The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Our Trustworthy God Have your plans been derailed? Have your dreams experienced a detour? Has your life taken an unforeseen turn? It’s been said that God works in mysterious ways, which is absolutely true. And how His sovereignty (His supreme power and authority) interplays with human choices is equally laced with mystery. In his letter to the Romans, Paul acknowledges the unexpected hardships, suffering, and corruption the believers were dealing with at that time. But he also encourages them with these words: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Maybe you lost a loved one. Maybe someone you respect disappointed you. Maybe someone in your family received a hard diagnosis. Maybe your job title shifted, which has shaken your identity. Maybe reality doesn't match what you see on social media. Maybe you made a decision you regret. Maybe you’ve found yourself questioning God. Maybe someone you love walked away. Maybe you put your whole heart into something or someone, but it didn’t go how you hoped. Though it might seem hard to believe, God can use it all. The good and the bad. The polished and the messy. The planned and the unsettled. The clear and the misunderstood. The encouraging and the hurtful. God can work everything together for good. This doesn't mean that everything will BE good, or that everything will work out the way we want or expect. After all, we live in a broken, messy world. But—we can rest in the confident assurance that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, interceding, advocating, celebrating, and grieving with us. And one day, we will see the complete picture He is painting in our lives. Nothing we go through is wasted. And how does He do it? That’s where we have to lean into the mystery of God, because we cannot fully comprehend an infinite God.

An address can become a major part of a city’s history. In Boston’s North End, 98 Prince Street became one of those addresses. Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo was the underboss of the Patriarca family of La Cosa Nostra—the New England Mafia, a separate organization from the Winter Hill Gang. Federal court records describe his organization’s headquarters at 98 Prince Street and its gambling, racketeering and loansharking operations. Between January and May 1981, FBI agents conducted court-authorized electronic surveillance there and at 51 North Margin Street. The recordings became a major source of evidence at trial. Conversations taking place inside those North End premises were later played and examined in a federal courtroom. Following an eight-month trial, Angiulo was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, along with illegal gambling, extortionate-credit and obstruction offenses. His federal sentence was 45 years in prison. On March 5, 1990, the First Circuit upheld the defendants’ convictions and sentences, while reversing portions of the asset-forfeiture order. There is an important distinction in the legal history: a separate Massachusetts conviction for being an accessory before the fact to Angelo Patrizzi’s murder was reversed in 1993. That ruling should not be confused with the federal appeal. Angiulo’s case shows how recorded evidence helped prosecutors establish the operation of a criminal enterprise. It also reminds us that Boston’s North End is much more than its underworld history: generations of families, workers and businesses built the neighborhood’s enduring identity. Discussion question: How much did you know about the investigation at 98 Prince Street? https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/897/897.F2d.1169.86-1331.89-1800.89-1212.html https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/1993/415-mass-502-3.html

BOWERY BLITZKRIEG - The East Side Kids - 1941 - Full movie Starring Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Keye Luke, Warren Hull, Charlotte Henry and Martha Wentworth. The sixth installment of the popular "East Side Kids" programmers, a police officer (Warren Hull) turns a rowdy street punk away from crime by getting him involved in the Golden Glove program at the local gym. Meanwhile, a petty hoodlum leads a studious young man into a life of crime. Per Wikipedia: "Huntz Hall's first East Side Kids film. Hall receives a special credit ("Introducing Huntz Hall.). Around the same time, Hall had been working in Universal's Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys series, alongside other former Dead End Kids. During this period, Hall would be performing in both the Universal series, and Monogram's East Side Kids series. While Hall's character would be called 'Glimpy' for the remainder of the series, here he's called 'Limpy'." Not rated. Black and white. 62 minutes. Release date: August 1, 1941.

Frank Calabrese Jr. – The Reformed Chicago Outfit Associate Behind Operation Family Secrets Reformed mobster and son of notorious Chicago Outfit enforcer and hitman Frank Calabrese Jr. sits down with former undercover agents Giovanni Rocco and Dutch McAlpin to share his story of family, violence, addiction and life inside the Chicago Outfit. In this candid conversation Calabrese Jr. shares the intimate details surrounding his decision to leave the world his father pressured him into and how he risked his life to escape. Frank Calabrese Jr. is a former member of the Chicago Outfit and co-author of the best-selling book Operation Family Secrets: How a Mobster’s Son and the FBI Brought Down Chicago’s Murderous Crime Family. He was a key government witness whose testimony in the Operation Family Secrets trial devastated the Chicago Outfit and sent his father Frank Calabrese Sr. to prison for life. No longer living in fear of his father, see Calabrese Jr. at one of his weekly speaking engagements at The Mob Museum in Downtown, Las Vegas, Nevada in 2024.