Yup, there is crime and corruption, even organized crime and organized corruption, in the south, even in Appalachia.
The Mafia was once upon a time fairly well infested around here. It still is, but not as bad as they once were before the mines closed down. The mines and the UMWA were the hook they used here. There were bad elements on both sides. The UMWA was thoroughly infiltrated by organized crime, and so were the coal companies. The criminal organization we call "government" tried to mediate between the two so it could continue gathering it's share of the take, but was largely impotent. When I was a kid, the UMWA went on strike every 3 years like clockwork, pitting the coal company mafia against the UMWA mafia, government would send in troops and cops, the coal companies would hire mercenaries (actual mercenaries - Soldier of Fortune wrote an article about them once), the UMWA would employ miners as guerrillas, and all hell would break loose for a while, every time. This whole place would become a war zone for a while, then it would all calm down again until the next UMWA Contract was up for bid, and the cycle would repeat.
The Mafia involvement got it's start here during prohibition, running illegal liquor we made, at about the same time the Mafia got it's start nationwide. NASCAR got it's start then, too, a spinoff from the liquor running vehicles and bootleggers.
Now we have the "opioid epidemic" in Appalachia, and there is a degree of organization behind that criminal activity as well. Distribution locally is with locals, but both the CCP and the drug cartels have influence because they are the source for most all of the drugs. They bring it in and hand it over to the distributors, then collect the proceeds, but they themselves rarely if ever show up, because they would not last long here, So they are happy to take the money from the distributors, to put a local face on it. Local faces are good for business.
They ARE trying to diversify, into things like gambling now. First it was a state lottery in Virginia (which I voted against, to no avail), but that was a door opened, and now there are gambling machines everywhere, and I believe they are in the process of making a casino in Bristol now. Prostitution is a longstanding problem here. Even when I was a teenager there was a whorehouse opened on the outskirts of my home town in a trailer which everyone called "The West End". As far as I know, it was shut down years ago, but the profession remains, as it always has. There is an entire town here somewhere that I have never been to called "Three Forks" that I am told it is unsafe for a man to drive through. Never been there, so I can't report first-hand, but I've been told the entire town is populated exclusively by prostitutes who will surround a car with a man in it that is just passing through, all of them vying for the man's "business".
So we have the trifecta working it's way into place - drugs, gambling, and prostitution. You just KNOW that organized crime is going to take it's cut of that. Organized Crime it's not jut for the big cities any more.
Most folks are pretty reluctant to do anything about it, though. It's the mindset we have developed over the centuries here. If it ain't OUR business, then it's none of our business. So if folks are not directly involved in either distribution or partaking of the products or services, they tend towards keeping their noses out of it. That does have the effect of keeping the normally associated killings to a minimum.
If you've ever seen the TV series "Justified", that is an overly dramatized version of what it is like here. The basics of the show are accurate, but there isn't nearly as much action or killing as is shown in it. Maybe if we had a real Raylan Givens to shake things up, it might heat up a bit. As an aside, there is a "Givens Elementary School" not far from here. I believe Elmore Leonard, who wrote the book the show was based on, was from just across the state line in Kentucky, so it's fairly accurate as far as the basics go.
When the coal mines came in, WE were the producers, exporting our mineral birthright for the benefit of someone else, and taking the shaft. There was no real difference between the coal companies, the UMWA, and the mafia that ran both, from our perspective. Now organized crime is still here, but instead of being the producers, we have become the consumers of the product that is being produced elsewhere for the most part. Either way, the area is taking the hit for it. But, since it has been here forever, since the mines came in, folks have more or less gotten used to it, and so far no one has twisted our arm and forced anyone to participate. Until they do, I don't expect anything much will change.
Some times, locals try to take a cut of the business. I know of a sheriff's department in West Virginia that used to bust kids for drugs, confiscate the drugs and turn the kids loose, then turn around and resell the drugs out of their patrol cars. Occasionally a sheriff will take a stand against it, will fight that little war for a while, and will get killed in the end as both organized Crime and government take a stand against him. See "Matewan Massacre" and "the Battle of Blair Mountain", both of which occurred just a few miles from where I sit.
Once upon a time, we had nothing to export but liquid corn, so the area was poor. Then the coal barons came and brought organized crime with them, and we exported coal. Lots of it... but the "furrin" coal barons took all the money and got rich, and just left us the crumbs, so the area remained poor. Then the government took the coal mines away (still plenty of coal in the ground), and the area was still poor. and now replacing the coal mines that once took all of the wealth out of the area for someone else, we have the opioid epidemic filling that role now, taking the money - whatever money folks can get - out of the area... and the area remains poor.
I don't see much difference, from a hillbilly perspective, between the mafia, the government, the drug cartels, etc. As far as I am concerned, they are ALL just different forms of organized crime, designed to remove the money from an area leaving the people destitute and dependent upon them. The only difference between them all is that they constantly war with one another over who gets to rob us. I believe that is the whole reason behind "the war on drugs". If it was actually meant to solve anything, it would have been won by now. The government just wants to take the business away from the cartels and keep it for itself. As evidence, I present the fact that marijuana will be legal to possess and grow in Virginia starting 1 July, this year, so that the government can take their cut of it in taxes, and take that cut away from the drug smugglers.
That war between the various criminal factions ain't my war. My fight is hanging on to what I have and keeping ANY them from taking it at all, whomever they are.
.
The Mafia was once upon a time fairly well infested around here. It still is, but not as bad as they once were before the mines closed down. The mines and the UMWA were the hook they used here. There were bad elements on both sides. The UMWA was thoroughly infiltrated by organized crime, and so were the coal companies. The criminal organization we call "government" tried to mediate between the two so it could continue gathering it's share of the take, but was largely impotent. When I was a kid, the UMWA went on strike every 3 years like clockwork, pitting the coal company mafia against the UMWA mafia, government would send in troops and cops, the coal companies would hire mercenaries (actual mercenaries - Soldier of Fortune wrote an article about them once), the UMWA would employ miners as guerrillas, and all hell would break loose for a while, every time. This whole place would become a war zone for a while, then it would all calm down again until the next UMWA Contract was up for bid, and the cycle would repeat.
The Mafia involvement got it's start here during prohibition, running illegal liquor we made, at about the same time the Mafia got it's start nationwide. NASCAR got it's start then, too, a spinoff from the liquor running vehicles and bootleggers.
Now we have the "opioid epidemic" in Appalachia, and there is a degree of organization behind that criminal activity as well. Distribution locally is with locals, but both the CCP and the drug cartels have influence because they are the source for most all of the drugs. They bring it in and hand it over to the distributors, then collect the proceeds, but they themselves rarely if ever show up, because they would not last long here, So they are happy to take the money from the distributors, to put a local face on it. Local faces are good for business.
They ARE trying to diversify, into things like gambling now. First it was a state lottery in Virginia (which I voted against, to no avail), but that was a door opened, and now there are gambling machines everywhere, and I believe they are in the process of making a casino in Bristol now. Prostitution is a longstanding problem here. Even when I was a teenager there was a whorehouse opened on the outskirts of my home town in a trailer which everyone called "The West End". As far as I know, it was shut down years ago, but the profession remains, as it always has. There is an entire town here somewhere that I have never been to called "Three Forks" that I am told it is unsafe for a man to drive through. Never been there, so I can't report first-hand, but I've been told the entire town is populated exclusively by prostitutes who will surround a car with a man in it that is just passing through, all of them vying for the man's "business".
So we have the trifecta working it's way into place - drugs, gambling, and prostitution. You just KNOW that organized crime is going to take it's cut of that. Organized Crime it's not jut for the big cities any more.
Most folks are pretty reluctant to do anything about it, though. It's the mindset we have developed over the centuries here. If it ain't OUR business, then it's none of our business. So if folks are not directly involved in either distribution or partaking of the products or services, they tend towards keeping their noses out of it. That does have the effect of keeping the normally associated killings to a minimum.
If you've ever seen the TV series "Justified", that is an overly dramatized version of what it is like here. The basics of the show are accurate, but there isn't nearly as much action or killing as is shown in it. Maybe if we had a real Raylan Givens to shake things up, it might heat up a bit. As an aside, there is a "Givens Elementary School" not far from here. I believe Elmore Leonard, who wrote the book the show was based on, was from just across the state line in Kentucky, so it's fairly accurate as far as the basics go.
When the coal mines came in, WE were the producers, exporting our mineral birthright for the benefit of someone else, and taking the shaft. There was no real difference between the coal companies, the UMWA, and the mafia that ran both, from our perspective. Now organized crime is still here, but instead of being the producers, we have become the consumers of the product that is being produced elsewhere for the most part. Either way, the area is taking the hit for it. But, since it has been here forever, since the mines came in, folks have more or less gotten used to it, and so far no one has twisted our arm and forced anyone to participate. Until they do, I don't expect anything much will change.
Some times, locals try to take a cut of the business. I know of a sheriff's department in West Virginia that used to bust kids for drugs, confiscate the drugs and turn the kids loose, then turn around and resell the drugs out of their patrol cars. Occasionally a sheriff will take a stand against it, will fight that little war for a while, and will get killed in the end as both organized Crime and government take a stand against him. See "Matewan Massacre" and "the Battle of Blair Mountain", both of which occurred just a few miles from where I sit.
Once upon a time, we had nothing to export but liquid corn, so the area was poor. Then the coal barons came and brought organized crime with them, and we exported coal. Lots of it... but the "furrin" coal barons took all the money and got rich, and just left us the crumbs, so the area remained poor. Then the government took the coal mines away (still plenty of coal in the ground), and the area was still poor. and now replacing the coal mines that once took all of the wealth out of the area for someone else, we have the opioid epidemic filling that role now, taking the money - whatever money folks can get - out of the area... and the area remains poor.
I don't see much difference, from a hillbilly perspective, between the mafia, the government, the drug cartels, etc. As far as I am concerned, they are ALL just different forms of organized crime, designed to remove the money from an area leaving the people destitute and dependent upon them. The only difference between them all is that they constantly war with one another over who gets to rob us. I believe that is the whole reason behind "the war on drugs". If it was actually meant to solve anything, it would have been won by now. The government just wants to take the business away from the cartels and keep it for itself. As evidence, I present the fact that marijuana will be legal to possess and grow in Virginia starting 1 July, this year, so that the government can take their cut of it in taxes, and take that cut away from the drug smugglers.
That war between the various criminal factions ain't my war. My fight is hanging on to what I have and keeping ANY them from taking it at all, whomever they are.
.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’