BoxRec

kikibalt wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"Irish" Frankie Crawford, a memory . . .

In early 1971, veteran featherweight contender, Frankie Crawford challenged world champ Sho Saijyo for his title in Japan. During the match, Crawford dropped Saijyo, and in the eyes of many had upset the Japanese champion, who would win by a narrow decision.

At the time, I was boxing prelims in L.A. and had worked in the gym with Crawford on several occasions. Frankie lived in North Hollywood at the time, along with his wife, Diane, and his two toddler sons, Frankie Jr. and Jeff.

Crawford was one of these guys who had a hard time holding onto a driver's license, and would occasionally need a ride to the gym. I lived close by, in Burbank, and gave Frank rides to the gym a few times, and it was on these short excursions, that I would get to know a very unique person . That's how I will describe Frankie Crawford - UNIQUE.

On one such occasion, Crawford and his trainer, Jimmy Gambina, were working out at the ELKS Bldg. which is a massive building that sits to this day, as it has for the past 85 years, directly across the street from MacArthur Park. Today, it is no longer the Elks Bldg., it's the "Park Plaza Hotel", and is currently closed for renovations.

I was working out at the Elks Club also, and Frankie and I would spar together, which to led my giving him rides to the gym. One day, I arrived at Crawford's apartment, and, as usual, toot the horn to let him know I'm waiting. After five minutes I realize that Frankie isn't coming, so I park and go to his front door. When I knock, Diane opens the door and is obviously upset. She's shaking her head and when I ask "What's wrong?", she shrugs her shoulders and pointed across the room to her husband, sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" I ask. Crawford starts to ramble about how his wife could be so stupid as to forget to pay the gas bill, which she says he has never given her money for, despite a recent title challenge, etc. etc. Crawford was mad that she couldn't cook his breakfast, or whatever?

As we step outside, Crawford tells me he needs to pay his gas bill before we hit the gym and I say "OK, where do I take you to pay it?"

"It's just down on the corner of Mgnolia and Burbank Blvd.", he answers. When I reach the intersection, I ask him, "Where's the gas company?" Crawford turns to me, cocks his head to the side, and in his deep voice answers, "It's right there, on the corner", he laughs, "what are you f_cking blind?"

"What corner?", I ask, I don't see any Gas Company, just gas stations, one on each corner".

Once again, Crawford looks at me like I'm blind or stupid, and says, "So what's the problem, you got your choice, Standard, Texaco, 76, or Shell. Now I'm really confused.

"Frankie, I don't need gas". Crawford says, "So what? I came to pay the f_cking bill, remember?" I suddenly realized that Crawford believed he could pay the bill at a gas station, and I started to laugh. Now it was my turn to have some fun.

When we pull into the station Crawford jumps out of the car and runs over to a young gas station attendant, a kid of 17 or 18, red hair, skinny, pimple faced with a big adams apple. Frankie moves straight to the kid and hands him the bill along with a wad of cash. I couldn't hear what was said, but the kid appeared to be listening as Crawford talked. A moment later the boy shook his head "NO" as Crawford forced him to take the money and the bill.

When the kid refused the money, the fighter became irate. Frankie threw his arms in the air, turned, and headed back to my car. Before opening the car door, he looks back at the gangly kid, gives him the finger and kicks the gas pump beside him.

I was laying on the seat, unable to control my laughter. Crawford was really mad and I asked him, what happened?

The fighter just shook his head, and replied, "That's the problem with this world . . . nobody wants to do their job!"

We went to the gym, boxed, and on the way home, I showed where he could pay his gas bill. The next day he seemed happy enough. I guess he got his breakfast.

Much more on Frankie Crawford to come.


-Rick Farris

Rick,

Great story on Frankie C.
Sad and funny at the same time.

It is a great story.

Carpooling with fighters can be an adventure.
Old Herman Mills would hold the pads for me at the Fuller Park gym on Chicagos South Side.
Herman fought Glen and Del Flanagan.
Anyway I would often drop him off at the famous Chicago Blues bar The Checkerboard Lounge, which was nearby after we worked out.
A couple times i'd go in and shoot the breeze for awhile.
Once Herman introduced me to a good friend of his the legendary blues guitarman Buddy Guy. We talked boxing for awhile. He follows the game a bit.
Real nice gent.

Frankie Crawford

Expug wrote:

kikibalt wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"Irish" Frankie Crawford, a memory . . .

In early 1971, veteran featherweight contender, Frankie Crawford challenged world champ Sho Saijyo for his title in Japan. During the match, Crawford dropped Saijyo, and in the eyes of many had upset the Japanese champion, who would win by a narrow decision.

At the time, I was boxing prelims in L.A. and had worked in the gym with Crawford on several occasions. Frankie lived in North Hollywood at the time, along with his wife, Diane, and his two toddler sons, Frankie Jr. and Jeff.

Crawford was one of these guys who had a hard time holding onto a driver's license, and would occasionally need a ride to the gym. I lived close by, in Burbank, and gave Frank rides to the gym a few times, and it was on these short excursions, that I would get to know a very unique person . That's how I will describe Frankie Crawford - UNIQUE.

On one such occasion, Crawford and his trainer, Jimmy Gambina, were working out at the ELKS Bldg. which is a massive building that sits to this day, as it has for the past 85 years, directly across the street from MacArthur Park. Today, it is no longer the Elks Bldg., it's the "Park Plaza Hotel", and is currently closed for renovations.

I was working out at the Elks Club also, and Frankie and I would spar together, which to led my giving him rides to the gym. One day, I arrived at Crawford's apartment, and, as usual, toot the horn to let him know I'm waiting. After five minutes I realize that Frankie isn't coming, so I park and go to his front door. When I knock, Diane opens the door and is obviously upset. She's shaking her head and when I ask "What's wrong?", she shrugs her shoulders and pointed across the room to her husband, sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" I ask. Crawford starts to ramble about how his wife could be so stupid as to forget to pay the gas bill, which she says he has never given her money for, despite a recent title challenge, etc. etc. Crawford was mad that she couldn't cook his breakfast, or whatever?

As we step outside, Crawford tells me he needs to pay his gas bill before we hit the gym and I say "OK, where do I take you to pay it?"

"It's just down on the corner of Mgnolia and Burbank Blvd.", he answers. When I reach the intersection, I ask him, "Where's the gas company?" Crawford turns to me, cocks his head to the side, and in his deep voice answers, "It's right there, on the corner", he laughs, "what are you f_cking blind?"

"What corner?", I ask, I don't see any Gas Company, just gas stations, one on each corner".

Once again, Crawford looks at me like I'm blind or stupid, and says, "So what's the problem, you got your choice, Standard, Texaco, 76, or Shell. Now I'm really confused.

"Frankie, I don't need gas". Crawford says, "So what? I came to pay the f_cking bill, remember?" I suddenly realized that Crawford believed he could pay the bill at a gas station, and I started to laugh. Now it was my turn to have some fun.

When we pull into the station Crawford jumps out of the car and runs over to a young gas station attendant, a kid of 17 or 18, red hair, skinny, pimple faced with a big adams apple. Frankie moves straight to the kid and hands him the bill along with a wad of cash. I couldn't hear what was said, but the kid appeared to be listening as Crawford talked. A moment later the boy shook his head "NO" as Crawford forced him to take the money and the bill.

When the kid refused the money, the fighter became irate. Frankie threw his arms in the air, turned, and headed back to my car. Before opening the car door, he looks back at the gangly kid, gives him the finger and kicks the gas pump beside him.

I was laying on the seat, unable to control my laughter. Crawford was really mad and I asked him, what happened?

The fighter just shook his head, and replied, "That's the problem with this world . . . nobody wants to do their job!"

We went to the gym, boxed, and on the way home, I showed where he could pay his gas bill. The next day he seemed happy enough. I guess he got his breakfast.

Much more on Frankie Crawford to come.


-Rick Farris

Rick,

Great story on Frankie C.
Sad and funny at the same time.

It is a great story.

Carpooling with fighters can be an adventure.
Old Herman Mills would hold the pads for me at the Fuller Park gym on Chicagos South Side.
Herman fought Glen and Del Flanagan.
Anyway I would often drop him off at the famous Chicago Blues bar The Checkerboard Lounge, which was nearby after we worked out.
A couple times i'd go in and shoot the breeze for awhile.
Once Herman introduced me to a good friend of his the legendary blues guitarman Buddy Guy. We talked boxing for awhile. He follows the game a bit.
Real nice gent.

Pug,

I remember seeing the Flanagan brothers fighting on tv in the early days of tv, thety were very good boxers, don't think I ever seen your friend Herman Mills fight, at least I don't remember seeing him.

kikibalt wrote:

Expug wrote:

kikibalt wrote: Rick,

Great story on Frankie C.
Sad and funny at the same time.

It is a great story.

Carpooling with fighters can be an adventure.
Old Herman Mills would hold the pads for me at the Fuller Park gym on Chicagos South Side.
Herman fought Glen and Del Flanagan.
Anyway I would often drop him off at the famous Chicago Blues bar The Checkerboard Lounge, which was nearby after we worked out.
A couple times i'd go in and shoot the breeze for awhile.
Once Herman introduced me to a good friend of his the legendary blues guitarman Buddy Guy. We talked boxing for awhile. He follows the game a bit.
Real nice gent.

Pug,

I remember seeing the Flanagan brothers fighting on tv in the early days of tv, thety were very good boxers, don't think I ever seen your friend Herman Mills fight, at least I don't remember seeing him.

Herman fought some good fighters and he was a good trainer later on.
His record is in here but I dont think its complete.
He fought under a couple aliases also.
Come to think of it I heard he fought Willie Pep under an alias but I dont remember the name.
Who knows if its true ?
He could really tap dance too.
Man this guy was an old school hoofer.
Claimed he danced a little with Sugar Ray .
Who knows if its trueor not either?
Its alot more fun to think it is.

Expug wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"THE FORMOSA" . . .

Dagos, this Chinese restaurant was a Hollywood mob hangout where both Mickey Cohen and Stumpanato would occasionally frequent. The place is still there on the South-East corner of Santa Monica Blvd.. & Formosa, right across the street from what is now Warner-Hollywood Studios, formerly the Sam Goldwyn Studio lot.

Lots of history at the old Formosa. Lana Turner and Stumpanato (excuse the incorrect speling) would meet there, just blocks from Mickey Cohens Men's store.

-Rick

I took a ride west on North ave in Chicago this evening towards Elmwood park.
Lotta old mob hangouts in this area.
One joint Hoagies pub which Ive eaten at many times was managed by Michael Spilotro who was Bob Conrads buddy. Conrad would stop in there when in town.
Michael was whacked with his brother Tony. The murder was depicted in the cornfield in the movie casino.
The two guys were baseball batted in the flick.

Pug
My father had a run in with Tony "The Ant" out here . It was during that time when Tamara Rand was trying to get a piece of the action with the Sports Book guys and they didn't want her around. She approached my father to call Chicago to see if could help her out. He phoned Sam Giancana. My father told her that she was in an area that could get her killed. The "Outfit" usually left women alone, but she was threatening to go to the Feds if they wouldn't give her a share..Tony Spilotro was sent to San Diego and killed her. While he was here he went to the Stardust Hotel (that's where the local wiseguys hung out)and he sees my father. Spilotro goes up to my father and tells him that he's to take orders from him. My father knew who he was. My father told him,"I answer only to Sam Giancana."

Spilotro never bothered my father again.

Some think that Lana Turner herself was the knifer, and that her lawyer got her daughter to take the rap since she would be sentenced as a juvenile.

Another guess is that since the knife was not sharp and a 14 year old girl would not have the strength to make such a knife penetrate as it did----

that Stompanato himself supplied the force by running at the knife holder in the course of taunting her.

Just got back from "Bronx Pizza". I feel like I got lead weights in my stomach. I'll have a "Brioschi".in a minute.

Frank,the Mexicans use "Sal de Uvas". That stuff works good too. I like that fizzy stuff and after you drink it,you let out that big belch and all the gas is gone.

Speaking of driving with fighters,there weren't many guys who'd ride with Archie Moore. If you were driving.he'd tell you to get out of the car and he'd drive. The Powell brothers said thet they drove up with him to watch a Ram game at the Coliseum . They thought they'd never make it.They said Moore never drove under a hundred miles an hour. The Powell brothers told me that they had a hard time concentrating on the game because all they could think about is riding with the "Mongoose" on the way back. Obviously they all made it back in one piece,but I think the Powell brothers took the Santa Fe to Union Station the next time they went to see the Rams.

dagosd2000 wrote:Just got back from "Bronx Pizza". I feel like I got lead weights in my stomach. I'll have a "Brioschi".in a minute.

Frank,the Mexicans use "Sal de Uvas". That stuff works good too. I like that fizzy stuff and after you drink it,you let out that big belch and all the gas is gone.

Speaking of driving with fighters,there weren't many guys who'd ride with Archie Moore. If you were driving.he'd tell you to get out of the car and he'd drive. The Powell brothers said thet they drove up with him to watch a Ram game at the Coliseum . They thought they'd never make it. The Powell brothers told me that they had a hard time concentrating on the game because all they could think about is riding with the "Mongoose" on the way back. Obviously they all made it back in one piece,but I think the Powell brothers took the Santa Fe to Union Station the next time they went to see the Rams.

i know he had bad eyesight (at a distance).

dagosd2000 wrote:

Expug wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"THE FORMOSA" . . .

Dagos, this Chinese restaurant was a Hollywood mob hangout where both Mickey Cohen and Stumpanato would occasionally frequent. The place is still there on the South-East corner of Santa Monica Blvd.. & Formosa, right across the street from what is now Warner-Hollywood Studios, formerly the Sam Goldwyn Studio lot.

Lots of history at the old Formosa. Lana Turner and Stumpanato (excuse the incorrect speling) would meet there, just blocks from Mickey Cohens Men's store.

-Rick

I took a ride west on North ave in Chicago this evening towards Elmwood park.
Lotta old mob hangouts in this area.
One joint Hoagies pub which Ive eaten at many times was managed by Michael Spilotro who was Bob Conrads buddy. Conrad would stop in there when in town.
Michael was whacked with his brother Tony. The murder was depicted in the cornfield in the movie casino.
The two guys were baseball batted in the flick.

Pug
My father had a run in with Tony "The Ant" out here . It was during that time when Tamara Rand was trying to get a piece of the action with the Sports Book guys and they didn't want her around. She approached my father to call Chicago to see if could help her out. He phoned Sam Giancana. My father told her that she was in an area that could get her killed. The "Outfit" usually left women alone, but she was threatening to go to the Feds if they wouldn't give her a share..Tony Spilotro was sent to San Diego and killed her. While he was here he went to the Stardust Hotel here(that's where the local wiseguys hung out)and he sees my father. Spilotro goes up to my father and tells him that he's to take orders from him. My father knew who he was. My father told him,"I answer only to Sam Giancana."

Spilotro never bothered my father again.

Thanks Dagos very Interesting.
Lotta history around here.
My Wife knew some of the Accardo grandkids.
She grew up on the West side here.
When the parents were out of town , of course the kids would throw parties.
It was the seventies . Good times.
Anyway she said when Big Tuna or Joe Batters as Accardo was called would show up to shut the party down, you NEVER saw a joint clear out so fast.

Rick Farris wrote:

dagosd2000 wrote:

Rick Farris wrote: I remember him playing with the Angels. He was running around with Mamie Van Dorn for awhile.

Rick
She's certainly better looking than Bud Furillo.

You bet, Dagos! I met Bud Furrillo and Allen Malamud the night I scored a KO on the undercard of the Buchanan-Navarro Lightweight title fight. A couple weeks later Malamud did a story for the Sunday Herald-Examiner on my father and I.

I really liked them both, and consider Malamud one of the best boxing writers I ever read. Allen was a guy who spent a lot of time at the gym, and even dated Jerry Quarry's sister, Diane, for awhile. He had a keen eye for boxing talent and great wit.

I'm in the process of moving, buy have a lot of Malamud and Furillo clips from the sixties and seventies. And of course, the great Jim Murray. These guys could do so much with words. The truth is, they KNEW what they were talking about.

Is it just me, or do today's sports writers fall short of the quality that was such a part of past eras? Long before the Murray's & Malamuds, there was Grantland Rice, Bud Schulberg, Damon Runyon. These were guys who had to paint a picture with words, with no TV or video footage available.

Dagos, I miss those old writer's discriptive terms, such as "Whistling left hook", or the word "Iced" for KO'ed, etc. Today, something is lost?

-Rick

Rick
I miss them too. That's why you and Frank and Pug are always worth reading. You guys keep that style of prose alive. That last story on Frankie Crawford was a good one. Writing about boxing can especially be enriching. A violent sport with violent men can often be told with a gentleness that,in a way,is very poetic. When I went to the Father/Son Banquet and sat at Frank's table,I looked around the dining room and felt safe and at peace. Looking at wounded fighters and fighters who escaped getting wounded,old timers,and their friends and families was something special, that aside from us,went unnoticed. That's why it was easy to write about. We don't need a Bert Sugar to be there to tell us what happened. We're doing a good job of it.

dagosd2000 wrote:

Expug wrote:

Rick Farris wrote:"THE FORMOSA" . . .

Dagos, this Chinese restaurant was a Hollywood mob hangout where both Mickey Cohen and Stumpanato would occasionally frequent. The place is still there on the South-East corner of Santa Monica Blvd.. & Formosa, right across the street from what is now Warner-Hollywood Studios, formerly the Sam Goldwyn Studio lot.

Lots of history at the old Formosa. Lana Turner and Stumpanato (excuse the incorrect speling) would meet there, just blocks from Mickey Cohens Men's store.

-Rick

I took a ride west on North ave in Chicago this evening towards Elmwood park.
Lotta old mob hangouts in this area.
One joint Hoagies pub which Ive eaten at many times was managed by Michael Spilotro who was Bob Conrads buddy. Conrad would stop in there when in town.
Michael was whacked with his brother Tony. The murder was depicted in the cornfield in the movie casino.
The two guys were baseball batted in the flick.

Pug
My father had a run in with Tony "The Ant" out here . It was during that time when Tamara Rand was trying to get a piece of the action with the Sports Book guys and they didn't want her around. She approached my father to call Chicago to see if could help her out. He phoned Sam Giancana. My father told her that she was in an area that could get her killed. The "Outfit" usually left women alone, but she was threatening to go to the Feds if they wouldn't give her a share..Tony Spilotro was sent to San Diego and killed her. While he was here he went to the Stardust Hotel here(that's where the local wiseguys hung out)and he sees my father. Spilotro goes up to my father and tells him that he's to take orders from him. My father knew who he was. My father told him,"I answer only to Sam Giancana."

Spilotro never bothered my father again.

Good stuff! Very interesting, Dagos.

.



Pug
Tony Accardo was a guy no one messed with. Even a guy like Sam Giancana deferred to him. It depended on who was at the top. Accardo was Sicilian. They're more reserved than Neopolitans. Al Capone,my grand father Diamond Joe,Paul Ricca,and Sam Giancana were from Naples or could trace their ancestry there. Italy is extremely regional. Phyllis McGuire,Giancanas girlfriend, went to Italy to perform. Giancana went with her. She had an engagement in Sicily. He wouldn't go there. They might have killed him. Tony Accardo was Sicilian and the Neopolitans under him didn't like him. But Accardo stayed low key. He'd let Giancana be the profile guy,but "Mooney"took his orders from Accardo. Giancana woud up with a bullet in the back of his skull. Accardo died a natural death and never spent a night in jail.

Frank---

It's been more than a few days since I have been on boxrec. I am sorry to hear about your cousin, Jesus. May he rest in peace. Also to hear about Rachel's illness. We will keep her in our prayers as well as you with your illness. As you know, with our God there is nothing impossible.

Dago---

I heard from Rick today that you have finished my portrait. I can hardly wait to see it. Today Barbara and I were at a fund raising art show and auction in San Diego to benefit the Barrio Logan Chicano community and we spoke of your art work to several people. They will be checking out boxrec.

As for me being dressed up when we met I'd like to tell you a story.
When I was growing up, I had four brothers and one sister and we were very poor. I only had one shirt and one pair of pants, no underwear and no socks, only guarachas. Everytime my mother washed my clothes, I had to wrap myself with a blanket and wait until my clothes were dried by the sun. When I began fighting in Guadalajara my cousin, Jose Becerra, gave my mother money to buy my family more clothes so I got another pair of pants and another shirt. By the time I met you it was a number of years later and I had been blessed with alot of clothes, many of them purchased at a second hand store, but to me they were first class clothes.
If I have the clothes why not wear them. I am very grateful that I have what I have. My belief is that it when you are in public it says alot about who you are, showing neatness and respect. I like to set an example for the younger generation.

El Gato

kikibalt wrote:The Sweater Girl!

Lana Turner was born Julia Jean Mildred Francis Turner in Wallace, Idaho. There is some discrepancy as to whether her birth date is February 8, 1920 or 1921. Lana herself said in her autobiography that she was one year younger (1921) than the records showed, but then this was a time where women, especially actresses, tended to "fib" a bit about their age. Most sources agree that 1920 is the correct year of birth.

In 1929, her father was murdered and it was shortly thereafter her mother moved her and the family to California where jobs were "plentiful". Once she matured into a beautiful young woman, she sought after something that would last forever. Stardom. She wasn't found at a drug store counter like some would have you believe, but the legend persists. She pounded the pavement that other would be actors and actresses have done in search of movie roles.

In 1937, Lana entered the movie world, at 17, with small parts in THEY WON'T FORGET, THE GREAT GARRICK, and A STAR IS BORN. The films didn't bring Lana a lot of notoriety, but it was a start.

In 1938, Lana had another small part in LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY starring Mickey Rooney. It was this film that made young men's hearts all over America fluttering at the sight of this alluring and provocative young woman, known as the "Sweater Girl". One look at that film could make you understand why. Lana was one of the most beautiful newcomers to grace the silver screen in years.

By the 1940's Lana was firmly entrenched in the film colony. Good roles found her in such films as JOHNNY EAGER (1941), SOMEWHERE I'LL FIND YOU (1942), and WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF (1945).

Her private life, however, was a super mess. It kept Lana in the news in a way no one would have wanted. Without a doubt it was career threatening. She was married eight times, twice to Steve Crane. She also married Ronald Dante, Robert Eaton, Fred May, Lex Barker, Henry Topping, and to Artie Shaw. She also battled alcoholism.

Her daughter by Crane, Cheryl, murdered boyfriend Johnny Stompanato in 1958. It was a case that would have rivaled the O.J. Simpson murder case today. Her daughter was acquitted with the court ruling it justifiable homicide. All these interfered with her acting career, but she persevered.

The 1959 release of IMITATION OF LIFE was Lana's comeback vehicle. Her performance was flawless as Lora Meredith, an actress struggling to make it in show business with a young daughter, her housekeeper and the housekeeper's rebellious daughter. The film was a box-office success and proved beyond a doubt that Lana had not lost her edge.

By the 1960's, she had fewer roles coming her way with the rise of new and younger stars. She still turned in memorable roles in such films as PORTRAIT IN BLACK (1960) and BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961). By the next decade the roles were coming in at a trickle.

Her last appearance in a big screen production was in 1980's WITCHES' BREW. Her final film work came in the acclaimed TV series FALCON CREST where she played Jacqueline Perrault from 1982-1983. After all those years as a heartthrob, nothing had changed. Lana was still as beautiful as ever and just as talented.

Lana died June 25, 1995 in Culver City, California after a long bout with cancer. She was 75 years old.

I could never understand these poets that write poetry about the most beautifull thing in the world is a "sunset",or the"ocean",or a "bird". Now I'm going to give these poets a second shot at this. Take a real good look at that shot of Lana Turner. Now think about it. Did you change your mind? If you didn't,you're probably a female poet.

Women have always gotten my vote. I figure that's how God wanted man to proceate the species. He made something that looks like that photograph. If I could live forever,it would take a meteor crashing into the earth to end it all. The earth and all the little Dagos's runnin' around.

El Gato wrote:Frank---

It's been more than a few days since I have been on boxrec. I am sorry to hear about your cousin, Jesus. May he rest in peace. Also to hear about Rachel's illness. We will keep her in our prayers as well as you with your illness. As you know, with our God there is nothing impossible.

Dago---

I heard from Rick today that you have finished my portrait. I can hardly wait to see it. Today Barbara and I were at a fund raising art show and auction in San Diego to benefit the Barrio Logan Chicano community and we spoke of your art work to several people. They will be checking out boxrec.

As for me being dressed up when we met I'd like to tell you a story.
When I was growing up, I had four brothers and one sister and we were very poor. I only had one shirt and one pair of pants, no underwear and no socks, only guarachas. Everytime my mother washed my clothes, I had to wrap myself with a blanket and wait until my clothes were dried by the sun. When I began fighting in Guadalajara my cousin, Jose Becerra, gave my mother money to buy my family more clothes so I got another pair of pants and another shirt. By the time I met you it was a number of years later and I had been blessed with alot of clothes, many of them purchased at a second hand store, but to me they were first class clothes.
If I have the clothes why not wear them. I am very grateful that I have what I have. My belief is that it when you are in public it says alot about who you are, showing neatness and respect. I like to set an example for the younger generation.

El Gato

That's a beautifull story Gato. I know a lot of Mexican guys that tell that similar story. My nephew came across illegally a while back. I used to bring the younger ones across in my car before 9/11. It was easy. I'd pull up looking like the All American Boy and say,"I"m American and so are the kids. My wife's Mexican" and i'd show the Immigration guy the Green Card.

Well when those kids went to work,the first thing they bought were clothes. If they didn't have the money,,they liked to go window shopping. I remember one time I took my kids to the beach. My nephew,who was here illegally and found a job,wanted to go shopping with his aunt(my wife). He bought a pair of Nikes. Every night whether he wore them or not,he'd clean those Nikes.

Next time you're in town this way PM me and i'll give you my phone number and address. We'll get together. You know something? I invited my wife to that Father/Son Banquet. My wife doesn't like sports,but I knew she'd like it up there with Frank and his family and the rest of the people. I think she sensed what I was saying and she went, not putting up a fuss. I know she enjoyed it. She didn't say much about it .That's how I knew. She was relaxed and felt at home like I did.

Just from the few conversations we've had on the Forum,I know my wife would really enjoy you and Barbara's company. You can feel something like that. Maybe it's a Latin Thing? Anyway,if you want the painting you can have it,or they can put you next to Mantequilla,Kid Azteca,and Baby Arizmendi in Jiquilpan at the Cultural Center.

Oh, man, what a thread! I miss a couple of days due to work schedule and I actually had to reacclimate myself by way of 6 or 7 pages that elapsed in the meantime.

Bennie: sorry to hear about Kevin Finnegan. Damn good fighter. 3 fights with Minter, 2 with Hagler, Kalule, Bouttier, Sterling, 2 with Tonna and a great late career win over Sibson. Deserves better than living in a park, but the grape can be deadly I guess.

Rick: terrific story about Crawford. What a character he must've been. Only saw him fight a couple of times (Mando Ramos I, Memo Morales, Chucho Alonso), but what I saw of him was impressive. Loved the way he would spin a fighter then attack.

Dago: any chance of posting a photo of your painting of El Gato?

Scartissue

Thats me In L.A.

I worked with a magician/psychic that was (or claims to have been) married to Lana Turner and I always had to introduce him in this manner....."And now Direct from Lana Turner's bedroom".....Here is....Dr...whatever his name was......Thankfully it does not come to memory for the moment and that's fine by me...he never impressed me. When it does come to mind I'll chime in again I suppose.

Lana is a classic beauty much in the way of Lynda Carter a lady I shared the stage with many times in Phoenix Az where/when she was in a local Group playing at Dell Webbs Town House for several years. These are memories I have not entertained for some time! This thread is a great trip down memory lane for many of us I'm sure.

scartissue wrote:Oh, man, what a thread! I miss a couple of days due to work schedule and I actually had to reacclimate myself by way of 6 or 7 pages that elapsed in the meantime.

Bennie: sorry to hear about Kevin Finnegan. Damn good fighter. 3 fights with Minter, 2 with Hagler, Kalule, Bouttier, Sterling, 2 with Tonna and a great late career win over Sibson. Deserves better than living in a park, but the grape can be deadly I guess.

Rick: terrific story about Crawford. What a character he must've been. Only saw him fight a couple of times (Mando Ramos I, Memo Morales, Chucho Alonso), but what I saw of him was impressive. Loved the way he would spin a fighter then attack.

Dago: any chance of posting a photo of your painting of El Gato?

Scartissue

I remember Frankie C. when he first turn pro, he and his girlfriend would sit by the beer & hotdog stand where the guys from the boxing community would sit and they would sit my son Tony on their laps, Tony was 4-5 years old.

BoxBuzz wrote:I worked with a magician/psychic that was (or claims to have been) married to Lana Turner and I always had to introduce him in this manner....."And now Direct from Lana Turner's bedroom".....Here is....Dr...whatever his name was......Thankfully it does not come to memory for the moment and that's fine by me...he never impressed me. When it does come to mind I'll chime in again I suppose.

Lana is a classic beauty much in the way of Lynda Carter a lady I shared the stage with many times in Phoenix Az where/when she was in a local Group playing at Dell Webbs Town House for several years. These are memories I have not entertained for some time! This thread is a great trip down memory lane for many of us I'm sure.

The lady (LT) was married 8 times, one thing for sure she loved men.

On November 9, 1975 wealthy real estate owner and investor Tamara Rand was killed in the kitchen of her Mission Hills, San Diego home.

Rand had attempted to sue Allen Glick over a promised $2 million loan. The day before her murder, Rand had had an argument with Glick. She had flown into Las Vegas in May to file her suit, and when she got back to San Diego she told her niece she had an argument with Glick. She also said that she had been threatened, but exactly who had threatened her was not made clear. Her niece said Rand shrugged off the threat, being more interested in preparing for the lawsuit. A couple of months before her murder, Rand escalated her civil actions against Glick by filing criminal fraud charges against him. The court gave Rand and her attorneys access to corporate documents pertaining to the Teamsters Pension Fund.

Glick complained to Chicago mob boss Joe Aiuppa about Rand. Rand was later shot dead in her estate by Anthony Spilotro, with the help of Frank Bompensiero.

El Gato wrote:Frank---

It's been more than a few days since I have been on boxrec. I am sorry to hear about your cousin, Jesus. May he rest in peace. Also to hear about Rachel's illness. We will keep her in our prayers as well as you with your illness. As you know, with our God there is nothing impossible.

Dago---

I heard from Rick today that you have finished my portrait. I can hardly wait to see it. Today Barbara and I were at a fund raising art show and auction in San Diego to benefit the Barrio Logan Chicano community and we spoke of your art work to several people. They will be checking out boxrec.

As for me being dressed up when we met I'd like to tell you a story.
When I was growing up, I had four brothers and one sister and we were very poor. I only had one shirt and one pair of pants, no underwear and no socks, only guarachas. Everytime my mother washed my clothes, I had to wrap myself with a blanket and wait until my clothes were dried by the sun. When I began fighting in Guadalajara my cousin, Jose Becerra, gave my mother money to buy my family more clothes so I got another pair of pants and another shirt. By the time I met you it was a number of years later and I had been blessed with alot of clothes, many of them purchased at a second hand store, but to me they were first class clothes.
If I have the clothes why not wear them. I am very grateful that I have what I have. My belief is that it when you are in public it says alot about who you are, showing neatness and respect. I like to set an example for the younger generation.

El Gato

Rodolfo & Barbara,

Thanks for you prayers, very much appreciate by all of us.

We were told by her son Bobby, who is a doctor, that Rachel has 6 to 9 month to live, it looks like we're in for a rough year.

Thanks again.

Frank Bompensiero

San Diego Hit Man, Boss and FBI Informant

by Allan May

Before turning FBI informant in 1967, Frank "the Bomp" Bompensiero had been the most feared Mafia hit man in Southern California for more than 30 years. Killing fellow mobsters was his specialty. His reward from the Los Angeles Mafia was to be made boss of San Diego. When his long-time friend Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno found out in 1976 that the Bomp had turned informant, it took the Mafia more than six months to get the hit on Bompensiero executed. Later, after Fratianno had transformed himself into a media event by becoming an FBI informant himself, he said during a television documentary in 1991 that Bompensiero "had buried more bones than could be found in the brontosaurus room of the Museum of Natural History."

Bompensiero was born in Milwaukee in 1905. Not much is known about his early years. The first murders he was involved in for the mob turned out to be "messy" ones. In California during 1937, newly arrived Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel laid down the law and stated that all West Coast gamblers would have to share their profits 50-50 with him. The lone dissenter was Lew Brunemann, a gambler from Redondo Beach who had aspirations of controlling all the gambling in southern California.

In July 1937, Brunemann was strolling along Redondo Beach with a beautiful blonde hostess from one of his clubs. Bompensiero and another gunman walked up behind him and put three slugs in his back. Brunemann survived. During his recovery period in the hospital, Brunemann was having his dinners at the Roost Café, a classy Redondo Beach restaurant, with one of his nurses. On October 25, Bompensiero showed up with gunman Leo "Lips" Moceri.

As a member of Detroit’s Purple Gang, Moceri had made a name for himself in the Midwest with the murder of popular Toledo bootlegger and gambler Jackie Kennedy in 1933. Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Moceri was never tried.

Moceri, who didn’t trust Bompensiero, told Jimmy Fratianno about the murder of Brunemann:

"I’ve got a forty-five automatic and the place’s packed with people. I walk right up to his table and start pumping lead. Believe me, that sonovabitch’s going to be dead for sure this time.

"Bomp’s supposed to be by the door, watching my back to make sure nobody jumps me. I turn around and I see this football player … coming at me. Bomp’s nowhere in sight. Now I’m either going to clip this (guy) or he’s going to knock me on my ass. So I blast him and run out, and there’s Bomp already in the fornicating car … waiting for me. That guy showed me his color…"

Moceri then warned Fratianno, "If you ever work with Bomp, get him out in front of you instead of behind you." The police arrested another man for the murder of Brunemann and he was convicted and sent to prison.

Moceri then told Fratianno that on February 28, 1938, Bompensiero abducted Phil Galuzo off a Los Angeles street and forced him into an automobile. He said Bompensiero gave Galuzo a vicious beating before he dumped him in the gutter and shot him six times. Galuzo died in the hospital a week later.

Bompensiero then disappeared from the West Coast for three years. Moceri gave him the names of some people who would safe-keep him in Detroit, where he remained for two years. He then went to Tampa and was protected by the Trafficante Family. When he returned to Los Angeles in June 1941, the murder charges against him were dropped due to lack of evidence.

After the murder of Bugsy Siegel in June 1947, hapless Los Angeles Mafia boss Jack Dragna attempted to take over the local gambling operations. He ran into a roadblock in the form of Mickey Cohen, one of Siegel’s top henchmen who was not willing to relinquish any of the rackets. The war was on.

Cohen did not see Fratianno as his enemy yet. On Aug. 18, 1948, Fratianno, along with his wife and daughter, visited Cohen’s haberdashery shop under the guise of picking up tickets to see the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Outside was a hit squad waiting for the Weasel’s signal. Fratianno thanked Cohen for the tickets and, before leaving, shook the pint-sized mobster’s hand. What Fratianno wasn’t aware of was that Cohen had a strange fetish for cleanliness. As soon as Fratianno left, Cohen immediately retreated to a bathroom to wash his hands.

Once outside, Fratianno signaled Frank DeSimone. A car containing Bompensiero and three other men pulled up. Bompensiero and two of the men jumped out. At the same time, Cohen bodyguard Hooky Rothman walked out. Bompensiero, wearing sunglasses and a white Panama hat pulled low over his forehead, stuck a sawed-off shotgun in Rothman’s face and ordered him back in the store. As the other two gunmen ran past him, Rothman swung at the shotgun causing it to go off. The blast obliterated his face, killing him instantly. Two other Cohen associates inside the store, Al Snyder and Jimmy Rist, were slightly wounded by Bompensiero’s associates, but the gunmen never got to Cohen, who had a uncanny knack for surviving attempts on his life.

After this failed attempt, Moceri would once more question Bompensiero’s ability:

"It was Bomp’s contract, and he blew it. Listen, (the others) didn’t know Mickey from a lamppost, but Bomp did. They go in there and blast away at Al Snyder thinking he’s Mickey. Then they shoot him in the arm, for Christ’s sake. While this’s going on, Mickey’s in the shitcan, standing on top of the sink. They didn’t pump one slug through that door. Like a bunch of cowboys, they panicked and ran out instead of finishing the job."

Around this time Jack Dragna appointed Bompensiero boss of the San Diego territory. He and Dragna jointly owned several bars in the area, including the Gold Rail where Bompensiero had his office. In the early 1950s, Fratianno met with Bompensiero there to discuss plans to murder Frank Borgia, an ex-bootlegger still tied to Dragna. Bompensiero explained to Fratianno that Gaspare Matranga was trying to extort money from Borgia, causing Borgia to lodge a complaint with Dragna. What Borgia didn’t know was that Dragna was in on the shakedown. Dragna ordered Bompensiero to murder Borgia. Bompensiero told Fratianno what a double-dealing rat Dragna could be. Making disparaging remarks about fellow Mafiosi behind their backs was a habit of Bompensiero’s that would eventually lead to his downfall.

The murder plot called for Borgia’s best friend to set him up – a standard Mafia murder practice. Anthony Mirabile brought Borgia to the home of Joseph Adamo. Once inside the front door, Mirabile grabbed Borgia in a bear hug, while Bompensiero and Fratianno performed what the Weasel called the "Italian rope trick:" a rope is looped around the victim’s throat and pulled from opposite ends until the person chokes to death.

A side note to this incident: Joseph Adamo’s brother was Giolamo "Momo" Adamo, a onetime underboss of the family. In 1956, Frank DeSimone was about to become boss of the Los Angeles Mafia. That year, according to a police informant, DeSimone raped Momo’s wife, Marie, in the presence of Momo. The humiliated Momo later shot his wife and then committed suicide in their San Diego home. Marie Adamo survived her wounds and later married Bompensiero.

Next on the hit parade was Louis Strauss, better known as "Russian Louie." Strauss had attempted to blackmail Benny "the Cowboy" Binion, a former Dallas bootlegger and now a Las Vegas developer. Apparently Strauss made his threats unaware that Binion had known Jack Dragna for many years. Binion promised Dragna a 25-percent interest in a future casino if he would handle this problem. It took 18 months, but in April 1953, Fratianno enticed Strauss into a setup in California. When Strauss entered the house Joe Dippolito performed the bear hug routine, while Bompensiero and Fratianno turned the Italian rope trick again. This time, oddly enough, four other mobsters were on hand to observe the strangling.

Several years later when the casino deal had failed to materialize, Fratianno brought this to Binion’s attention. Binion agreed to pay Fratianno $60,000 for murdering Strauss, a payoff the Weasel promptly split among his co-conspirators – Bompensiero, Dippolito, and "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio, who drove Strauss to the murder house.

In 1955, Bompensiero was convicted on three counts of bribery in the sale of a California liquor license and sentenced to three-to-14 years in San Quentin. He would serve five years. A year before Bompensiero’s release, Fratianno was transferred to the same prison. While together, Bompensiero related to the Weasel that while he was awaiting trial on the bribery charges, he killed "Red" Sagunda, an ex-Cleveland thug who had made his way to San Diego.

During the time Bompensiero and Fratianno were away in prison, major changes were taking place in the Los Angeles Mafia. Jack Dragna died in 1957 and was succeeded by lawyer-turned-mobster Frank DeSimone. The family, which would become known as the "Mickey Mouse Mafia," grew weaker under his leadership. When DeSimone died in 1968, his replacement, Nick Licata, would prove to be even less effective.

Bompensiero was on probation from 1960 to 1965, a period during which he avoided problems with the law and, along with Fratianno, sought a transfer to the Chicago mob. Only the Weasel got the transfer.

In the mid-1960s, Fratianno claims he and Bompensiero had a series of meetings with attorney Joseph L. Alioto, the future mayor of San Francisco. Bompensiero knew many of Alioto’s relatives back in his hometown of Milwaukee. One of Alioto’s relatives was the boss of the Milwaukee Mafia from 1953 to 1962. In addition, Bompensiero was the godfather of Alioto’s cousin’s child. Bompensiero tried to work out a deal with Alioto’s brother-in-law, Rudy Papale, to sell lard in Mexico. In 1968, when Alioto was mayor and under consideration as a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for vice president, these alleged meetings with Fratianno and Bompensiero would come back to haunt him. Alioto denied ever meeting Fratianno and swore in court, "I do not know and have never met Frank Bompensiero."

Although Bompensiero and Fratianno were close friends and shared many of their thoughts and feelings with each other, Bompensiero despised another intimate friend of the Weasel’s, Johnny Roselli. A representative of the Chicago mob in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Roselli, never a mob boss, commanded a great deal of respect. During the mid-1960s, Bompensiero told Fratianno about his reasons for disliking Roselli:

"These two guys (from Detroit) were having a feud and they went to see Joe Zerilli, each wanting the other guy clipped. So Mike Polizzi came to see me and this was strictly between us, nothing to do with the L. A. family. They tell me who they want clipped but I’ve got to do the job alone.

"As it happens I know the guy. So one night I see him at a party and I pull him aside. I says, ‘Look here, you’ve been having this problem and the old man’s given me the contract. I’m going to clip this guy but I’m going to need your help.’ Now this guy’s all happy, see, and I tell him I’ve got a bad back and I need him to dig the hole. We go out to this fornicating place I’ve picked out ahead of time and this guy starts digging the fornicating hole. Works like a sonovabitch, this guy, sweating bullets. So finally he says, ‘How’s that? Deep enough.’ I’m sitting down, resting, so I get up and I says, ‘It’s perfect.’ He starts climbing out of the hole and I shoot the cocksucker in the back of the fornicating head. Back down he goes in the hole and I fill it in."

Bompensiero then told Fratianno that he was supposed to receive a percentage of the profits from the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas as compensation for the hit. When the Detroit mobsters reneged, Bompensiero went to see Johnny Roselli, the so-called "man in Las Vegas" to settle the beef. Instead of settling it in Bompensiero’s favor, Roselli ended up with a percentage of the gift shop there. Although Roselli later claimed to Fratianno that one had nothing to do with the other, Bompensiero would always hold this against Roselli and would freely badmouth him to Fratianno and others.

In July 1966, a local newspaper in El Centro, Calif., reported that Fratianno’s trucking company was working on a freeway project in the Imperial Valley. As rumors of "Mafia control" became lead stories, an investigation was launched and state charges were filed against Fratianno, Bompensiero, and three others for criminal conspiracy. In January 1967, the charges were dropped against Bompensiero, but in the end Fratianno lost his lucrative trucking business.

Sometime in 1967, Bompensiero became an informant for the FBI. His first assignment may have been alerting the FBI that George Seach was on the mob’s hit list. Johnny Roselli had been indicted in December 1967 on charges of fleecing members of the Beverly Hills Friars Club out of $400,000 in rigged gin-rummy games. Scheduled to testify against Roselli was Seach, a member of the gang, who was granted immunity as a government witness. Roselli asked Fratianno to kill Seach. Bompensiero and others staked out Seach’s home, but Fratianno was soon notified that the FBI had removed Seach to Hawaii for safekeeping.

In the early 1970s, Bompensiero cozied up to Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, the Chicago mob’s new overseer in Las Vegas. Through this friendship, Bompensiero was able to do a little loansharking business in Las Vegas. In November 1975, he helped Spilotro locate and murder San Diego real-estate broker and investor Tamara Rand. Attacked in her home, the wealthy Rand was shot once in the head, once in the back, and three times under the chin once she was on the floor. The murder was carried out by Spilotro after Allen Glick, a mob-backed Las Vegas casino owner, complained to Chicago Mafia representatives that he was being pressured by Rand to make good on a promise he made to her following a $2 million loan.

After Nick Licata died in 1974, Dominic Brooklier took over the Los Angeles Mafia and things would go from bad to worse for Bompensiero. In 1975, Brooklier put out the word that Bompensiero was to be killed. Bompensiero’s loose lips and his constant bad mouthing of his mob associates, including Fratianno, led to this decision. Bompensiero would prove to be an elusive target.

As the months dragged on and Bompensiero was still alive, Louis Tom Dragna, the nephew of Jack and the acting family boss (Brooklier was serving a prison term), came up with a plan to put the San Diego boss at ease and bring him out in the open. They made Bompensiero consigliere of the Los Angeles Mafia. In March 1976, Bompensiero met with Louis Dragna and Fratianno in a restaurant to discuss family business and the pornography industry. During this meeting Bompensiero complained about getting rid of the "deadwood" in the family and was twice rebuffed for his comments by Dragna. When he got up to go to the bathroom, Dragna said to Fratianno, "He looks pretty relaxed, don’t you think? This’s working out great."

One of Bompensiero’s acts as consigliere was to help make a new member, Michael "Mike Rizzi" Rizzitello. The ceremony clearly indicated how far the Los Angeles Family had sunk. Bompensiero, Fratianno, and Dragna performed the initiation rite in Dragna’s automobile on a dirt road outside of Murrieta - Hot Springs, Calif. Instead of the traditional knife, gun, and burning saint, all they had was a sewing needle to prick Rizzitello’s finger.

During the March restaurant meeting, an FBI agent, sitting nearby, listened with interest as Fratianno talked about getting into the pornography business. The FBI then set up a dummy company called Forex and had Bompensiero endorse Forex to Fratianno and his associates. Fratianno, who avoided involvement with Forex, received a call not long after this from Rizzitello stating that the men who were running the Forex operation were FBI agents. He knew this because they had just served him with a subpoena. Fratianno and Rizzitello quickly realized that the endorsement to get involved with Forex had come from Bompensiero.

Fratianno got Bompensiero on the phone. He grilled him about the Forex operation, asking him where he got his information. Bompensiero made up a story about getting the information from a local pornography storeowner and told Fratianno he would check the guy out. Two days later Bompensiero called Fratianno and told him he had murdered the storeowner, a lie that confirmed the Weasel’s suspicions of Bompensiero.

As was his habit, Bompensiero would leave his home during the evening to walk to a payphone to place and receive important calls. On Feb. 10, 1977, the 71-year old Bompensiero took his last walk. On this night he encountered Los Angeles mob gunman Thomas Ricciardi, who murdered him. Ricciardi then jumped into a getaway car driven by Giacchino "Jack" LoCicero.

Fratianno would later meet up with Ricciardi and ask him about the murder. "Who was with you?" the Weasel inquired.

"Jack LoCicero. You know, that fornicating Bomp, he shit his pants when he saw me with the piece. He tried to give me a tough time," Ricciardi replied.

"How tough a time can a guy with four slugs in his head give you?" wondered Fratianno.

Like Bompensiero before him, Jimmy Fratianno eventually became an FBI informant and would later be forced into the Witness Protection Program. He testified at many trials and became a sort of rat celebrity appearing on CBS’s 60 Minutes and on documentaries about the mob. In addition, he helped write two books abut his life; The Last Mafioso, with Ovid Demaris, and Vengeance is Mine, with Michael J. Zuckerman.

In February 1978, Fratianno testified before a Los Angeles grand jury to his knowledge of the activities of the crime family and of Bompensiero’s murder. Indictments were then prepared. The U. S. vs. Brooklier, et al., began with jury selection on Sept. 30, 1980. The media pointed out that the trial would be "a real-life La Cosa Nostra vendetta being settled with full public disclosure."

Tommy Ricciardi had died during open-heart surgery in 1979. Because he was the one who had told Frantianno that LoCicero had been the driver in the Bompensiero murder, this testimony would not be allowed to be brought out in court. After a three-week trial, five ranking members of the Los Angeles Mafia – Brooklier, Dragna, LoCicero, Rizzitello, and Sam Sciortino – were convicted on 11 of 22 counts of the indictment. Ironically, each was acquitted of Bompensiero’s murder. In July 1984, Brooklier died in a prison medical center in Tucson.

Marie Bompensiero, Frank’s widow, sued the government for carelessly causing the murder of her husband. Fratianno was named in the suit. She was suing Fratianno for $1 million. Fratianno surmised, probably correctly, that San Diego and Los Angeles mobsters were behind the suit to either draw him out in the open or discredit his previous testimony. Both the cases were dismissed after three days of testimony.

In June 1993, Fratianno, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, died in his sleep at the age of 79.

[quote="scartissue"]Oh, man, what a thread! I miss a couple of days due to work schedule and I actually had to reacclimate myself by way of 6 or 7 pages that elapsed in the meantime.

Bennie: sorry to hear about Kevin Finnegan. Damn good fighter. 3 fights with Minter, 2 with Hagler, Kalule, Bouttier, Sterling, 2 with Tonna and a great late career win over Sibson. Deserves better than living in a park, but the grape can be deadly I guess.

Rick: terrific story about Crawford. What a character he must've been. Only saw him fight a couple of times (Mando Ramos I, Memo Morales, Chucho Alonso), but what I saw of him was impressive. Loved the way he would spin a fighter then attack.

Dago: any chance of posting a photo of your painting of El Gato?

Scar
This is really starting to bother me. I know nothing about computers. I have to get my son in law or grand daughter to show me how. In my classroom,we just finished studying the Civil War.I have kids asking me who won? But on the other hand,they fix my computer everytime it goes on the blink. I'll get that shot of Gato up there. I hope I don't have a panic attack before it happens.

BTW I was wondering where you went off to. I thought you ran away to Brazil or something with an exotic dancer. I'm trying to work something out like that.

[quote="dagosd2000BTW I was wondering where you went off to. I thought you ran away to Brazil or something with an exotic dancer. I'm trying to work something out like that.[/quote]


Dude, your wife is from Mexico, mine is from Belfast. You know we're going to get our arses kicked if we even think about that. LOL!!!

Scartissue