Probably a stupid question, but out of my wheelhouse here. Writing a story about a young guy in an organized crime syndicate who procures drugs for his guys. He's on the level of what a "soldier" would be in the mob, not a captain or anyone higher. But still a made man, and someone that is valuable to the mob. As part of his story, I wanted to maybe have him tend bar at the mob's nightclub at night, but not really sure if these types of "soldiers" were pretty much hustling to supply drugs 24/7, or if they were ever put on legitimate work at their mob's place of business. Any ideas? Would it be weird to have a made man be the one tending bar in between jobs?
Made is only really a thing in the actual mafia In the crips and bloods etc it’s referred to as being an OG ( original Gangsta) some other crews call it being Down or Solid language varies a lot from crew to crew that aside the chances are that an ordinary soldier is not going to be made ( etc) that tends to be reserved for people who’ve done a serious service and earned their place ( among other things being made means you can’t be killed without the say so of the boss and if you are the family will go to war over it so it’s not something they do lightly) on point it would be unlikely a made guy would work in a Joe job but he could certainly own a bar and work behind it because he likes it also a crime crew doesn’t need someone to procure illegal drugs because they have their own dealers and line of supply from which they can get them ( it’s also notable that some crews say that their made guys have to be clean because drug use causes poor judgment- again this varies from crew to crew)
Thanks for the info. On your last point about procurement, I left some details out for the sake of simplicity. It's actually an animated film about a bunch of cats that are a part of the Cat Distribution System, which is an organized syndicate wherein cats get taken in by middle-class housewives, they steal all their prescription drugs (codeine, tramadol, morphine, etc.), and then sell 'em out on the streets. The concept of the story is that there's one of the suppliers (cats who steals drugs from the housewives) who gets attached to one of his marks, and it makes him have to choose between the Family and having a family. I'm struggling with figuring out where our main character starts. I kinda want him to start as a low-level drug dealer, and something happens along the way that makes the boss promote him. But while he's just a drug dealer, not sure if it'd make sense if they also had him tend bar sometimes. Kinda want him within close proximity of the captains and the boss, and they hangout in the bar.
In the US mob the "soldiers" are the lowest rank of made guys. They usually slot into two categories, earners and enforcers. As to which talent earned them membership, both are self explanatory. Guys who aren't made for any number of reasons are known as "associates," with many being more valuable to the bosses than the actual made guys who are on the stupider side (a "mameluke" in local slang). Either way, the made guys in my area--what's left of them--including the capos, spend most of their days sitting around cafes, bars, and strip clubs, playing cards and scratching their balls. So, yeah, you can have them do anything and it'll be believable, but they're not going to be scrubbing toilets or doing anything menial unless they want to, like Moose said.
It’s funny how language varies Round here aside from a couple of 1% bike groups most of the organised crime is Albanian . They use soldier for the expendable peons who aren’t ‘made’ ( the term they use actually translates as solid) . An associate is someone outside the group who generally isn’t a criminal but with whom they do ancillary business like the guy who provides them with cars meanwhile the bikers use associate to mean someone who’s a friend of the club but who doesn’t ride. Their cannon fodder are prospects or hang around while being made is called full patch … as in being allowed to wear the club patch and rockers for a bunch of animated cats it doesn’t matter all that much although you could have fun with terms more suited to the fact that they’re cats Maybe being made is called uncollared or someone who’s a total psycho is known as a nip head ( as in catnip) or maybe guys who do jobs for the crew get their ears marked with a claw and three notches and you’re made as a ‘full notch’
As Big Soft Moose says, it's funny how language varies. Is there a reason why 'made guys who are on the stupider side' are called "mamelukes" in local slang, Homer? The only instance of the word 'mameluke' I know of is the Mamluk (also spelled 'mamaluk' or 'mamalik') slave-warriors who served the ruling Arab and Ottoman dynasties in the Muslim world. (The most famous mamluk warriors created the Mamluk Sultanate in medieval Egypt, and spread across the Near Middle East. So, naturally, I'm curious! Any ideas?
Honestly, I have no clue. Italian America slang varies greatly by region, both in terms of where it's spoken in the US and from what region of Italy it likely evolved from in the first place. You will hear different versions of it in Providence (where I'm from), New Jersey, and several different ones in New York. Brooklyn slang is different from Staten Island slang. Or at least it used to be. I'd imagine the Internet has cancelled some of that out, whereas you used to only learn what you heard directly. The slave part makes sense, though. A person of lower status and intelligence, which would have been prevalent during the Moorish occupation of Sicily. Mameluke isn't mafia specific, though. That's just a loose term Italian American term for a dumbass. "Chooch," "Jabroni, " and "Bobo" are common, too. Jabroni is probably the most common and my personal go-to.
I think it’s to do with the napoleonic wars. The French used mamuluk mercenaries in the occupation of Italy and they had very flamboyant uniforms which were the object of derision by the Italians from there mamaluke came to be a slang term for a man who looks foolish
