บท 46: Chapter 46: The Jewish Gang
This Week's Goal,
200PS = 5 Extra Chapters.
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"Speak up, what's the situation?" Two nights later, in the same restaurant, Josh asked Lyndon Schneider.
Just half an hour ago, Josh received a call from Schneider with an update about the stolen goods.
"It was the Jews," Schneider replied.
"Are you sure?" Josh asked.
"It's confirmed. The information comes from our partners in New York—the Corleone family," Schneider nodded. "Originally, that batch of goods was meant to be sold to them. But according to the latest news, the goods have ended up in the hands of their rivals, the Marcellia family, whose collaborators in Chicago are the Jewish gang."
"Since we've identified the culprits, you know what to do, right?" Josh stated firmly.
Hearing the name of the Corleone family didn't surprise Josh. He was already aware of their existence.
As the mastermind behind his growing operation, Josh didn't interfere in the day-to-day dealings, but he made sure to understand the basics—key underground forces in Chicago, New York's five major mafia families, and large-scale gangs across the U.S.
When Schneider first established contact with the New York faction, Josh learned about the Corleone family. He hadn't been overly concerned at the time. After all, he was already dealing with peculiar characters like Margaret from the Dial M for Murder and Sabrina, possibly a nod to the Audrey Hepburn film. Another connection to The Godfather didn't seem out of place.
However, compared to the knowledge that Captain America and Howard Stark existed in this universe, the Corleone family seemed trivial.
"Boss, this might not be so easy to handle…" Schneider hesitated before continuing.
"Oh? Why not?" Josh frowned.
"Because, according to the Corleone family, this incident wasn't orchestrated by Chicago's Jewish gang alone—it was sanctioned by the Marcellia family," Schneider explained.
"The Marcellia family? Luciano? Did our business offend him?" Hearing this, Josh started paying closer attention.
If it were just Chicago's Jewish gang, Josh wouldn't have been too worried. But if the Marcellia family was involved, it was a different story.
The Marcellia family was led by none other than Lucky Luciano, one of the most significant figures in Josh's original world, known as the head of the Genovese family within New York's five mafia families.
In this timeline, Luciano was still operating under the Marcellia family name, with Josh casually referring to him as "Luciano" because of his eventual rise. Luciano was also the mastermind behind the national mafia commission, Cosa Nostra, an unparalleled crime syndicate in the U.S.
Under Luciano's leadership, the mafia enforced two major rules: no drug dealing and no assassinations of law enforcement officers.
However, several years ago, Luciano was imprisoned by New York Governor Dewey. He was currently serving as a librarian in jail, remotely managing the Marcellia family. Josh's operation, having only recently emerged, shouldn't have been significant enough to provoke such a powerful figure.
Could this conflict stem from dealings with the Corleone family? But that didn't seem plausible; the balance between New York families typically discouraged open hostility.
"No, it wasn't Luciano who gave the order—it was his key lieutenant, Meyer Lansky," Schneider clarified.
"Meyer Lansky? But we've had no direct dealings with him," Josh remarked, puzzled.
He certainly knew who Meyer Lansky was: Luciano's trusted partner, the brains behind many operations, and the godfather of Jewish organized crime in America, commanding immense influence among Jewish gangs nationwide.
"It's not about direct dealings, boss. Before we entered the market, Lansky's Jewish gang was the largest producer and distributor of contraband cigarettes in the country. Tobacco has been one of their primary revenue streams," Schneider explained. "Our cigarettes are of higher quality and more competitively priced. I believe that's why they've moved against us."
Schneider's explanation made everything clear to Josh: they had inadvertently encroached on the biggest Jewish gang's most lucrative territory.
This was a tricky situation. Despite his rapid growth, Josh's fledgling operation was no match for an established mafia powerhouse like Lansky's faction.
"How has the Corleone family responded to this?" Josh asked, his expression darkening.
"They've chosen to stay neutral. They said they'll still buy from us if we can deliver the goods, but beyond that, they won't get involved," Schneider replied, somewhat helplessly. "If I had to guess, this was a warning. If we continue the shipments, similar incidents will likely occur."
The Corleone family clearly wanted no part in a direct confrontation with Meyer Lansky. While tobacco profits were high, they weren't worth the risks of crossing Lansky's formidable network.
"Hmph, they want the profits without the risk—what a convenient position!" Josh sneered. But despite his frustration, there wasn't much he could do.
Jews—they were indeed a troublesome group. Josh's expression darkened, his resentment going beyond the stolen goods.
It also stemmed from his past knowledge in his former life. Many people knew about the persecution of Jews during World War II, but few were aware of the complex history between Jews and Josh's original home country.
For instance, during the war, China had sheltered numerous Jewish refugees, yet some of these refugees colluded with Japanese forces, attempting to establish a Jewish state in Northeast China—a plan that ultimately failed.
Additionally, the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act had surprising ties to Jewish figures, such as Samuel Gompers, a Jewish-American labor leader. As a cigar maker by trade, Gompers felt threatened by the influx of skilled and affordable Chinese laborers in the cigar industry. His efforts to stoke anti-Chinese sentiment among white laborers laid the groundwork for exclusionary policies that reverberated across the U.S.
Now, in his current life, Josh found himself once again at odds with powerful Jewish factions—this time, over the lucrative tobacco trade.
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