SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Springfield’s mob history, now in print, straight from the man who ran it all.
The name Anthony Arillota may ring a bell to many of you, but he’d like to reintroduce himself. Here you can read more about his latest project, ‘The South End Syndicate’.
“If you were Italian, some people say it was a dream come true to join the mafia,” Arillota said.
It was a life lived by former mob boss Anthony Arillota, which he says was a natural transition after getting in and out of trouble as a child.
“There were some smart guys who came away from that and they made the right decision. Not me”
And now it’s on shelves across the country, sharing encounters that led to Arillota’s meteoric rise to leadership…
“Originally, when I wanted to tell this story, I wanted to tell the story of Western mass organized crime,” he said.
‘I don’t think documenting these things serves any purpose. For many people it opens many old wounds. Remember, there are murder victims here,” former Springfield police officer John Delaney told us.
As we sat across the table from the man who led the western New England faction of the Genovese crime family, we asked, “Someone who doesn’t live that lifestyle, doesn’t belong to that community, might this If you could see it on a bookshelf or know your story and see you publish it, what would you say to that person who might see it as a glorification of that lifestyle?”
“Right, it’s not about glorifying it. Ultimately, it’s a terrible life for the families involved and for the men who are actually in organized crime, the mafia. It ends badly. It doesn’t work out well in the end. It’s either prison or death, and the families suffer when that happens,” Arillota responded.
John Delaney worked in the Springfield Police Department’s narcotics unit, while Arillota headed the city’s organized crime unit.
“I knew Anthony Arillota as a police officer, and I have met him several times, and he has always been very polite to me. Greeted me and told me I was very good at my job and told me to keep up the good work and I thought, ‘This guy is the main mafia in Western Massachusetts right now.’ Delaney is mentioned in the book and told us about his thoughts on its publication.
“The fame of these people should not be viewed positively. They should be seen as a plague on society that should not be imitated.”
After his arrest in 2010, Arillota was found guilty of charges including racketeering, racketeering and murder to obstruct justice, as well as what Western crowds remember as the murder of Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno.
Arillota served nearly eight years in federal prison and moved back to Springfield after his release in 2017.
“I’m all for getting a second chance at life. They go, they get locked up. They came out, they found God, whatever the reason they changed, but we’re not talking about someone who stole an HD TV,” Delaney emphasized.
We asked the former organized crime leader what he has done since his imprisonment to become the man who will be sitting at our table in 2024.
“First of all, I spent 7.5 years in federal prison, from 2010 to 2017, and when you’re in prison, that place of loneliness and you have your own cell, that adverse situation, that can break you or make you can make a better life for a person, and I always use that prison time to make myself a better person,” he claimed.
That included delving into self-help books, and one wonders if that was the inspiration for his latest project.
“Does a leopard change places from night to night? I don’t think so. Should we give him another chance? I’m not the one saying it. I’m not the one wearing the robes,” Delaney said.
Arillota may not be looking for it. He has admitted his guilt, both in court and on these pages.
Now he’s turning over a new leaf, hoping to build a real estate and entertainment company, with his past life in the rearview mirror of the getaway car.
“I wish I never got involved in the violence, I wish it never happened,” he stated.
If interested, The South End Syndicate can be found on Barnes and Noble bookshelves in our area, and on Amazon.
Copyright 2024. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.
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