I received this article from James C. Mancuso, Emeritus Prof. of Psychology,
who comments to both me, and in his Letter to the Editor (repeated at the end),
that a potential beautiful article about the tremendous success of an Italian American
from modest means, would be "twisted" to emphasize instead Negative Italian American Stereotypical traits.

No, it's not Terrible and Obvious, it is more Insidious, and Treacherous.
Contributing to a Death, Not by Lynching, but by a Thousand Odious Cuts!!!!

Would such a "hatchet job" be either Conducted by the New York Times, or
Permitted by any other Ethnic/Racial group??

In light of the recent New York Times "Jayson Blair scandal," [a reporter, resigned from the Times on May 1, after the newspaper found fraud, plagiarism and inaccuracies in 36 of 73 articles written between October and April that it examined]
there is a newly constituted  NY Times "Investigative Committee" [chaired by the Times' Assistant Managing Editor Allan M. Siegal, and joined by retiring Associated Press President and CEO LOUIS D. BOCCARDI and Joann Byrd, outgoing Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial page editor].

This may be an appropriate time for the Major Italian American Organizations to bring to the attention of that Committee, the constant and continuing Negative Depictions and Portraying of Italian Americans in the New York Times, so that in addition to the Fraud, Plagiarism and "Inaccuracies", they may also consider their Bigotry.
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Public Lives:
FOR KING OF BROOKLYN DOCKS, IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY
New York Times
By Chris Hedges
May 22, 2003

Here are 120 acres of the Brooklyn waterfront that Sabato F. Catucci calls his own. The big orange and red containers, the huge forklifts, the warehouses, the enormous wood-paneled office with leather furniture and the collection of carved bald eagles are spread around him like toys.

This is Mr. Catucci's world. It has been his world for more than 40 years, since he first came to the piers as a young truck driver in 1956. He has watched the docks change, with most of the piers going out of business, and his own fortunes rise.

He is a rich man now. He has a big house in Westchester and seven Mercedeses, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a summer house in Spring Lake, N.J. He and his second wife, Lorraine, make their own wine. He employs more than two dozen of his relatives among his 1,000 or so employees. He has the rounded, bulky build of a man who has spent a lifetime lifting weights. He has the flashy diamond pinky ring, with his initials in diamonds, that speaks of success. And he is proud: of his company, of America, of the largely Italian-American neighborhood around the docks and of a new treatment he is undergoing for baldness.

"Look," he said, bending in the sunlight outside his office to show the long strands of gray hair combed across his head, "it is growing back."

Mr. Catucci, 64, owns American Stevedoring Inc. He leases space at Red Hook. He is negotiating a lease extension with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the city's Economic Development Corporation even as those two groups study how best to use the waterfront.

He runs a personal fief that is about loyalty and family and the cloistered community that fiercely protects its character and way of life. Nearly 40 percent of his employees, he said, walk to work from the brownstones that hug the cobblestone streets that stretch up from the pier and into Carroll Gardens. Many of the workers are related. Most are Italian-American.

"The whole neighborhood is for us," he said, "because we create jobs."

He grew up in a world in which bravado and fists often resolved disputes. He was thrown out of his Roman Catholic high school for hitting one of the brothers who taught him. And he did not make it through public high school because of "the same thing."

"I had a run-in with a teacher," he said, taking a drag on a slim cigarillo. "I picked him up by his throat."

He never returned to school. He began, after a brief stint as a civilian chauffeur for the Army, as a trucker on the docks, working for his father's small company. He married when he was 20. At night, he worked as a waiter and a short-order cook so he could save money to buy his own trucks.

"I was working 100 hours a week," he said. "In those days the waterfront was rough. If you did not get into a fight once a week you did not stand up for your rights."

Later, seated in a small Italian restaurant where he goes to eat three days a week with several of his employees, he announced over a glass of red wine that he could take on anyone at the table. No one disagreed. As he spoke, Guy D'Anna, 36, a waiter who also works for him as a longshoreman, came up and kissed him.

"Without Sal," he said, using Mr. Catucci's nickname, "we would all be out on the street."

Mr. Catucci beamed.

"I run my company like a family," he said, as he sat with his arm around Mr. D'Anna's waist. "They got a problem, I got a problem."

He bought some trucks when he was in his 20's. He rented his first pier about 15 years ago. He began to build his business, unloading coffee, lumber, glass, nails and other bulk items. By 1994, the terminal was his playground. He was the only stevedore company left on the pier. And he now unloads more cocoa than any port in the country and is negotiating with Carnival Cruise Lines to berth its huge passenger ships at Red Hook. He says he runs 14 different companies and does $200 million in gross billing.

"I am the last of the Marlon Brandos," he said, referring to "On the Waterfront," which he says captured the lives of longshoremen decades ago. "It is 50 years later and we are still fighting for our jobs."

He does not want to take his companies public. He likes to make decisions with speed, without going to committees and boards that can stymie decisions for months. And he trusts his three sons, his brother, his nephews, two brothers-in-law and his son-in-law to keep an eye on every aspect of the business.

"I have about 25 relatives working for me," he said. "If you call the operator and ask for Mr. Catucci you will get about 10 people. It is more than having a hand on the pulse. I am pumping the blood through."

He could retire, he said. He has made enough money. He loves his home and said he had just put in 200 tomato plants.

"I have 20 animals," he said. "I used to have 150. I had sheep, goats, cows, ducks, geese and chickens. Now I have 2 horses, 2 cats, one goat, 2 ducks and 15 geese. I love animals. I love looking out the picture window and watching them graze. It is like some people who like to look at the lights and people on 42nd Street."

But he will never retire, he says.

"I have 50 guys who will kiss me like that," he said, when Mr. D'Anna left. "It's not the money. It's the power trip."

For King of Brooklyn Docks, It's All About Family
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/nyregion/22PROF.html
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To Editor, New York Times:
From: James C. Mancuso, Emeritus Prof. of Psychology, Univ. at Albany SUNY

On May 22, 2003, The New York Times ran an article, entitled, FOR KING OF
THE DOCKS, etc;,  about Mr. Sabato Catucci, and his enterprise, American
Stevedoring, Inc.

The NYTimes ...Rather than portray Mr. Catucci as a very successful business
man, they emphasize (1) violence and his ability to deal with violence, and
(2) his dedication to the ideologies of his Italian immigrant heritage -- colored to
have him appear to be Don Corleone.

What could have been more "violent" than the calumny of the "successful"
operators of WorldCom, Enron, etc.?  Yet, the immediate appeal to
stereotypes to explain the success of Mr. Cotucci negates any indication of
the business acumen that he must have exercised in order to build his
business.  Such acumen is not mentioned in the article.

Then, the discussion of his adherence to the traditions of his heritage --
raising sheep, greeting friends by the two cheek kiss -- also evokes the
imagery, especially when the writer is sure to end the article by quoting
Mr. Cotucci's overt declaration of his pleasure at having gained the respect
of so many people.

The article will succeed, I am sure, in furthering the perception that a
successful Italian-American business person must have reached his/her
success through nefarious means.

With regret,  James C. Mancuso
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