Rhode Islanders partly repulsed, partly fascinated by our criminal heritage.

Rhode Island has a strange syndrome. We'll call it Mafia Nostalgia.

It's pretty much a chronic condition, but there's a particular flare-up at the moment, thanks to a series of podcasts called "Crimetown," the No. 1 podcast in the country last week.

"Crimetown," produced by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier, focuses on organized crime in a series of American cities. Guess which city they tackled first?

"There's something of a romance between Providence and its gangsters," said Smerling, who co-produces "Crimetown" with Stuart-Pontier.

Smerling said there's a certain perverse pride that little Rhode Island was the center of the New England Mafia: It's one area where Providence overshadowed Boston.

Sure, they have the Red Sox. But we had Raymond L.S. Patriarca.

For better or worse (mostly worse), Rhode Island has a certain unsavory reputation that lingers to this day. A few weeks ago, I saw a map of New England stereotypes on Facebook. Vermont's entry read, "Hippie college students and Bernie Sanders." Southern New Hampshire had "Cheap booze and fireworks." Maine's was "lobstahs" and Stephen King. The entire state of Rhode Island was simply labeled "Criminals."

Not exactly Chamber of Commerce material.

I'm not saying that everyone in the state is nostalgic for the days when crime boss Patriarca ruled the roost in New England. And even among those who are interested by that part of our history, the fascination is often mixed with revulsion.

Still, there are those who can't resist pointing out the former Coin-O-Matic on Federal Hill, the humble building where Patriarca ran his criminal empire.

And then there's reporters. Yeah, us.

By and large, reporters love writing about organized crime. Let's face it, what's more fun, covering the North Kingstown Planning Commission or the guys who carry guns and bear nicknames such as Frank "Bobo" Marrapese Jr. and Alfredo "The Blind Pig" Rossi?

Tim White, investigative reporter for WPRI-TV, Channel 12, has Mafia reporting in his DNA. His dad was investigative reporter Jack White, and young Tim used to hear stories about wise guys and their nefarious deeds before bedtime. White likes to joke that while other kids grew up hearing "Casey at the Bat," he got Casey getting hit by the bat.

"I was fascinated by it from the time I was a kid," White said.

He's even got a favorite mob nickname: Pete "Quiet Burp" Mantia.

White is co-author, along with former Providence Journal reporters Randall Richard and Wayne Worcester, of "The Last Good Heist," about a crew of thieves who robbed a secret "bank" used by organized crime in Rhode Island. (The book is another reason for that outbreak of Mafia Nostalgia.)

White has done recent stories, under the title "Anatomy of a Mob Dig," about investigators trying to identify the human remains found behind a mill building on Branch Avenue in Providence. The remains are believed to be the earthly remnants of Steven DiSarro, a Boston nightclub owner killed in 1993. Mob boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme has been indicted in the murder.

White said crime stories usually get big audiences. "By whatever metrics we apply here [at Channel 12], there's an enormous amount of interest whenever we do stories about organized crime," he said.

White said the mob is part of the culture in Rhode Island. People grew up with it. And because of the state's small size, it's more tangible to people here than in, say, New York.

"There's always a small degree of separation in Rhode Island," White said, and lots of folks "knew a guy who knew a guy."

But White said he is not trying to sugarcoat organized crime. "We need to show it for what it really is," he said. "It's not 'The Sopranos.' It's not glamorous. It's not sexy."

And White said organized crime, both as reality and as a Rhode Island stereotype, has held the state back for decades.

But every time he runs an organized crime story, White said, he gets at least one phone call telling him the streets were safer when the mob ran things. (They actually weren't, White said.)

Steven O'Donnell has spent much of his life fighting organized crime. A former superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, he spent six years undercover as a mob associate. He's now CEO of the Greater Providence YMCA.

"It's not just local interest [in organized crime], it's national," said O'Donnell. "People are fascinated by that world. Look at all the movies, like 'The Godfather.' But Rhode Island was such a mecca, and its size made it unique ... from New Jersey up to Boston, Providence became the brand."

O'Donnell, who worked with Smerling on "Crimetown," said he knows many Italian-Americans in Rhode Island who hate the way Mafia stereotypes reflect on their heritage.

And, like White, he said it's a mistake to glamorize the mob in Rhode Island.

"They operated through fear. They were not tough guys with their hands. They were tough with a gun to the back of your head," he said.

"Crimetown" producer Smerling said people have been fascinated by crime since before Shakespeare started writing plays. "It's the presentation of dramatic action in its most distilled form," he said.

In Providence, Smerling said, the inherent drama of crime is combined with an odd intimacy.

"Somehow you can see yourself in it," he said. "These are guys who grew up in the projects in Providence. It's unusual and very relatable at the same time."

— asmith@providencejournal.com

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