Sasha @ Goodfellas
In order to gain an authentic feel to the famous 1990 film, director Martin Scorsese hired actual mob members to act alongside 'Bobby' De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta. Sasha was chosen from around 2,500 hopefuls to play mob boss Sasha "The Snake" Pazeski. His role included instructing De Niro on the finer points of breaking someone's ankles with a baseball bat, laundering drug money stolen from Cuban cartels and racketeering.
"It was was fun" says Sasha, "...a few times we had to stop filming so I could beat some sense into a Chinese shop owner who failed to see the logic in paying me protection money. Then I had to book a restaurant for the annual dock workers ball. That took hours fine tuning the menu, seating arrangements and decorations. Hey, they don't call it organised crime for nothing you know."
His role in Goodfellas led to an Oscar nomination but was beaten by golden boy Tom Hanks who mysteriously disappeared soon after the ceremony. His body, cement boots and all, was recovered from the bottom of the Brooklyn River a week later. "Oh really?" Sasha was quoted on hearing the news. "That's unfortunate. Big is one of my favourite movies."
Sasha still continues to organise jewel heists, add crooked cops to his payroll and write haiku poetry...
A cop owed me cash
I stepped on his puny neck
and shot his knees out
-Sasha 'The Snake'
©2000 Career Girls
