Famous Mob Quotes (Part 4)

The final collection — from Carlos Marcello’s explosive Kennedy confession to Bugsy Siegel’s dark reassurance, Bugs Moran’s instant verdict on the St Valentine’s Day Massacre and Al Capone’s warning about mistaking kindness for weakness.

“I don’t care who’s in the car. Everybody goes”

Philip Testa — the Chicken Man, who succeeded Angelo Bruno as boss of the Philadelphia crime family in March 1980. His reign lasted less than a year. He was killed by a nail bomb planted under his front porch in March 1981, on the orders of rival faction within his own family. This quote — delivered as an instruction for an attack — captures the indifference to collateral damage that defined Philadelphia’s most violent era.

“Yeah, I had the son of a bitch killed. I’m glad I did. I’m sorry I couldn’t have done it myself”

Carlos Marcello — boss of the New Orleans crime family and one of the most powerful mob figures in the South. If this statement is authentic — made to an FBI informant in the early 1980s — it represents one of the most direct admissions of involvement in the Kennedy assassination ever recorded. Marcello died in 1993 with severe dementia, taking whatever he knew to the grave.

“If you think your boss is stupid, remember, you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter”

John Gotti — who became boss of the Gambino family by having his own boss shot dead outside Sparks Steak House. The quote’s self-awareness is either unintentional or deliberate. Either way, Gotti himself was eventually destroyed by his underboss Sammy Gravano, who decided Gotti was not smart enough to avoid prison.

“Del, don’t worry, we only kill each other”

Bugsy Siegel — said to Del Armstrong, girlfriend of actor George Raft, to reassure her that civilians had nothing to fear from mob violence. Siegel was shot dead through the window of Virginia Hill’s Beverly Hills home in June 1947, proving that his reassurance — though broadly accurate — was no guarantee of personal safety.

“Only Capone kills like that!”

Bugs Moran — boss of the North Side Gang, said upon learning that seven of his men had been shot dead in a garage on North Clark Street on February 14, 1929. Moran had survived only because he arrived late, saw the police car outside and drove away. The St Valentine’s Day Massacre effectively ended the North Side Gang as a force in Chicago. Moran died in Leavenworth Prison in 1957.

“I ate from the same table as Albert and came from the same womb, but I know he killed many men and he deserved to die”

Anthony Anastasio — brother of Albert Anastasia and a powerful figure in the longshoremen’s unions. The statement, delivered after his brother’s murder in the Park Sheraton barbershop in 1957, is remarkable for its cold candour. It also offered a rare public acknowledgement that even family had limits when it came to a man who had ordered hundreds of killings.

“What do you mean, like do I carry a membership card that says ‘Mafia’ on it?”

Willie Moretti — a senior Genovese family figure and one of the few mob bosses with a publicly acknowledged sense of humour. Delivered to the Kefauver Committee in 1951, it is one of the more entertaining Senate hearing exchanges in mob history. Moretti was shot dead in a New Jersey restaurant later that year, his murder reportedly ordered because his deteriorating mental state made him a security risk.

“Tell them I was arrested for carrying concealed ideas!”

Jack McGurn — Al Capone’s chief enforcer and the man widely believed to have organised the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. Delivered upon arrest, it is one of the more stylish exits from a police encounter in gangland history. McGurn was shot dead in a Chicago bowling alley on the anniversary of the massacre in 1936.

“I am the most powerful man in Chicago”

John Scalise — a Sicilian hitman who worked for Al Capone and was present at the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. He made this declaration shortly before Al Capone had him beaten to death at a dinner party in May 1929, having discovered that Scalise was plotting against him. The declaration was somewhat premature.

“The Patriarca crime family have screwed me, and now I am going to screw as many of them as possible”

Joe Barboza — the Animal, a hitman who worked for the Patriarca family and became one of the FBI’s most significant informants in the 1960s. His testimony helped convict innocent men for murders he himself had committed — one of the most serious FBI informant scandals in American history. He was murdered in San Francisco in 1976.

“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness”

Al Capone — the most famous gangster who ever lived, the man who ran Chicago from a hotel suite during Prohibition and built a criminal empire worth hundreds of millions. The duality of Capone — the neighbourhood benefactor who ran soup kitchens and the man who ordered the St Valentine’s Day Massacre — is captured perfectly in this warning.

“Mafia! What is that? A kind of cheese?”

Gerlando Alberti — a senior figure in the Sicilian Mafia who delivered this statement of magnificent denial when questioned about his alleged mob connections. The rhetorical device of pretending not to know what the Mafia is was used by a generation of mob figures in courtrooms and hearing rooms on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Most men I know pissed away their fortunes. I’m the only one I know that made a fortune pissin'”

Frank Costello — a reference to his ownership of slot machine operations across New York, New Orleans and beyond. The Prime Minister of the Underworld accumulated enormous wealth through political connections, bribery and strategic patience — and managed to die on his birthday aged 82, having survived an assassination attempt, federal prison and decades of FBI investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Bugs Moran say about the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?

Upon learning seven of his men had been killed: “Only Capone kills like that!” Moran survived the 1929 massacre only because he arrived late and drove away when he saw the police car outside. The massacre ended the North Side Gang as a force in Chicago. Moran died in Leavenworth in 1957.

What did Al Capone say about kindness?

“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.” The quote captures Capone’s duality — the soup kitchen operator and the man who ordered the St Valentine’s Day Massacre.

What did John Gotti say about stupid bosses?

“If you think your boss is stupid, remember, you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter.” Self-aware irony from a man who became boss by murdering his predecessor and was eventually destroyed by his own underboss.

What did Bugsy Siegel say about mob killings?

“Del, don’t worry, we only kill each other.” Said to reassure actress George Raft’s girlfriend that civilians were safe from mob violence. Siegel was shot dead through a window in Beverly Hills in 1947.

What did Carlos Marcello admit about the Kennedy assassination?

Marcello reportedly told an FBI informant: “Yeah, I had the son of a bitch killed. I’m glad I did. I’m sorry I couldn’t have done it myself.” If authentic, one of the most direct admissions of involvement in the Kennedy assassination ever recorded.