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Meatball. Efficient disposal of bodies was also a subject of great interest on the tapes. In one 1964 conversation, DeCavalcante and two other men discussed the various types of devices available. One suggested, in the manner of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, a machine that smashes up old automobiles. DeCavalcante said that he was looking for one that pulverized garbage. Also mentioned was a gadget capable of turning° a human body into a "meatball."
Besides murder, there were heady whiffs of political corruption. The tapes indicated a familiarity between mobsters and New Jersey public officials. In one conversation, which the FBI said took place shortly before the 1964 election, DeCavalcante promised Democrat Thomas Dunn unlimited support in Dunn's campaign for mayor of Elizabeth, N.J. DeCavalcante then asked: "Do you think we could get any city work?" Dunn (laughing): "Well, maybe." When the tapes were released, Mayor Dunn denied that the mobster had any influence over his administration and said that he had not been aware of DeCavalcante's mob connections when he accepted a $100 campaign contribution.
The tapes also show Mafia Chieftain Joseph Zicarelli bragging of interceding with "my friend the Congressman," Cornelius Gallagher. Gallagher denied involvement with Zicarelli and said that the mobster was merely "name dropping." Last year Gallagher was accused by LIFE Magazine of interceding with police on Zicarelli's behalf. The Democratic Congressman denied that charge and was re-elected last fall.
Cops and Robbers. The mobsters also traded advice about corrupting police and businessmen. DeCavalcante: "You know, Tony, 30 or 35 years ago, if a [obscenity] was even seen talking to a cop they looked to hit him the next day. They figured he must be doing business with the cop." DeCarlo: "Today, if you don't meet them and pay them, you can't operate." Another time, Gaetano ("Corky") Vastola explained how to set up a dummy union: "When I sit down with the boss [management], I tell him how much it's gonna cost him in welfare, hospitalization and all that. I make a package out of it. [I say] it's gonna cost $100,000 a year. Let's cut it in half and forget about it. I show him how much I'm gonna save [him] by walking away."
But even the Cosa Nostra hoods have worries. In 1965, DeCavalcante forbade the killing of a Negro construction worker who assaulted a Marioso's son with a shovel during a fight. The Negro was a Black Muslim, and DeCavalcante feared a Muslim-Mafia war. Hoods also become disenchanted. Discussing one doublecross in 1964, DeCavalcante complained to an underling, Frank Mamri: "Sometimes, Frank, the more things you see, the more disillusioned you become. You know, honesty, honorability —all those things."