Book
review: Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America, by
Robert I. Friedman: (Salon)
Not only are the Russians smarter, they're meaner. The shorthand versions of
some Friedman anecdotes follow: "Arm hacked off with ax." "Castrated with crescent-shaped knife." "Gutted like sheep." "Buried to the neck in gravel." "Forced to eat gravel." "Bit off booking sergeant's nose." The Russians are so hard-boiled it gives American cops the willies. One suspect chewed on bullets during a police interrogation. Another vocalized his contempt: "I did time on the Arctic Circle. Do you think anything you're going to do is going to bother me?"