Two characters are at least tangentially involved in organised crime in a major city-- probably Chicago-- in the 1920's. One is a corrupt cop, in his early 30's, Irish-American, and pretty mercenary-- no particular qualms about what he does as long as he gets ahead. Another is younger (maybe in his mid-20's), and basically a gun for hire though ( Read more... )

Setting and time: Present-day Sicily.

Other searches: Google ("Sicilian Cosa Nostra"; "Cosa Nostra in Sicily"; "workings of the Mafia"; "Sicilian Mafia hierarchy"). I did find some helpful articles, but the vast majority either dealt with the history of the Cosa Nostra, which isn't quite what I'm looking for, or weren't what I would consider ' ( Read more... )

either there is just nothing other there, or i am an idiot and cannot google properly. however, i've tried everything i can think of, and have come up empty handed.

how would a well-known yakuza be able to get into the states? would his superiors give him a new identity and fake papers and send him off on a plane? smuggle him on a cramped, smelly ( Read more... )

Hello there. The story I'm writing about right now is about a group of thieves who accidentally steal from a mafia group. It takes place in the modern day ( Read more... )

I've been working on a story involving a gang called the Latin Kings in the People Nation. From the facts I've gathered the gang has pretty strict discipline among its members. What would happen to a character who joined on the spur of the moment to get back at her boyfriend, then after a few months wants to leave the gang? From what I've ( Read more... )

 Setting: Modern-Day New York
Types of Characters: Gang Members
Plot: Not Important
Searched: Google

I used "speech patterns in street lingo," "speech patterns in street slang" (by which I found The Urban Dictionary...not too helpful), "street slang," "gang slang," "slang" (where I found SlangSite.com and an ESL slang page, which is less than helpful ( Read more... )

This is set in present-day. I have a character who moved to the U.S. from Colombia (Bogota, where she was a teacher) about four years ago. She is thinking about someone who almost got kidnapped by a drug cartel, on the orders of someone higher up. What I can't find out is how she would mentally phrase this. Would she use the phrase "drug lord ( Read more... )

What: Poor looking "apartment buildings"
When: 1935 - 1949
Where: New York City ('The mafia installed/ poor side of town' AKA Little Italy and the alike)
Searched for:
                        Google:  Little Italy, New York / Apartments of 1940
                        Corbis.Com: Poor, New York City / Apartments B/W

I have a teenage girl growing up in ( Read more... )

Hello ( Read more... )

For the benefit of those who may not remember my last post, I am writing a crime ( Read more... )