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A Brief History of the St. Germaine Family
JACQUE ST. GERMAINE was a simple boy that desperately needed work. He ran errands for Mr. Ramon Gambini while the Louisiana sun beat down on his neck and the hot asphalt melted the soles of his shoes. Still, he did his errands without a word of complaint, which impressed Mr. Gambini. There was no task the young boy wouldn’t get done.
Over the years, as Jacque St. Germaine became more familiar with the Gambini Family business, he moved up to being a bagman. He was entrusted to pick up loan and protection payments. As a soldier, Jacque St. Germaine carried a set of brass knuckles that he used on those who could not pay. To this day, his great, great grandson and current Boss, Dominic St. Germaine, carries them in his pocket.
In the Mafia, when a member of The Family committed their first clip (murder) it was known as "making your bones”. Jacque made his bones at the tender age of fifteen. By committing this clip, he proved his loyalty to Mr. Gambini and The Family.
Years later, Phillip Morella, the police commissioner for the City of New Orleans, had refused to accept any bribes, which infuriated Mr. Gambini. When Jacque clipped Phillip Morella, he quickly made rank as Mr. Gambini’s underboss. This significant promotion meant he was now the Boss’ most trusted right-hand man and second-in-command. If Mr. Gambini were killed or imprisoned, Jacque would assume the duties as The Boss.
In 1902, Jacque St. Germaine took over for the Gambini Family. That year he purchased an old, run down hotel in the French Quarter and turned it into one of the most popular hotels in New Orleans. As soon as he did that, his competitors saw the brilliance and followed suit. However, their Family’s hotel became one of the finest hotels in the French Quarter in record time. The penthouse suite became home for Jacque St. Germaine, where he lived for many years. Jacque St. Germaine made sure that his penthouse suite was the finest. No expense had been spared when he furnished the place.
Typically the structure of the Mafia had rules implemented to prevent nepotism in the ranks. Membership and rank in the Mafia were not a birthright, and new Bosses should not be related to their predecessor. Some Mafia Families forbid relatives from holding positions in that Family at the same time. However, when Jacque St. Germaine took over as Boss, he wanted to bring his sons into the trade, with the eldest taking his position as Boss when the time came. From there it became a Family tradition that the eldest son took over as Boss.
The Family’s longest running and most profitable venture from the beginning was protecting “clients” from theft. From there they ventured into racketeering and other areas such as bootlegging. The Prohibition era in the 1920s provided The Family the best opportunity to flourish.
As commerce and trade picked up in New Orleans, they offered clients the option to threaten their competition with ‘force’. If two businessmen happened to be competing for a bid on a contract, the client sometimes asked the Family to “convince” the rival to drop out of the bidding process. The Family could be convinced to pressure local restaurants and bars into carrying their client’s products.
Another profitable business venture was loan sharking. Over thirty percent of small businesses here were indebted to his Family and with the current state of the economy, that number had increased drastically. Companies and individuals came to them since the banks had tighter lending practices.
Each new Boss of the Family would start a new business venture. His grandfather helped the business grow even bigger by cashing in on the construction industry and obtaining payoffs for not only certain government contracts but private contracts as well. His grandfather had gotten this idea when a politician requested help to obtain votes during his election. His grandfather’s endorsement had been enough to help that politician win the election. The politician repaid his debt by helping with any contract and permit that his grandfather needed. Vote buying turned into another lucrative venture as The Family asked clients, relatives and associates to vote for a certain candidate. Those politicians in turn repaid the favor in cash or with a particular favor such as helping to sabotage a police investigation or awarding a needed contract or permit. Over the years, they received kickbacks from quite a few influential politicians and badges (law enforcement officials).
Recently they had begun to infiltrate several banks in smaller towns. This had been a smart move on their part. It provided them the perfect cover to launder money without having to answer a lot of questions.
Presidents and other members on the bank boards were so greedy that they could easily be coerced into “helping” his Family get what they needed. Once they moved into a small town, it was usually easy to convince the town mayor and others to turn the other way when they, or their business associates, came into town. Occasionally, they did have a mayor or chief of police who refused to cooperate. However, when the next election came around, they made sure to buy enough votes to get that mayor or chief of police out of office.
Several land owners greedily accepted money for the use of their land. They didn’t care how they used the land, and never asked. If they became curious, they were quickly quieted.
One of their latest ventures was acquiring casinos and turning New Orleans into an international gambling mecca. This gave them an increased influx of money. His Family also controlled most of the waterfront commerce in the port of New Orleans, which allowed them more control of the port. It quickly became known that whenever a shipment came into New Orleans, a fee must be paid to The Family to dock on the area of the port they owned.
The club where the business started still stood and had changed very little. The interior of the club remained dark and smoke filled. No one here cared that the bars were supposed to be smoke free facilities now. A large mahogany bar ran from left to right. Several pool tables were placed strategically throughout, and the only addition to the bar was an assortment of video gambling machines. The Family still kept an office in the back to conduct business when needed, but more often than not, business meetings were handled elsewhere.
The café where Mr. Gambini liked to eat his meals had also remained open, mainly thanks to the sentimental value of his Family. To this day, men sat out front sipping on strong chicory coffee while watching the street lined with cars and sidewalk bustling with people. The café still had a heavy Italian flare. The bistro tables outside each had an umbrella with the name of the café imprinted on it. On the inside, the atmosphere was cozy. White tablecloths adorned each table with a candle in the center. The interior was kept dark and the main light came from an exquisite chandelier that hung in the middle of the restaurant.
Whenever he entered the café, Dominic, the present day Boss, envisioned Mr. Gambini sitting at a back table smoking a cigar and carrying on a business meeting. He had seen pictures of Mr. Gambini sitting at a far back table and even then he was an imposing man. His jet black hair was always slicked back in the photos, and his dark eyes appeared to stare right through you.
The poker room in the back was still used to this day. Whenever you entered the back room, you never knew who would participate in the poker game. It could be a prominent lawyer, doctor, politician, judge or other businessman. They came to blow off steam. Several of the more prominent people that played here had a brass nameplate to hold their seat. As a person passed away and their seat was vacated, the nameplate was moved to the wall of honor out of respect. Another wall showed the names of those who did not fulfill their debts. A code of silence was implemented for this room, and none of the names on the walls or table were to be spoken outside of this room. To do so meant permanent removal from the game.
Now, if one of these prominent businessmen or women was unable to pay their gambling debt, then they were treated the same as one of the local business owners that couldn’t pay. After all, the Family didn’t get where they were by turning the other cheek for anyone.