Mafia Tech Support 323
Mzilikazi writes "A story from Wired about performing tech support for the mob, mainly focusing on gambling. Some interesting information is presented about P2P applications. Frankly it sounds like fiction to me (you can already imagine the movie being made -- 'I Was a Hacker for The Mob'), but the story is interesting nonetheless and shows that if you're skilled and determined but have a flexible moral compass, there's a lot of job opportunities out there." I started reading it for the mob references, but kept on reading for the details of how to run an illegal gambling organization.
Ouch Codefella! (Score:5, Interesting)
The author Simson Garfinkel could also get whacked because he knows the guy who talked.
Maybe it's too Hollywood, but would you even risk it? Would you? So maybe they didn't pay the guy enough? He says he makes 1/3 of $150k, but he likes living under the radar. That makes sense for about two seconds. I'd rather make $150k and keep it in my shoebox.
They aren't paying the guy enough, so he bragged about it to Wired, who published it.
The chain of stupidity doesn't stop there. Now the IRS is after this guy for tax evasion, and they can connect him to the writer of the story and the mob itself, meaning some mob boss at the top is shitting his pants right now -- if this is isn't total BS.
"But in the fog of all those poker games, I had neglected to take the humanities classes required for graduation. So I left without a degree and moved to New York City. My plan was to become a professional card player."
And now the FBI knows you by name.
ha! (Score:1, Interesting)
as opposed to an electronic transaction that can easily be snoop(1)'d by uncle sam. encrypted or not
looks like bs (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Stupid Excuses (Score:3, Interesting)
This guy doesn't agree with transportation systems, freeways, his (probably) public education, the fact that he can call 911 when he falls asleep with a bottle of scotch and a cigarette in his hand and his carpet starts on fire, etc, etc...
I highly doubt this book is even a true story anyway, so I don't know why I'm thinking about it, but this is the classic example of the freeloader problem. An excuse to take advantage of the services provided by other taxpayers' money.
Not so new news :) (Score:3, Interesting)
As an example, the taxi companies monitor each other's phones and poach clients needing a cab. Sounds simple, but the timing involved would put a shuttle launch to shame
Don't get me wrong....there's nothing glam about it. The crime/drug/prostitution/money laundering that masks the real victimization has zero redeeming status.
This should be AC but WTF .... (Score:5, Interesting)
This should be AC but WTF ....
Here is what I would like to get published in the next issue of Wired ...
Wired lies (Score:5, Interesting)
Not to say that there *arent* computer geeks working for the mob, but this particular is probably pure fiction and completely exagerated.
Nurturing the hacker fantasy (Score:2, Interesting)
despite the fact that this was written with such a fictionnal (and thus amusing) tone, and point of view (don't you think that it could have been a good introduction to a Casino-like movie ?), I have another concern about that kind of press release.
Such statements as "I'm a hacker for the mob and I'm proud of it" mix two differents things, that, even if they are well distinguished by the average geek population, might seem confusing, and maybe upseting, for the average non-geek population.
In a nutshell, this article will probably provide some more exposure for the 'bad, immoral, nasty hacker' character that is already wide-spread worldwide. If I'm not a /. reader and a willing-to-learn guy/girl (which is the case of many, many, many people around the globe), my first reaction will be to say : 'damn, those motherfuckers already put some viruses on my computer, now they're getting with the mob, ; kill'em'all, buddy, kill that fucking hacker'
By writing this, this guy wants to sail away from the hacker community ('yep guys, I fuck you deep, I earn 50000$ with my hacking skills'), AND from the whole mob, the true one. And this kind of behaviour had never resulted in something else that despise, anger, and fear from the uninformed people. Many people remain well uninformed about hackers at this time ; in my opinion, the hacker community shouldn't be labelled that way.
Because maybe at some point hackers will be hanged by the mob...
Regards,
Jdif
Re:If this guy exists... (Score:2, Interesting)
But he does condone the actions of the Mafia...?
And another thing: "$150,000 as a programmer on the open market. But I make a third of that. [...] When you start making a lot of money, you get noticed by the biggest bullies on the block - the cops and the IRS [...] Because I get paid entirely in cash, I don't fork over any taxes"
Tax is over 66% where he is? No wonder he hates the government...
Uh, yeah... (Score:3, Interesting)
Well done umofomia (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ouch Codefella! (Score:2, Interesting)
If I were this guy, I would have no quams about writing a story with no proper nouns in it for Wired.
Way back when.... (Score:4, Interesting)
It was fairly obvious from the job description, the fact that only first names were used, and the questions that were asked that the folks were the mob. I gave it a thought, and said, "Sir, it's an interesting concept, but I really have no interest in traveling off shore as the job would require. I wish you luck." Shook hands, and left. That was the last I heard of it, except to see what looked like one of the guys in the room doing the perp walk about 15 years later - Something about stolen cars
These guys were a bit higher tech than the folks in the wired article - they were talking N tier distributed architectues in the VERY early 80s
Re:Stupid Excuses (Score:3, Interesting)
Some people just prefer the crooked way, even though the straight way could even be easier.