“I’ll Let the Chips Fall Where They May”: The Life and Confessions of Mob Chef David Ruggerio

The new affiliation came with a requirement. Lombardozzi expected that members of his crew would find legitimate jobs to deflect law enforcement attention. Ruggerio had dim prospects. He was recently expelled from high school and had a criminal record. He did, though, have a secret passion: cooking. If he had to get a job, then he wanted to be a chef. Despite his heritage, Ruggerio had no desire to work in an Italian kitchen. “Italian restaurants were junk in those days. They were red-sauce places. You know, glorified pizzerias,” he said. In the early 1980s, French cuisine dominated the New… Read Full Article