The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe

The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe
chicagomag.com

It's easy to take these seeds and blossom them into a tale about an anti-hero you can't help but root for, because you know how it usually ends for people in this situation (in the ground or behind bars), but you can't help but think, will it be different, just this one time?

This guy lived a life outside the law and due to a twist of fate was able to live in publicly-funded obscurity until he died.

I enjoyed reading this story. It was told in a way that manages to maintain one's attention. I liked the way the author wove facts from each individual's life in to color the story.

I remember when all this came to light and arrests of mobsters became a regular news event. Problems highlighted in the story still exist - police corruption, organized crime control of drugs, prostitution, gambling, sports, etc. The difference today is really just a power dynamic shift. When you remove the influence of a group like the Mob, someone else inevitably steps in to fill the void because obviously there are opportunities in that space to profit and survival depends mainly on staying under the radar long enough to introduce yourself to customers, consolidate power and forge the local connections needed to persevere.

Just like any business.

One thing that strikes me about this story is how it tells the common story of someone in a weak position who desires to be stronger (they just want to be left alone, maybe to go fishing) and discovers a path to a form of strength (do this for us and we will protect you) that they may not have taken initially but which they can be induced to take (a promise of increased responsibility as long as they continue to follow instructions without raising any red flags) just to relieve their lack of power.

Eto was like a lot of people who find themselves powerless against some force they can't control (abusive father, bullying, racist peers) and so they exchange one peer group for another that offers some protections and a form of respect that they had not previously enjoyed. Gangs are composed of a critical mass of ruthless, power-hungry individuals who control a group of weak individuals. They demand the respect of and keep the weak ones in line by providing protection from accountability in exchange for execution of illegal or unsavory tasks that, were the weak individuals to avoid the gang, they would have never had the inclination to consider because they fear the consequences (different, more ethical peer group controlled their actions).

Cartels gained their power here in the states as these mob groups power was fading and so most of the distribution of illegal drugs is now handled by cartels. They have used the same tactics pioneered by mobsters - find people in positions of power and offer incentives to help build a base that allows one to be insulated from investigation and prosecution, send products to major population areas and make them as widely available as possible, maintain multiple entry paths for your products so that supply remains steady in spite of interdiction efforts, eliminate competition in markets you control.

I think the part of this story that disturbs me most is the untold story about the disposition of all the cases where Eto was suspected of having personally killed someone during his years spent with the Mob. I guess that once he became a prosecutorial asset all of his transgressions were forgiven in exchange for him helping dismantle the mob. I'm not sure that is a fair trade for the families of those who died. At the very least he should have been compelled to tell those stories once he was given immunity. Maybe he was and that is not part of this tale.

The article makes it clear that he was no "regular joe" and was likely responsible for several murders whether he pulled the trigger or not.