From such an innocent beginning in Old English gang "a going, journey, way, passage". Old Norse Gangr was "a group of men, a set". And so on. Why are there so many American gangsters? Al Capone, Mad Dog Coll, Vito Genovese, John Dillinger, Meye Lansky, James Burke, Bugsy Siegel, Sam Giancana and Bay Face Nelson. These are all from the 20th Century.
Was Jimmy Hoffa such a gangster. He was involved with organized crime and convicted or jury tampering, attempted bribery, conspiracy and mail and wire fraud.
Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance? There are at least two rumours about the lack of body to be found - that he was killed and then incinerated or that he was killed and then dissolved in an acid vat. And then there are lots more ideas from various cohorts on how he was killed and where.
Why is this still important? Why did the FBI continue to search for his remains? In 2003, 2004, 2006, 2013 - each of these years had searches for his remains. It is so interesting that so much recent effort has been put into the question. His murders are very old, in their 80s, 90s, or passed on.
At the time, there were theories put forward by various mafia members. They are all gruesome. They perpetuate the fascination with his disappearance. None were proved.
And there still is something to squeeze out of the story of Jimmy Hoffa's death. It comes from Fox News on June 4 2023.
"Suspect Gabe Briguglio speaks with Fox News about the murder of Jimmy Hoffa: Exclusive"
Gabe Briguglio, who has been under the suspicion of murdering Jimmy Hoffa after nearly five decades, spoke with Eric Shawn in an exclusive Fox News interview.
He says the FBI, federal prosecutors and the media were all hoodwinked by a lying mob informer who misdirected the investigation in its early stages with self-serving, fabricated claims that only served to damage the investigation. The result, he says, has been a false narrative cemented in the American public’s mind of what happened and who was responsible.
About his involvement, he says: "I have all the proof in the world that I wasn't even involved in anything and what I was doing I was doing, what I said I was doing."
That seems in character for a gangster.
Here is the Royal Botanical Gardens water lily pond.
