Honey In The Sun – RICO

My youngest son, Mark, and his amazing wife, Sara (Nee Moran) – that’s right, her dad is the real Jimmy Moran, who along with M&S (and sister Dana) are all authentic NYPD Blue. I am extremely proud of all of their selfless efforts – along with their 30+K brothers and sisters – to keep NYC safe against incredible odds. God Bless & Protect The Blue.

M&S are both posted in the CP area of Manhattan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_New_York

They both have lots of stories to tell. And I’m sure they will when the time is right.

But in their free time they also are shepherds of the one set of creatures without which we would all soon perish.

Mark and Sara are bee keepers. https://jaxandcobees.com/

They started out with 3 hives in 2022 and now support 15+ hives on their beautiful property in Warwick NY. (Yes, that is why I used Warwick as the false history location for Jimmy and Gina in their WITSEC lives).

M&S’s honey – which is absolutely delicious – has been a favorite treat for the bees and wasps that visit Casa Claire. That’s right, during the fair weather, Claire has been running a speak easy Honey Bar for those local buzzers which I have documented in past blogs from last summer and fall. It’s become quite the social Hymenoptera hot spot.

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-bee-and-a-wasp

The NoCo bees/wasps love the exotic NYS flavor. They say it has an edge.

Mark and Sara deliver regular orders from Warwick to Berthoud (family discount) – but they deliver anywhere in the US. You fine, five readers should check out their website.

https://jaxandcobees.com/about

Anyway, so, Mark’s birthday is Middlemarch and Lisa and I were trying to figure out what to get him.

Yesterday we got an email flyer from Fleet Farm, an on-line shopping source for all things equine related. We have purchased lots of items for Claire and Honey from that company.

This FF flyer was offering the Spring sale of productive hives of bees that contain a queen and about 30+k bees. Who knew that was a thing?! Comparable to putting all of the citizens of NoCo in the mail.

FF was offering a selection of hives of either Italian or Carniolan honey bees. Who knew bees were so culturally and geographically distinct?

Now it seems that Italian Bees are the number one type of bees raised by beekeepers in the US. Carniolans, or “Carnies” come in at #2.

I get that. Italians are a beautiful people. Sara’s lovely mother, Liz, is Italian. Jimmy and Liz hail from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Sara looks 100% Italian. Stunning young lady.

Mark was genetically predisposed, as I had a predilection for Italians in my youth.

Of course Italian bees would be the most popular.

When I asked Mark which kind of bee he preferred, he said they have raised both, but that Carnies were “hardier.”

So, I did a little of my own research on the two types of bees and indeed, their workers live 12% longer that their Italian counterparts. They are also known to be gentler and better around populated areas. They are more resistant to the brood diseases that have decimated the bee population in the past few years. They also are more easily orientated to their new surroundings. And they handle longer winters better than other species. They hail from the Slovenia region of the Southern Alps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniolan_honey_bee

But then I read something about the Carnie’s that sounded like it leapt from the pages of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. It made my blood run cold.

“Not as prone to robbing from other hives relative to the Italian honey bee.”

Well, with today’s incendiary political climate, and my 4 decades of legal experience always whispering in my ear, I did not want to chance M&S being brought up on trumped up RICO (“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations”) charges because their Italian bees started knocking over some of the neighboring bee hives, especially if they crossed state lines to do it.

So, I went with the Carnies.

I mean, with Sara’s Bensonhurst Heritage – it would not take much in today’s fluid legal system to make a connection, especially with the brilliant people running the criminal AG and DA offices in their home state –

https://bklyner.com/10-most-ruthless-mobsters-from-bensonhurst-bensonhurst/

I believe the Bannano Crime family finds their roots there.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/joe-bonanno#:~:text=The%20Bonanno%20crime%20family%20was%20small%20but%20effective.,bookmaking%20to%20numbers%20running%2C%20prostitution%2C%20and%20real%20estate.

And Joe B went on to be a writer – shit another connection.

And the Jimmy Moran in The Claire Saga is a mob lawyer. And my partner Robert Meloni – a fine Italian is also a mob lawyer in The Wise Ass. Damn it. I’m making the government’s RICO case for them.

And the fact that these bees were being delivered across state lines. That brings the Feds into it.

I know, I’m probably just being paranoid, brought on by the thin oxygen level in this altitude and my isolation in the Hinterlands. But better safe than sorry. And these Carnies are delivered with a certificate of authenticity that proves their Slovenia origin. Better lay that paper trail right from the outset. Better keep that Slovenia Certificate in a hermetically sealed, hidden location. Maintain that chain of custody. I wouldn’t want that evidence to go missing.

Oh, this family thing of ours.

Better keep my NYS legal license up to date. Better give Hemi Group, LLC v. City of New York, 559 U.S. 1 (2020) another going over just to have the law handy. If NY can try to go after cigarettes’ can bees be far behind.

Maybe Franz Kafka was onto something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trial

The writers have always been the prophets.

Well, luckily, that is all the legal analysis I will perform this Monday.

Thank God it’s President’s Day. A federal holiday.

At least until they find some reason to do away with it.

But since I cannot control the future, I will just enjoy the present.

I still have some outdoor chores to take care of. All of that fine dining has made the mules extra productive in the muffin department.

But first, a kitty cuddle and my rounds.

You fine, five readers use this Not Working Monday in as frivolous a way as you can think of.

Maybe read a book.

Maybe buy some Honey.

But no matter what else we do, let us make today a great one.