NEW YORK -- Sixteen people linked to Asian organized crime were arrested overnight by a task force of FBI, NYPD, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators for allegedly extorting bus companies, WNBC.com has learned.

Law enforcement sources told WNBC.com that a federal indictment charges the individuals with various acts of violence and extortion targeting operators of bus companies which do business between New York and east coast cities.

Fifteen of the arrests took place in the New York City metropolitan area and one other person was arrested in Florida, sources said.

Details about the charges are expected to be released later today as the those arrested appear in federal court in Manhattan.

 

Fifteen of the arrests took place in the New York City metropolitan area and one other person was arrested in Florida, sources said.

 

This encyclopedia entry on The Godfather first goes to show its universality amongst the film and popular culture worlds.  It is simply defined first as a film adaptation about a mafia family which spans from 1945 to 1955, but was filmed in 1972.  The entry then proceeds to be organized first by main characters and plotline, production, casting, critical acclaim, sequels, trivia, impact, quotes, games, and related works.

An extensive plot summary is provided, specifying all of the major characters, including Don Corleone and Michael, after the movie is described as one of the best ever filmed.  The specifics regarding production reveal that due to speculation about the potential success of Francis Ford Coppola’s film, the small budget did not allow for production lighting, but this was ultimately a good thing as the lighting that was utilized gave the film a more realistic appearance.

There is a very short cast list, but it emphasizes how strongly Coppola felt about having Al Pacino play the part of Michael, given that he nearly quit in order to make it happen.  Many other stars shot to fame as a result of this film as well.  There is also a listing of awards that the film won, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a leading role, and Best Writing.  The Godfather made record breaking revenues at the box office, and continues to earn through DVD sales, video game sales, and other such merchandizing tactics.

The remainder of the entry discusses the controversial video game, various quotes that became famous from the film, most specifically Don Vito’s line, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”  There are also various tidbits of trivia information, regarding animal rights group protests concerning the horse head scene.  But perhaps the most interesting of this trivia is how life began to imitate art in that actual mafia families began to imitate the forms of respect depicted in the movie, such as kissing the ring of the Godfather.

Chapter three in the book Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy, is entitled, “The Representation of Ethnicity in The Godfather.”  The chapter focuses on the Italian-American heritage of the Corleone family, as well as that of Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, in the analysis of how this factored into the film as well as the novel to create a very different tale.

The chapter opens with a quotation that claims this film has changed the term “godfather” from a parental, guiding figure, to that of a ruthless Italian killer.  Of course, when one actually considers the representation of Don Corleone, while he may in fact be a ruthless Italian killer, he still possess family values, and a deep sense of thoughtfulness.  In many ways he still is a wise and guiding figure. Of course, the film does nothing to take away from the stereotypical image of all Italians being in the mafia.

What the chapter then seeks to discover is why, specifically, Italian criminals seem to be more attractive a topic than crime in general, although the author does not deny that violence certainly is intriguing to most people regardless of the ethnicity that is involved in a particular situation. 

There is then a continued discussion about the representation of Italians in The Godfather as a specific type of Italian, and not simply Italians in general.  These are specifically those, as depicted, that have strong and firm attachments to their Italian roots, heritage, culture, and traditions, but have had all of these values “corroded” by American values.  It is then ultimately the fact that the characters are Italian-American wherein the trouble really begins.

The chapter suggests that the image of Italians put forth here are simply what society chose to view or cared to see at the time, but there are within the story underlying, unread aspects of being Italian-American.

This encyclopedia entry on The Godfather first goes to show its universality amongst the film and popular culture worlds.  It is simply defined first as a film adaptation about a mafia family which spans from 1945 to 1955, but was filmed in 1972.  The entry then proceeds to be organized first by main characters and plotline, production, casting, critical acclaim, sequels, trivia, impact, quotes, games, and related works.

An extensive plot summary is provided, specifying all of the major characters, including Don Corleone and Michael, after the movie is described as one of the best ever filmed.  The specifics regarding production reveal that due to speculation about the potential success of Francis Ford Coppola’s film, the small budget did not allow for production lighting, but this was ultimately a good thing as the lighting that was utilized gave the film a more realistic appearance.

There is a very short cast list, but it emphasizes how strongly Coppola felt about having Al Pacino play the part of Michael, given that he nearly quit in order to make it happen.  Many other stars shot to fame as a result of this film as well.  There is also a listing of awards that the film won, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a leading role, and Best Writing.  The Godfather made record breaking revenues at the box office, and continues to earn through DVD sales, video game sales, and other such merchandizing tactics.

The remainder of the entry discusses the controversial video game, various quotes that became famous from the film, most specifically Don Vito’s line, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”  There are also various tidbits of trivia information, regarding animal rights group protests concerning the horse head scene.  But perhaps the most interesting of this trivia is how life began to imitate art in that actual mafia families began to imitate the forms of respect depicted in the movie, such as kissing the ring of the Godfather.

The Godfather, a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, released in 1972 is a story of an Italian American family, who has immigrated to America.  It depicts the struggles in their family relationships as well as the brutality of organized crime.