Letter: Mafia mattresses
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Christopher Hawtree (Words, 12 January) is evidently unfamiliar with The Valachi Papers, the confession of low-level New York mobster named Joseph Valachi, edited by Peter Maas in the late Sixties.
Valachi says that the phrase "to go the mattresses" originated during an underworld upheaval in the early 1930s known as the Castellamerese War. Gangs would rent empty buildings and install assassins in them to target members of opposing factions. Since this often involved days or weeks of surveillance, mattresses were needed for the murder teams to sleep on until the "job" was done. The phrase "to go to the mattresses" naturally came to acquire the meaning of starting a gang war - the context in which it is used in The Godfather.
Valachi is also responsible for revealing the name that most New York members of the "Mafia" gave to their organisation - Cosa Nostra.
CRAIG DUNFORD
Belfast
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments