A Bew Beginning.
I guess I'm back on this thing for now... who knows how long it will last.
Onto much more interesting news, recently I came to find out that my great uncle Vic isn't nearly as crazy as I thought. I'd been hearing about a story involving him and certain mob affiliated individuals getting into an altercation in the early 60's at Frank Sinatra's casino "Cal-Neva" in Las Vegas. I never really took much stock in it until Vic passed away a couple weeks ago. Anyhow, my cousin Matt gave Vic's eulogy and did a bunch of research into his history and came to find out the following:
Victor Lacroix Collins (my uncle) has a history with the Chicago Syndicate for an altercation that took place in 1962 at Cal-Neva. There at that time, he was the road manager for a sister team of singers... one of whom was dating Chicago Mafia Boss Sam "Momo" Giancana. Giancana started out as Al Capone's main gunner in the 20's and was believed to have played a major role in the infamous "St. Valentines Day Massacre" (the biggest organized crime shootout in American history). After going to prison for ten years in the 30's, he got out and went back to the Syndicate family, eventually working his way up to Boss by the mid-50's. He was eventually stripped of his position after his mouth got him into hot water, and with the crackdown on organized crime after the election of JFK (whom Giancana has long since been believed to be the man behind the assasination in retaliation to John's turning his back on the Syndicate ties that helped him get elected in the first place). Also in attendance that night in Vegas was Ol' Blue Eyes himself, as well as his bodyguard/driver, and the ladies that my uncle was managing.
Long story short, one of the ladies was drunk and kept punching my uncle in the arm and eventually he told her that if she did it again, he would "putt her on her butt" (according to testimony he gave to the FBI). She inevitably did and when he got up to put her down in the chair he'd stood up from, he spun around and she ended up on the floor. When Sam Giancana saw this he came running and punched Vic in the eye, cutting him... as soon as Vic saw blood, he lifted Giancana straight off the ground (keep in mind that Vic is 5'3 and Giancana is considered to be one of the most ruthless killers in the history of organized crime) and after briefly considering throwing him through a plate glass window, decided to take him outside and break his back on the iron rail cause he didn't wanna "mess up the place". As he got outside and began working Sam, one of Sinatra's men hit Vic in the back of the head and before he knew it, they'd pulled him off and Sam ran off.
At them time, both Sinatra and Giancana were under FBI surveilance and after this incident... they had everything they needed to indict them both which in turn forced each of them out of the Las Vegas gambling scene causing them to lose millions of dollars. Needless to say Vic was forced into hiding by the FBI for some time and somehow survived to be almost 90 years old at the time of his death approximately a month ago.
Victor Lacroix Collins... hell of a man. Rest In Peace.
Onto much more interesting news, recently I came to find out that my great uncle Vic isn't nearly as crazy as I thought. I'd been hearing about a story involving him and certain mob affiliated individuals getting into an altercation in the early 60's at Frank Sinatra's casino "Cal-Neva" in Las Vegas. I never really took much stock in it until Vic passed away a couple weeks ago. Anyhow, my cousin Matt gave Vic's eulogy and did a bunch of research into his history and came to find out the following:
Victor Lacroix Collins (my uncle) has a history with the Chicago Syndicate for an altercation that took place in 1962 at Cal-Neva. There at that time, he was the road manager for a sister team of singers... one of whom was dating Chicago Mafia Boss Sam "Momo" Giancana. Giancana started out as Al Capone's main gunner in the 20's and was believed to have played a major role in the infamous "St. Valentines Day Massacre" (the biggest organized crime shootout in American history). After going to prison for ten years in the 30's, he got out and went back to the Syndicate family, eventually working his way up to Boss by the mid-50's. He was eventually stripped of his position after his mouth got him into hot water, and with the crackdown on organized crime after the election of JFK (whom Giancana has long since been believed to be the man behind the assasination in retaliation to John's turning his back on the Syndicate ties that helped him get elected in the first place). Also in attendance that night in Vegas was Ol' Blue Eyes himself, as well as his bodyguard/driver, and the ladies that my uncle was managing.
Long story short, one of the ladies was drunk and kept punching my uncle in the arm and eventually he told her that if she did it again, he would "putt her on her butt" (according to testimony he gave to the FBI). She inevitably did and when he got up to put her down in the chair he'd stood up from, he spun around and she ended up on the floor. When Sam Giancana saw this he came running and punched Vic in the eye, cutting him... as soon as Vic saw blood, he lifted Giancana straight off the ground (keep in mind that Vic is 5'3 and Giancana is considered to be one of the most ruthless killers in the history of organized crime) and after briefly considering throwing him through a plate glass window, decided to take him outside and break his back on the iron rail cause he didn't wanna "mess up the place". As he got outside and began working Sam, one of Sinatra's men hit Vic in the back of the head and before he knew it, they'd pulled him off and Sam ran off.
At them time, both Sinatra and Giancana were under FBI surveilance and after this incident... they had everything they needed to indict them both which in turn forced each of them out of the Las Vegas gambling scene causing them to lose millions of dollars. Needless to say Vic was forced into hiding by the FBI for some time and somehow survived to be almost 90 years old at the time of his death approximately a month ago.
Victor Lacroix Collins... hell of a man. Rest In Peace.