsters Will Do Anything to Get a Good Cigar"

by "Ritchie"


In the wake of the "American Gangster" craze flushing across North America, I stumbled upon today's article from the online edition of Cigar Aficionado and thought I would post a few of the highlights.

I say that to say this

Women who smoke cigars (which would include myself) - the subject of this blog - are attracted to the "edgy sort" - the man of daring character, one who exudes a powerful image, and a "take all for granted" attitude, the man who smokes a cigar. Perhaps this is why picking up a cigar and enjoying all that it has to offer, does not wage any threat against our self esteem or cast a shadow of shame toward our virtue.

Cigar Aficionado, November 26, 2007 - A tale of Honor

"The year was 1989 and the clock was slowly ticking away my federal sentence at the New York City Metropolitan Correctional Center (a.k.a. MCC). MCC was a warehouse for bad boys whose hands had been caught in the cookie jar. My "cookies" were counterfeit credit cards. I "handmade" thousands of them in my basement to fill orders placed by the Genovese, Bonanno and Gambino crime families......."

"......indulging in fancy cars, racks of clothing, fine wine and dining, jewelry and the wooing of many women. Only the best! To toast my skill and success, I reflected upon my "good life" in the company of countless good cigars...naturally! Oh, those cigars! They were my subtle declaration of dominance and conquest, my advertisement of success...."

Here's where "Ritchie" shares with real talk the cigar and its correlation with the "Mob"

"Understand that cigars and the Mob share one of the great unspoken pacts, which bind men to service for life. The cigar has conveyed both overt and subliminal statements of power and stature for many gangsters through the years, including the notorious Alphonse Capone. Cigars became regular company to those men of power as well as those seeking their approval and acceptance..."

and this statement, I found....electrifying

"The cigar has remained the standard emblem of Mob power and mystique, a silent smoldering remembrance of the glory days, an eternal flame."

the cigar, the Mob and its "Glory Days"

The article goes on with "Ritchie" sharing his "Mob" experiences and how, during his incarceration, he "became acquainted with notorious Mob members whom I had previously known only through stories and street lore."

"Ritchie" goes on to recant tales of characters such as Gambino Boss Paul "Big Paul" Castellano, John Gotti, and turncoat Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano.

Perhaps there's a little "Mob" in all of us that attracts us to the cigar. The lure of power and the sensation of success candidly portrayed by the image of an attractive man or woman, smoking a cigar. Is the symbol represented by "Ritchie", a symbol for which we aspire?

Have we transposed our hidden deviants into a more acceptable and legal misgiving - only to discover there are characteristics shared by all who engage in a good cigar once in awhile.

and do Women who Smoke Cigars fantasize about the "Gambino Boss", in the same manner in which some men fantasize about the woman who smokes a cigar?

I don't have the answers, you decide - read the article, smoke a good cigar, and then let me know your thoughts.


Jay-Z, David Letterman and "American Gangster"

Cigar trivia: Jay-Z's favorite cigar -  a Zino Platinum of course!


For the Renaissance Man!