My roommate, Samantha, my freshman year in college had the same background as I.  We are both Italian Catholics.  We would share funny stories about our crazy Italian relatives and one day she told me of a very unique story that is always told in her family.

Every Easter and Christmas her entire family gets together to celebrate the Catholic Holiday.  Every year the same stories are told at the table, but every year they seem so change slightly.

Samantha’s grandmother, Rita Grosso, was born in Italy and moved to the United States when she was very young.   When her family moved to the United States they first went through Ellis Island and then separated between New Jersey and Philadelphia.  Her Grandmother’s Uncle, Vincent Grosso, came with the family to the new country.  He was supposedly in the Italian mob.  However, when they made the move to the United States he decided to be “good”.  All the knowledge that he acquired in the mob, he decided to put to a better use, the FBI.  Vincent began working with the FBI.  However, when the Italian mob found out one of their own was working with the government they were extremely upset.  The story goes that the mob masters found Vincent Grosso, gave him cement shoes, and dropped him into the ocean.

However, Samantha recalls that the story has changed over the years.  She remembers when she was a child that, Vincent got cement shoes and was never seen again.  There was nothing about being dropped into the ocean.  So in reality, no one in the whole family besides Grandma Rita knows the truth about Uncle Vincent, and whether he was even in the mob at all.  Moreover, every year there is usually a new member of the Grosso family so Samantha’s grandma feels the need to worn the “new Italian” about the dangers of the mob