The Price Of Doing Business

And everybody takes a cut:

Preaching not from his usual podium last week, Father Fabian Grifone harked back to a time when the yearly feast of San Gennaro was about family and tradition.

And gambling — “mild gambling,” as he put it, which used to take place in the courtyard of his Church of the Most Precious Blood on Mulberry Street as part of the annual autumnal festivities in Little Italy.

But no more: “The powers that be thought that somebody was getting some of the proceeds of that gambling,” said Father Grifone.

That “somebody,” of course, being the mob: More than a decade ago, several members of the Genovese crime family were convicted on charges of secretly controlling and skimming money from the hallowed fall festival.

City officials have since striven to cleanse San Gennaro of certain less-than-desirable elements: No more gambling. No more booze-slinging street vendors. And, if you believe the current organizers, no more Mafia involvement.

. . .

Organizers used to pay around $180,000 to a reportedly mob-connected electrician who once provided the festival’s lighting — that is, before he was indicted on extortion charges.

Last year, the city reportedly charged $252,000 for less work. A private contractor had to be called in for an additional $90,000. Not a dime was left over for charity.

“Now who the hell are the racketeers?” quipped Father Grifone.