Starting in the 1980s, the Colombo crime family created a clever racket involving construction site “coffee boys,” union workers assigned to handle coffee orders exclusively. The mob demanded weekly payments of $250 from these coffee boys, turning their monopoly into a lucrative scheme. By controlling the union and ensuring that the coffee profits were split with the mob, they siphoned off thousands of dollars monthly. The racket persisted for decades, showcasing the mob’s knack for profiting from even the most minor opportunities.
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