My friend in the Mafia

 

A face-to-face interview with a member of the mafia in 1993, Mr M’s services were no longer required in 2002. The following details a man suspected of- though never charged with crime.

// “I’ve had a knife to the throat”. //

 

                                  How did Mr M become a member of the mafia?

//Leaving the Navy at 21, Mr M found himself in search of a job in the Marine Engineering Unions. Little did he know a single read of the newspaper would change his life.

In 1988 an advertised job for trainee croupiers caught his attention and soon after Mr M was working in South Africa and America. After three years abroad he arrived back to his hometown in England attending an interview in London with a company called Casinos Austria.

He got the job and in 1992 moved to Russia. Over the 18 years at Casinos Austria, Mr M would work in eastern Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Moscow.

 

What was it like working for the mafia?

When Mr M speaks, the words are spoken matter of fact, gruff as the tempo accelerates. “50% of the ownership is owned by Russians who invariably were mafia”, but Mr M laments that “they’re just normal people with an extraordinary job and they look after each other. In that society then, they were a controlling force”.

But It didn’t end there.

 

Some secrets should stay hidden…

As General Manager of the casino Mr M came across a secret room in his very office: “full of guns, artifacts, drugs. Mostly money though. A lot of weapons in there, it was like something out of the Godfather. It was madness”.

 

Suitcases of money were stashed, one of which weighed more than Mr M could lift, let alone carry. This was one occasion of many in which he came across the mafia’s dealings and as such, they enabled him with protection.

Mr M stated that, “I’ve had a knife to the throat”. One night, a drunken member of the public held a knife to Mr M’s throat in the casino. Mr M’s response was:

“Stab me then. Know this; your family will be dead, and you will be dead.” The Russian mafia were like a family and as such, the incident was handled.

 

However, the closing of many casinos in Russia, 2009 meant Mr M had to find new employment…

A lucrative job ‘exporting’ antiques from Russia to England emerged. Bribing customs at the Sheremetyevo International Airport, Mr M brought antiques to London to sell.  However, 9/11 in 2001 soon changed that. Airport security was updated, and the job became high risk.

 

So, what happened to Mr M?

Mr M has devised an app called kinkapp.co.uk. This app would allow people to, “go to a place without being looked down upon or put into a box. It is about expanding people’s pleasure, focusing on the LGBTQ+ community.” Due to the current pandemic the app has not been able to showcase. //