Podcasts about Cascio

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, futurists Bob Johansen and Jamais Cascio join the conversation to explore the ideas behind their new book, The Age of Chaos: A Sense-Making Guide to a BANI World That Doesn't Make Sense. Both guests bring decades of deep foresight work, scenario planning, and leadership insight—Bob through more than 50 years with the Institute for the Future, and Jamais as the originator of the BANI framework (“brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible”). Their combined perspectives create a powerful lens for leaders facing a world where old assumptions and linear playbooks no longer hold.Across the discussion, they argue that today's disruptions are not isolated shocks. They are interconnected, compounding forces that make the environment fundamentally different from the “VUCA world” many leaders were trained for. Johansen and Cascio unpack how brittleness shows up in organizations disguised as efficiency, why anxiety has become a rational and necessary signal, and how nonlinearity rewrites traditional cause-and-effect expectations. They challenge leaders to rethink certainty, decision-making, and the stories they tell inside their organizations.At the heart of the conversation is a clear message: leading in a BANI world requires a shift in mindset. The best leaders will cultivate clarity instead of certainty, ask better questions instead of providing fast answers, and build organizations that bend rather than break under pressure. Cascio highlights how empathy, diverse perspectives, and even “useful wrongness” serve as strategic advantages. Johansen pushes leaders to think farther into the future than they are comfortable with—then work backwards to create resilient clarity in the present.The episode does not offer easy fixes. Instead, it gives listeners a framework for making sense of complexity, a set of practices to strengthen foresight, and a renewed understanding of the human side of leadership in chaotic times. For CEOs, board members, and senior executives navigating relentless uncertainty, this conversation provides both grounding and a challenge: to lead with more humility, more imagination, and more future-back discipline.Actionable TakeawaysYou'll learn why “clarity beats certainty” and how leaders who project confidence without openness can miss critical signals in chaotic environments.Hear how to spot brittleness in your systems—and why high efficiency often hides vulnerabilities that collapse under stress.You'll learn why a healthy level of anxiety is necessary and how leaders can use it to sharpen attention without slipping into dysfunction.Hear how to apply foresight as a leadership practice, using scenarios not to predict the future but to “vaccinate” your organization against emerging risks.You'll learn why nonlinear environments break traditional planning, and how to cultivate neuro-flexibility and improvisational leadership.Hear how storytelling becomes a strategic tool, helping leaders create meaning, focus attention, and align teams in moments of uncertainty.You'll learn why cross-generational leadership is becoming a competitive advantage, especially as digital natives bring new skills to nonlinear problem-solving.Connect with Bob Johansen and Jamais CascioBook Website Institute for the FutureJamais Cascio LinkedInConnect with Mahan Tavakoli: Mahan Tavakoli Website Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn Partnering Leadership Website

Mark Cascio makes his monthly appearance on the podcast, discussing late season adjustments, both on and off the court.Check out SAVI CoachingThis episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models. Get $100 off the IC3 Basketball Shot Trainer with the code TONYMILLER (or click this link).If you're already using tools like FastDraw, FastScout, or FastRecruit—you know how essential they are to your workflows. And now that they're fully part of the Hudl ecosystem, they're more powerful than ever. From film and play diagrams to scouting reports and custom recruiting boards, everything flows together. One system. Built for high-performance programs. Learn more at hudl.com/aquicktimeout. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Gangland Wire, Mafia Genealogist Justin Cascio joins Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins to explore one of the most remarkable—and overlooked—figures of the Prohibition era: Pasqualina Albano Siniscalchi, the so-called Bootleg Queen of Springfield, Massachusetts. At the dawn of Prohibition in 1921, Pasqualina was a young widow living in Springfield's South End when she inherited her late husband's powerful bootlegging operation—one of the largest in western Massachusetts. Rather than step aside, she took control. Pasqualina ruled a crew of toughs and bootleggers, oversaw liquor distribution, and launched a relentless campaign of vengeance against rivals who challenged her authority. Newspapers dubbed her The Bootleg Queen, but her fight went far beyond rival gangs. She clashed with lawmakers, battled competing bootleggers, and even faced resistance from within her own family—all while operating in service of a secret society that would never fully accept her because she was a woman. Her story exposes the contradictions of organized crime: loyalty demanded without equality, power wielded without recognition. Cascio draws from years of meticulous research and family histories to bring Pasqualina's story to life, revealing her pivotal role in early Mafia expansion in New England and the hidden influence women could wield behind the scenes. His book, Pasqualina: The True Story of the Bootleg Queen of Springfield, challenges long-held assumptions about gender, power, and the Mafia during Prohibition. If you're interested in Prohibition-era crime, New England Mafia history, or the untold stories of women who shaped organized crime from the shadows, this episode is one you won't want to miss. Learn more about Justin and his work on Mafia Geneology by clicking this sentence. Get Justin’s book, Pasqualina: The Bootleg Queen of Springfield, Massachusetts Listen now on Gangland Wire — available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube. 0:02 Introduction to Mafia Genealogy 1:16 Pasqualina Albano’s Story 2:30 Family Reunion Revelations 4:56 The Impact of Prohibition 7:45 Prejudice and Organized Crime 10:50 Connecting the Genovese Family 12:34 Views from Sicily 13:50 Cultural Differences in Dress 16:37 Encounters with Modern Gangsters 18:36 Gina’s Documentary and Art 23:53 The Romance of the Gangster 27:24 The Nature of Risk 28:46 The Evolution of Organized Crime 33:16 Closing Thoughts and Future Plans Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. Transcript [0:00] Hey, all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I’ve got on tap here a repeat guest. He’s been on before. I had a little technical glitch this morning with the internet, and I had to scurry around and do something different. I totally forgot about what I was going to talk about with Justin, but I knew Justin’s been on there before. I knew he does mafia genealogy, and I knew he knows his stuff, and so he doesn’t really need a lot of help from me. So this is Justin Cascio from the website and some books, some mafia genealogies. Welcome, Justin. Thanks so much, Gary. Great to be here. Really. And you’re from the Springfield, Massachusetts area. And so that’s been some of your emphasis has been on that area. But you’ve done a lot of other mob genealogy, correct? Yes. On my website, on mafiagenealogy.com, I write about a whole lot of different places that the mafia has been in the United States. In fact, coming up, I’m going to be writing about Kansas City. But for the last 25 years or so, I’ve lived in New England. I live about 20 miles away from Springfield, Massachusetts, which if you’ve heard of Anthony Aralata or Bruno or the Shabelli brothers, then you know the Springfield crew of the Genovese crime family. [1:12] And I’ve been following them pretty closely since I’ve lived here. A few years ago, I got into the story of Pasqualina Albano, who was a bootlegger in Springfield during Prohibition. [1:25] That’s what my new book is about. Yeah. Oh, that’s a new book, right? I’m sorry. I didn’t pick up real quick there. And she’s done a documentary recently that hasn’t been seen by very many people. And they really, she was a woman. They do use the A at the end. Those of us that know about romance languages would know as probably a woman, but she’s a woman. And she was running a certain segment of bootlegging back during the 30s and late 20s, exactly when it was, which is really unusual. She must have been a powerful individual. I think that she was a very remarkable person, so I couldn’t find out enough about her. I really needed to understand how it was possible that somebody who the Mafia would never have accepted as a member allowed her to lead this crew for so long, even into the years when it was associated with Vito Genovese and that crime family. Yeah. Don’t you imagine it was, she must have been making money for them. [2:24] She was making money for her family, for sure. Got a few people probably pretty comfortable, yeah. [2:30] So that family, you went to a family reunion recently and learned quite a little bit. You want to tell your experiences about that? Yes. So, Pasqualea Albano, that bootlegger, has a nephew who is now 101 years old. His name is Mario Fiore. And when he turned 100, I was invited to his birthday party. And it was an enormous scene. It was tremendous. In fact, it’s a cliche, but the opening scene of The Godfather, if you imagine that wedding scene, it’s what it looks like. There’s a guy singing live on a PA system. There’s a pizza oven parked over here. There’s kids in the pool. There’s so many people, so much food, and this great big lawn and incredible view. Just an amazing scene to be at. And I met so many different people who were in Mario’s family. I met people who came over from Italy to come celebrate his birthday and talked with them as much as I could. I have no Italian, by the way. So we did the best we could. But I also talked to her American relative. She has all these grand nieces and nephews, and nieces and nephews who are still living, who were at this party and told me stories and drew little family trees for me. And what I was able to get a real good sense of is how the family feels about this legacy. Because not just Pasqualina, who was in organized crime, so many of her relatives were involved as well and continued to be up until the 80s, at least. [4:00] So the name, was it Albano? Was it got on in the modern times? The last name, was it still Albano? Was there another name? There are a few. Let’s see. I want some more modern names. There’s Mario Fiore. So he is one of her nephews. And then there’s Rex Cunningham Jr., who is one of her grandnephews. There’s the Sentinellos. So Jimmy Sentinello, who owns the Mardi Gras, or he did anyway. It’s a nude club, you know, a gentleman’s club, as they say. A gentleman’s club. We use that term loosely. Oh, boy, do we? Another old term that I picked up from the newspapers that I just love and like to bring back is sporting figure. Yeah, even sporting man. They don’t play sports. They’re not athletes. They’re sporting figures. I know. I heard that when I was a kid. Somebody was a sporting man. Yep. [4:57] This has been a family tradition. It’s something that has been passed down through the generations, and it’s something that I talk about in the book. But mostly what I’m focused on in the plot of the story is about Pasqualea’s time during Prohibition when this gang was turning into something bigger, turning into a part of this American mafia. Yeah. Interesting. And so tell us a little bit about how that developed. You had a Genovese family that moved in and she got hooked up with them. How did that develop? Yeah. More end of modern times. Early on, so 1920, beginning of Prohibition, Pasqualea Albana was newly married to this sporting figure, we’ll call him, Carlo Sinascocci. And I’m probably pronouncing that last name as wrong as well. He also came from a family of notable people who were involved in organized crime, getting into scrapes in Little Italy, New York City. There’s a whole separate side story about his cousins and all the things that they were getting into before Carlo even got on the scene. So by the time he arrived in New York City, he had a bit of a reputation preceding him because of these relatives of his. [6:06] And Pascalina was a young woman in Springfield. And the first question I even had writing about her is, how did she meet this guy? He was a Brooklyn saloon keeper. She was the daughter of a grocer in Springfield, three and a half hours away on the train. Like, why do they even know each other? And so trying to piece all that together, how that was reasonable for them to know one another and move in the same circles, and then for him to immediately, when he moved to Springfield, start picking up with vice because it was before Prohibition. So he was involved in gambling and police violence. And you could see some of the beginnings of the corruption already happening where he’s getting police protection before prohibition even begins. And then once it starts, he is the king of Water Street, which was the main drag of Little Italy. He was the guy you went to if you wanted to buy wholesale. [6:57] Justin, I have a question here. I was just discussing this with who’s half Italian, I guess, FBI agent that worked the mob here in Kansas City. We were talking about this, the prejudice that Italian people felt when they first got here, especially. And Bill’s about 90, and so he said his father told him. His father worked at a bank in New York, and he was told that with that last name, he had a different last name than Bill does. And with that last name, he said, you’re owning and go so high in the bank. And so talk a little bit about the prejudice that those early people felt. And that’s what drove people into the dark side, if you will, to make money. You had these bright guys that came over from Sicily looking for opportunity. And then us English and Irish Germans kept them out. [7:45] And so can you talk about that a little bit? Did they talk about any of that or have you looked into any of that? [7:52] I have. And it’s a theme that comes up again and again. Whenever I look at organized crime in any city, I’m seeing things like that ethnic succession of organized crime that you’re alluding to, how the Irish were controlling, say, the machine in Kansas City Hall or what have you. And they had that same kind of control over politics in other cities, too. And the way that they were getting a leg up and finally getting that first protection of their rackets was from outside of their ethnicity. It was Irish politicians protecting Italian criminals. And then eventually the Italians were getting naturalized where they were born here. And so then they move into politics themselves. [8:31] And that is one of the theories about how organized crime develops in American cities. It’s because you’re poor and ethnic and you’re closed out of other opportunities. And so the bright kids get channeled into organized crime where maybe in a better situation, they would have gone to college. Right. And then Prohibition came along, and there was such a huge amount of money that you can make in Prohibition. And it was illegal. That’s why you made money. But there was opportunity there for these young guys. Yes. And you really start to see a lot of new names in the papers after Prohibition begins. You have your established vice criminals who you’re already seeing in the newspapers through the 19-teens. Once Prohibition begins, now they have all these other guys getting into the game because there’s so much money there. And it’s such a big pie. Everybody feels like they can get a slice. [9:21] Yeah, interesting. Carry on. I’ve distracted you, Azai, but you were talking about Pasqualina and her husband. Of course, I’m not even going to try that. When you talk about discrimination against Italians, one of the things that makes my job really hard is trying to find news about a guy with a name like Carlos Siniscalchi. First of all, I’m probably saying it wrong. I think the Italian pronunciation is… So I’m getting all of the consonant clusters wrong, but I do it with my own name too. We’ve Americanized Cassio. That’s not the right name. How do you pronounce it? It’s Cassio. But we’re Cassio. That’s my grandfather said it. So how do I find Carlos Nescalci in the newspaper when every reporter mangles that name? And spells it differently. Yeah. Everybody spells it differently. How am I going to guess how all these different English speaking reporters were going to mess up Carlos’ name? And so I find it every which way. And sometimes I’ve just had to plain stumble over news about him and his relatives. It just happens by chance. I’m looking for general crime, and then I find him specifically. So yeah, it’s a little hard to find the Italians sometimes because their names are unfamiliar and they get written wrong in censuses and in the news. So we lose a little bit of their history that way. And that’s what you might call, I don’t know, a microaggression because they can’t get that name. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, yeah. You don’t care enough to spell it. I just, I know the thought process, I have to admit. I’ll just spell it anyway. I understand that thought process. [10:51] So you were asking earlier, I don’t know if you want me to continue this, but how the Genovese family were able to get involved in this thing going on in Springfield. Yeah, connected. Because of her second husband. Okay. Pascalina lost her first husband in 1921. He was killed by a fellow bootlegger. He takes over the gang. She conducts a war of vengeance against the guy who kills her husband and his whole family because they’re gangsters. And that takes years. She’s also pursuing her through the courts. And when that all finally gets settled a few years later, she has a quiet little second marriage to a guy that nobody had ever heard of called Antonio Miranda. [11:28] Now, Antonio Miranda is a small time gangster from Little Italy, New York City, and his brother is Mike Miranda, who is very close to Vito Genovese, and he became this conciliator eventually. So that old connections, going back to the days before the Castello-Moraisi War, when it was Lucky Luciano bootlegging with some of his pals, that’s the time frame in which she formed this alliance by marrying Tony Miranda. And that’s when it starts. That’s the relationship’s beginning between Genovese crime family having, before it was even the Genovese crime family, when it was the Luciano family. And so they’ve had that relationship with the Springfield crew ever since. A little bit like old world feudalism in a way, where one member of a royal family marries a member of another royal family. And I know in Kansas City, we’ve got our underboss, his sister, is married to our boss’s nephew. So, bring those two families together, the Lunas and the Savellas together, yes, very well, like noble families. Exactly. Interesting. Absolutely. [12:31] So that’s how they got together. I remembered that, but I’d forgotten it. So, you went to this reunion with people from Sicily there. So, tell us a little bit about that. How? [12:43] How do people in Sicily view the people in the United States? And they didn’t talk about the mafia. I’m sure there’s no doubt that they’re not going to really talk about that unless you got to find somebody that’s really lucky. But kind of care about the sociological impact and the old world and the new world, and the new world people that, you know, established here. Okay, so Pasqualea and his family are from outside of Naples, and they maintain really close ties to their family back in Italy. Like I am the third generation born in America. I don’t speak Italian. Neither does my father. Neither of us has ever been to Italy. We don’t have, we’re not Italians. We’re Americans. Okay. And the Italians will remind you of that if you forget. We’re not Italian. And like spaghetti and meatballs, not Italian. Chicken Parmesan, not Italian. These are things that we invented here out of a sense of, out of homesickness and a sudden influx of middle-class wealth. We were like, let’s have the spaghetti and the meatballs. I had separate courses anymore where the meatballs are, where they’re both a special treat and I’m going to take two treats with chicken and waffles. [13:50] So being around them, they’re formal. You know, I was meeting like Pasquena’s relatives from Mercado San Sivarino, where they’re from in Italy, they own a funeral home. They own the biggest funeral home business in the town, and they also own some other sort of associated businesses, like a florist and things like that. So I would expect a certain sort of decorum and conservatism of tone from somebody who works in the funeral business and from Italy. But they were also among the only people there in suits, because it was a summer day, we’re outside. Most of us were dressed a little less formally. Yeah. Old school, 1950s stuff. He does those old 1950s photographs, and everybody, every man’s wearing a suit. And there were women’s hat on. Also, that ongoing thing where people in Europe just dress better. Yeah, they dress more formal. I see a little bit in New York City. I noticed it when I moved up from the South. In the South, you go to a funeral and flip-flops, okay? It’s very casual because the weather absolutely demands it. I moved that back up North, and I’m like, wow, everybody’s just wearing the same black coat, aren’t we? And you go into New York. People are dressed a little better, even. You go to Europe, and it’s just another level is what I hear. People, they dress better. They’re not like us where we would roll out of bed and put on pajama pants and some crocs and go to the grocery store. They would never do something. Yes. [15:10] I was in a restaurant several years ago, and there’s a guy sitting at a table, and another young guy comes in. And the guy at the table says, dude, you wore your pajama bottoms in the restaurant. [15:22] People need to be sold. And I’ll have to admit, at the time, I hadn’t seen that before. And since then, I see it all the time now. I live in a college town. I see it a lot. Yeah. So i’ll carry on a little more about that reunion there uh okay so how to describe this so much of it was very surreal to me just being in this place like very fancy house the longest driveway i’ve ever seen like more than a mile i finally like when i parked my car because the track you know you can the parked cars are starting i parked and i get out of the car. And I’ve got this big present with me that I’m going to give to Mario. It’s unwieldy. And I’m like, oh man, this is going to be quite a schlep. And I’m wearing my good shoes and everything. And these two young fellas come up on a golf cart and bring me a ride. So I get in the golf cart and we get up to the house and my friend Gina was trying to point people out to me. Oh, he’s somebody that was in my documentary and you got to talk to this guy. And there was a lot of that. you’ve got to talk to this guy and you’ve got to talk to this woman and dragging me around to meet people. And one of the groups of people that I was, that I found myself standing in, [16:35] I’m talking to gangsters this time. Okay. This is not cousins who won a funeral home. These are gangsters. And I’m standing with them and they’re having the absolute filthiest conversation that I’ve heard since high school. [16:48] And, but the difference is boys in high school are just talking. These guys have done all the things they’re talking about. Wow. What a life is. The lives you would have led. Bye. I’m just trying to keep it. Are these American gangsters or are these? Americans. Okay, yeah. Current gangsters, they’re in the Springfield area with Anthony Arilada there. They’ve all hated him, probably. I’m sorry? I said Anthony Arilada when he’s there, and they all hated him. You probably didn’t bring his name up. Yeah, really. There are different factions in Springfield, it feels like to me, still. bill. And I haven’t got them all sorted. There are people who are still very loyal to the old regime and they have their figure, their person that they follow. And sometimes they can live with the rest of them and sometimes the rest of them are a bunch of lowlives and they want everybody to know about it. Yeah. [17:45] I’ve heard that conversation before. Interesting. Now, whose house was this? Somebody made it well in America. Yes. And I think it was one of his nephews. I don’t know exactly whose house it was. I was invited by Gina’s brother. He texted me and invited me to the party. And people just accepted me right in. The close family members who have seen Gina’s documentary, who have heard her talk about Pastelina and the research and meeting me, they think of me as the family a genealogist. And so I have a title in the family and belong there. Oh yeah, it’s here to document us. As you do, because we’re an important family. And so they didn’t really question my presence there at all. And you were able to ask questions from that standpoint too. That’s what was nice. Yeah. [18:37] And a lot of times it was just standing still and listening because there was so much going on, That was enough. Interesting. Now, her documentary, you’ve seen it, so tell us a little bit about it. Folks, it’s not out there streaming yet. She’s trying to get something going, I would assume. [18:58] Explain her just a little bit, too, in her book. Talk about her and her book and her documentary. Yeah. Okay. Gina’s a part of this big family that has got some wealth still and goes back to bootleggers in Prohibition and has gangsters in it, including her brother, Rex Cunningham Jr. So Cunningham is the name you don’t expect to hear in the mafia. Yeah, yeah. Done by Marietta Beckerwood. I don’t know if he was a member or associate, but at any rate, he was a known figure around here. Sportsbook and that kind of thing. Sportsbook, yeah. Yeah. She grew up with a little bit of wealth and privilege, but also feeling a little bit outsider because her family was half Irish. So among the Italians, it was a, you go to the wrong church, you go to the wrong school kind of vibe. And she grew up into more of a countercultural person. Her family is very conservative politically, religiously. I don’t know if you would expect that of a gangster family, but that’s what I’ve noticed is pretty common, actually. No, it’s pretty, that’s the way it is here. Yeah, real conservative, yeah. Yeah. You have to be socially for the whole thing to work. I can get into that, but And they keep going to the same church and school and everything, and you maintain these close ties with the neighborhood and local businesses and so forth. But she really was like, I’m going my own way. And so she became this free spirit as a young woman. And Gina’s, I don’t know how old she is. I want to say in her late 60s, around 70, about there. [20:23] That’s Gina Albano Cunningham. Cunningham. Oh, Gina. Okay, Gina Cunningham. See, I’m getting mixed up with the names. And Cunningham was… Ask Elena Albanos. Her sister married and became a Fiore. Okay. All right. That’s a little bit confusing. People have to go to your website to get this straightened out. Or maybe you have this, a picture, an image of this family tree on your website. In the book, you can find multiple family trees because I’m working with all these different branches. I’ll take a look if I can’t put an image in here for everybody to get this straight. But the modern woman that did the book and the movie, she’s in her 70s now. [21:04] Yeah. Yeah, and she’s a grandniece of Pasqualina, and her brother and her cousins were in organized crime in this room. Okay, all right, all right. Go ahead, go ahead. She’s absolutely immersed in this life, but she did not want any part of it, and so she left. And there are other people in her family that you can point to that did the same thing, like some of Pasqualina’s children just did not want to have anything to do with the family. Well, they left. They went and moved to another state. They stayed in another place. They didn’t come back. And she did the same thing, but she’s not cut ties. She keeps coming back and she has good relationships with her family members, even though she’s not aligned with them politically and so forth. [21:42] And she’s an artist. I’ve seen her work on a couple of different mediums. I don’t want to really try and explain what her art is, but she’s a feminist artist. And she’s also really been pointing the camera at her family quite a bit. And it seems like film might be a newer medium for her. She’s used to do more painting and sculpture and stuff kind of thing. How’d the family take that? A lot of these people, I’ve talked to some relatives here, and one of them come on to talk to me, but I said, your Uncle Vince, he said, yeah, I know. But then he never would get back to me all of a sudden. So a lot of pressure to not say anything about it. Oh, yeah. Sometimes I will get started talking to somebody and then it’ll reach a certain point where they’re like oh no we can’t don’t be recording this don’t put my yeah anything so yeah news to that but gina was like no this is going to be part of my, political art. I’m going to point the camera at my family. I’m going to expose, some of the hypocrisy that I see there, the things I disagree with. [22:41] It’s a short documentary, and I find it very powerful because it’s a family video. One of the first people she’s aiming the camera at is, I think, one of her nieces. Talking to this young woman who is leaning on her car, maybe in her late teens, early 20s, and this young woman is saying, oh, yeah, I would marry a gangster if I had the chance. And I’m just like, do you not know your family? Do you not know the heart? And later on in the video, you get to hear some of the really just like gut wrenching stories of what pain people in her family have brought upon themselves through their involvement in organized crime and all the things that it entails. And this young woman is, I don’t know, she’s acting because she doesn’t even know this other uncle or this other cousin that she’s got that can tell her these stories. Or is it, I don’t know, it doesn’t matter or something. And that to me was shocking. That’s the kind of thing that needs, that’s somebody who needs their mind changed. And I was like, I hope she watches this video she’s in and changes her mind about how she feels about that life and wanting to be a part of it. But that’s what mafia culture creates more of, is people who want to be a part of that. [23:53] There’s a certain romance to it that started out with Robin Hood, if you will. You get a romance of the gangster, the criminal that maybe is good to some people, good to support people, good to their family. And it continues on to this day to John Gotti. He’s the most recent iteration of Robin Hood and Jesse James here in the Midwest. People love Jesse James. When I grew up, everybody, every family had a story about how a couple of guys came by their house back in the 1800s and they gave them a place to stay and a meal. And they left them like a $20 gold piece, which was like $500 or something. And they said, it was Jesse James. I know it was. It’s the romance of the gangster continues. Yes. We all would love to imagine that we’re on the gangster side and that the gangster agrees. Yeah. As long as we don’t have to go to jail or pay that price. Because to me, I’ve got a friend today that he spent about 12 years and he would give all that gangster life back to get that 12 years back for these kids growing up. He’s turned over a new life today. I had lunch with him and his son not too long ago. And it’s just his son has told him, he said, every time I had to walk away from you in the penitentiary and come back home after our visit, he said, I was just crushed. It’s a huge price to pay for that. But there’s still that romance continues. [25:13] That terrible price, I think, is part of what feeds the romance. If there was no risk, there wouldn’t be that allure. Yeah, that’s true. You met that risk and overcame it and went on, came out on top. It’s what they always like to claim that came out on top of it. So I understand that thought process. I take a lot of risk in my life just from the other side. I said, live to fight another day. Yeah, there really are different kinds of risks that you can take. I was writing about a contract killer in Texas, and one of his targets was a guy who was a grain dealer. And I was like, that’s a really weird target for murder, right? Like, why would you kill a grain dealer from rural Texas? And it was because his old partner had an insurance policy out on him and decided to cash in on it. That was Charles Harrison, wasn’t it? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Sad story. Charles Harrison. Yeah. It was like, these were two guys that took very different kinds of risks, right? You got Charles Harrelson, who kills people for money. That’s a certain kind of risk you’re definitely taking. And then there’s the guy who buys grain and then sells it. So he’s taking these risks for his community of farmers. [26:27] And I was like, that’s really wholesome. And that’s, I don’t know, I feel like it’s a really positive example of masculinity. That’s the kind of risk we’re supposed to take for the safety and well-being of our neighbors? Yeah. Even the farmers, they risk everything every year. Smaller farmer, I grew up in those families and a smaller farmer practically risk everything every year, being in on the weather. That’s why I didn’t stay on the farm. And the markets, you don’t know what the markets are going to do. It’s a gamble every year. That Charles Harrelson, that’s Woody Harrelson’s dad who killed the Judds, famous murder down in El Paso. And he had a business. He carried a card that said he was a hitman. It was his story. [27:10] Bold. He was a crazy bold dude. I did a whole three-part series on that whole Jimmy Chagra marijuana business [27:20] down there on the border. and his connection to it and the killing of Judge Wood. So it’s just a business in these guys. Hey, it’s not personal. It’s just business. Yikes. It’s crazy. But Justin, you got anything else you want to tell us about? Anything you’re working on? And remind guys your website and what you can find there. He has some really interesting stuff about the old early days in Chicago. I know that. I referred to some of that several years ago when I was doing something on Chicago. So give guys a little walk through on your website. It’s really interesting. Okay, so John Gotti is one name I don’t think you’re ever going to find on my website. Yeah, good. [27:59] I’m really addicted to origin stories. I like to find out how the Mafia was already present before that point when we say it started. Yeah, in the 20s. But gangsters don’t come out of nowhere. Gangs don’t come out of nowhere. They evolve. They grow. There are forces to create them. And so that’s what I’m interested in. I like to go around. And I spent a lot of my early career writing about one place and its effect on the United States, Corleone, where my family’s from in Sicily. And that was my first book, In Our Blood. And some of my first posts on mafia genealogy are in that thread. They’re about my family and the Corleonesi. But then I started to get into other [28:42] places and wanting to know about their stories and getting into other parts of Italy as well. So if you go to my website, you’re going to find stories like Charles Harrelson and the two guys that he killed before the judge, or in Chicago about the different little Italys that existed before Capone consolidated everything, or Kansas City I’m writing about, Nick Fatsuno and the Passantino brothers. I don’t even know if you know those guys, but I thought their further stories were amazing. [29:09] Passantino had a funeral home today, but the other names I don’t really know back then. I don’t know much about that or those early days. Did they seem to come from the same little town, the same general area? They didn’t, actually. A lot of them were Sicilian, and they come from Palermo province, but not all from the same town. Not from okay. Yeah. Yeah, I wasn’t able to put—there’s not a strong current there in Kansas City like I’ve found in other places where everybody is from one town. Yeah. [29:37] But not so much in Kansas City. A little more varied. Interesting. So that’s what you’ll find on my website. And then Pasqualina is my second book, and you can buy both of my books at Amazon. Got them behind me here, Airblood, Pasqualina. And Pasqualina is about that prohibition era, and if you like to understand where big-nosed Sam Koufari got his start, it’s in there. And the Shabelli brothers show up. It’s about those origins. I was talking to a friend of mine about this name, Skeeball or Skeebelly. Yes. Who had some relationship back in Springfield, and he just really knew Skeeball when he was young. [30:17] Yep, because it was the spelling of his name. I’m not even sure how they pronounced it. I think it’s Skeebelly. Skeebelly. That probably was. Yeah, Skeebelly. I know somebody named Skeebelly, so probably was. That’s like the name of the body shop here in Kansas City, and it’s P-A-C-E. But really it’s Pache. We’ve got to do it right. And that’s probably short for Pache. I don’t know. I wonder if the family pronounces it Pache or Pace. I think business-wise, but then the person who was talking was close to the family and they said, oh no, it’s Pache. So I thought, okay. [30:53] Interesting. The immigrant experience in this country is really always interesting. There’s always conflict and the interest is in the conflict. And as people try to make their way, and stopping with, oh God, it was an author, T.J. did the Westies. You guys know T.J. that did the Westies. And he said, yeah, he said, and he really was articulate about, as we’ve discussed this, that people come here want an opportunity, because they didn’t have any opportunity in the old country, whether it be Naples or southern Italy or Sicily. They came here, they really just wanted opportunity. And then the opportunity, you have to start fighting for opportunity. That’s the nature of the beast in this country. In any kind, any society, you’ve got to fight for opportunity when you’re an outsider and you come in. And so that was the early development. These people just wanting a little slice of this American pie that they’d heard so much about. The streets are paved with gold over here, but found out you’ve got to dig that old man. [31:52] Some people probably came over here thinking they were going to make an honest living and found themselves, by one step and another, involved in organized crime. And then there were other men who came here from Italy for whom the opportunity was to be a criminal here. Richer pickings. Yeah. And they started restaurants and had your typical immigrant, all the immigrant restaurants, all these Chinese, whatever kind of ethnic food is, they start out with an immigrant who then puts his kids and his cousins and his nephews and sisters and grandmas in the back room kitchen, start those restaurants. And people, us people that are already here like that food and they run them, they do a really good job at it. And so that’s a way to get started in grocery stores for their other fellow paisans. And those were the ways that they made it here, at least now, probably the same way in every city where there’s a large Italian population. Got to feed the other Italians. And so an Italian restaurant is natural. Yeah. And also owning your own business is just really smart for a lot of people. If you’re an organized crime, it’s a great way to hide what you’re doing. [32:59] And if you’re trying to get a naturalization status, especially now, being a business owner is really advantageous. Yeah, I bet. I was talking about that on getting a naturalization process that showed that you’re an entrepreneur and you believe in the system and you’re doing well. Yeah, interesting. [33:17] All right, Justin Cascio, and the website is Mafia Genealogy. He’s got a couple books on there in this documentary. I don’t know. Keep us up on that. Maybe if it comes out, I’ll make sure to get it out on something where people know that they can go out and see it. It sounds really interesting. Thanks, YOL. All right. Thanks, Justin. I’ll do that no more. Thank you, Justin. It’s really a pleasure to talk to you again. Always a pleasure being on your show. Thank you. Great. [33:44] Justin, see, I was going to ask you about something. What? Are you going through a publisher? You got a publisher? No, I’m self-published. You’re self-published? Okay. Yeah. See, I self-published several books, and I’m doing probably my last ones, a story of my life, kind of more of a memoir, my struggles and my moral dilemmas and all that during when I worked intelligence. And then I’ll explain all about the big civil mob war we had here during those years. And I don’t know. I started poking around. I thought, well, maybe I’ll try to get a regular publisher. But boy, it’s hard. You’ve got to get an agent. You can’t get attention of an agent because there’s hundreds and thousands of people out there writing books wanting to do all this. So thank God for Amazon. Yeah. I think if you already have your audience. Yeah. And you know who they are and you’re already talking to them. You don’t need to pay somebody else to do that for you. Yeah. Yeah. I’m paying an editor to go over to… That’s different. That’s no other strengths. But to get it sold out there. Out here making videos every day. The good thing about getting a publisher is you can get, and then you got a chance of getting it into Barnes & Noble and into libraries. [34:59] See, libraries. You might into libraries anyway. How’d you do that? How’d you figure that out? The local library has an interest in the book, so they bought it. Yeah, they did. But I’m talking about other libraries. Yeah, they can all buy the book the same way. Yeah, but how do they find the library buy books? [35:18] I think buy them from the publishers normally. And if your book is self-published and they want to carry that book, because, for instance, about local history, then they’ll buy it. Yeah. I’m thinking about how do they get it out in other New York or Chicago or some other city that will be looking for nonfiction books. Publishers. You have to do every step yourself instead of being massive. Yeah. And then like Barnes & Noble and places like that to get it in, that’s hard too. You can do that locally. Those places carry my books on the website. Who does? They’re buying it from Amazon. Oh, okay. Interesting. Oh, really? Yeah. Because that’s the only place you can get it. I think I sell a couple of my, I’ve seen some people from, I think it’s through at Brafta Digital, I think’s the name of it. That’s another thing that this thing went up on that Barnes & Noble did sell a few copies of it. As a matter of fact, now that you mention it. [36:21] But it’s interesting. It’s fun. How are you ever going to get a screenplay sold if you don’t get their attention? [36:30] That’s why most people I talk to, they’re trying to figure out how to get a movie made from their book. Gangsters ask me that question. They’re like, you figure I know the answer to how to get a movie made from YouTube? and I do not have that answer. Nobody knows that. It’s hard work. Yeah, I tell them nobody knows that, the answer. It’s God. A divine being that strikes you, whether it be the Apollo or the God of Abraham, or Jesus or some higher power reaches out and touches you and says, okay, I bless you, and now you’re going to have a movie made and Robert De Niro is going to play your part. Although anymore, they don’t want De Niro to play him because they hate him now, and they want somebody else. Oh, my God. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you, Justin. Likewise, Gary. Thanks so much. If I can do anything for you here in Kansas City, and as you’re going through your thing, if you’ve got any question or anything, I’ve got that one friend, that FBI agent, that he could maybe help you with if you’re looking for a connection or something. He knows quite a little bit. And somebody else was just talking about that, looking into that, those early days. But if you do have any questions or anything that you’re stumbled about here in Kansas City, be sure and give me a call, and I’ll see if I can’t steer you to somebody. I don’t know myself. I don’t really ever look at it. Okay. Okay. Stay safe. Thank you. You too.

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio and Coach Tony Miller answer coaches' questions on various basketball offense strategies, including conceptual offense, transition offense, attacking junk defense, rebounding and practicing free throws.Find out more about SAVI Coaching at SAVI CoachingThis episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models. Get $100 off the IC3 Basketball Shot Trainer with the code TONYMILLER (or click this link).If you're already using tools like FastDraw, FastScout, or FastRecruit—you know how essential they are to your workflows. And now that they're fully part of the Hudl ecosystem, they're more powerful than ever. From film and play diagrams to scouting reports and custom recruiting boards, everything flows together. One system. Built for high-performance programs. Learn more at hudl.com/aquicktimeout. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio is back to discuss early season adjustments to improve your team's 5-Out and 4-Out conceptual offense. We talk spacing, shot selection, transition offense, and post play attacks.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models. Get $100 off the IC3 Basketball Shot Trainer with the code TONYMILLER (or click this link).If you're already using tools like FastDraw, FastScout, or FastRecruit—you know how essential they are to your workflows. And now that they're fully part of the Hudl ecosystem, they're more powerful than ever. From film and play diagrams to scouting reports and custom recruiting boards, everything flows together. One system. Built for high-performance programs. Learn more at hudl.com/aquicktimeout. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Coaches, are you ready for your first game of the basketball season? Are you sure?? SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio is here to talk through how to plan, what to do, and how to do it before game #1 this year.Get connected to the SAVI Coaching community.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine, the #1 shooting machine in the world! Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models. Get $100 off the IC3 Basketball Shot Trainer with the code TONYMILLER (or click this link).If you're already using tools like FastDraw, FastScout, or FastRecruit—you know how essential they are to your workflows. And now that they're fully part of the Hudl ecosystem, they're more powerful than ever. From film and play diagrams to scouting reports and custom recruiting boards, everything flows together. One system. Built for high-performance programs. Learn more at hudl.com/aquicktimeout. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How Are You Wired? Is a leadership podcast developed by local basketball coaches, Joe Willis (Plant High School) and Billy Teeden (Florida College). In this episode, Coach Teeden and Coach Willis speak with Mark Cascio from SAVI Basketball Consulting about how he is wired and how he is constantly learning from coaches to help give players their best experience possible. 

Workshops and events: A look at the new Sonotron programme with Francesco Cascio by

0:58 - Reflections on Childhood Sports Memories and InfluencesIn a conversation about childhood sports memories, Mark Cascio highlights the significance of moments spent with teammates outside of formal games, recalling how those experiences left lasting impressions. Michael Wright relates a similar story about kids creating their own games during tournaments, reinforcing the idea that such moments are often more memorable than the games themselves. Both speakers reflect on how their early influences, including basketball legends, shaped their passion for the sport.6:54 -Mark Cascio's Coaching Journey and TransformationMark Cascio recounted his journey as a young head coach, initially feeling confident in his basketball knowledge but realizing he needed to learn more about culture and leadership. A conversation with player Chandler Rowe revealed that the team was losing enjoyment in their play style, which led Mark to reassess his coaching approach. He decided to fully commit to a new identity for the team, resulting in unprecedented success.8:17 -Coaching Philosophy and Player DevelopmentMark Cascio reflected on a pivotal moment in his coaching career that reshaped his approach, focusing on player-centered development and high-energy gameplay. Michael Wright highlighted the value of teaching players essential skills to enhance their performance, drawing parallels to effective strategies used by teams like the Spurs and Golden State Warriors. Both emphasized the need for coaches to adapt and innovate in their methods.13:17 -Coaching Impact on Basketball ExperienceMichael Wright pointed out that while US athletes have a shorter competitive span, UK players can continue to play and earn money in local leagues after college. Mark Cascio shared his belief that effective coaching can enhance players' love for the game, and he aims to improve coaching practices to positively impact more athletes. He stressed the importance of shaping a better overall experience for players.15:57 -Understanding Trade-offs in CoachingIn their conversation, Michael Wright and Mark Cascio explore the common challenges coaches encounter, particularly the struggle to eliminate ineffective strategies. Mark stresses that simplicity and clarity lead to better performance, while Michael reinforces the idea that successful coaching involves understanding trade-offs. They both agree that coaches must be comfortable with their decisions, even if it means sacrificing certain aspects of play.19:55 -Coaching Philosophy and Behavioral Change StrategiesMark Cascio shared insights into his coaching philosophy, likening decision-making to poker, where informed choices are essential. He explained the structure of his support for coaches, which includes courses, community engagement, and direct consulting. Cascio highlighted the importance of self-awareness in coaching and the need for coaches to arrive at their own conclusions through guided questioning.29:06 -Feedback and Growth in Coaching PracticesMark Cascio described his practice of soliciting feedback from his team about his leadership qualities, specifically focusing on areas where he could improve, such as impatience. He highlighted the value of creating an open environment where players feel comfortable providing feedback.38:04 -Trends in Basketball Coaching and Player DevelopmentMark Cascio highlights the need for a transformation in basketball coaching, advocating for a games and constraint-led approach rather than traditional drills. He notes that many young players today focus on individual training instead of playing games, which limits their development. Michael Wright points out the differences in play culture between the U.S. and England, where structured play has decreased. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio is back to break down the common mistakes coaches make when implementing a conceptual basketball offense. We talk teaching triggers, training decision-making, repping advantage game, and scaffolding to faster gameplay. Coach Cascio shares invaluable insights to help you avoid the pitfalls that can derail your team's offensive development.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine, the #1 shooting machine in the world! Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.If you're already using tools like FastDraw, FastScout, or FastRecruit—you know how essential they are to your workflows. And now that they're fully part of the Hudl ecosystem, they're more powerful than ever. From film and play diagrams to scouting reports and custom recruiting boards, everything flows together. One system. Built for high-performance programs. Learn more at hudl.com/aquicktimeout.

In this episode, the original founders of the podcast (Mike, Keona, and Josh) are reunited with Jacob for the first time since his departure in 2023. He is joined by M. Ariel Cascio, Ph.D., and Nadine Shetiah to talk about autistic people have been represented in the media.

Aristide Mendoua “Quello che la preghiera può fare” Atti 12: 1-11 Atti 12: 7 Atti 12: 8 Atti 12: 10 Atti 12: 11 Angelo Porreca “Venga il Tuo Regno” Matteo 6: 10 Matteo 24: 14 Giovanni 1: 12 Giovanni 3: 7-8 Romani 14: 17 Isaia 61: 1 Matteo 11 :2-5 Daniele Cascio “Pure Inside” Matteo 5: 8 Filippesi 4: 8 1 Pietro 1: 15-16 Proverbi 16: 2 Davide Cascio “Parla… Vita!” Giovanni 6: 63 Proverbi 18: 21 Ezechiele 37: 4 Giovanni 6 :63 Proverbi 18: 21 Ezechiele 37 :4 --Guarda Canale 245 | Tivùsat 454 | Sky 854Scopri di più su www.paroledivita.org/linkinbio

A TUTTA C con Cristiano Cesarini e Lucio Marinucci. Ospiti: Dario Lo Cascio e Emanuele Lucarini (Corriere Adriatico)

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio provides insights into player development, including the process for planning player development, how to use scaffolding to level up your training, and drill ideas to train both skills and decision-making.SAVI Coaching's Live WebinarThis episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.

A TUTTA C con Cristiano Cesarini. Ospite: Dario Lo Cascio, Stefano De Francesco (Un venerdì da grifoni)

Welcome to The Chrisman Commentary, your go-to daily mortgage news podcast, where industry insights meet expert analysis. Hosted by Robbie Chrisman, this podcast delivers the latest updates on mortgage rates, capital markets, and the forces shaping the housing finance landscape. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just looking to stay informed, you'll get clear, concise breakdowns of market trends and economic shifts that impact the mortgage world.In today's episode, we look at Western Alliance's data breach. Plus, Robbie sits down with Simple Lending Financial's Janine Cascio on her journey from breaking into the mortgage industry to founding her own company, reflecting on the challenges and triumphs along the way, and offering valuable advice for women looking to advance their careers and break barriers in the industry. And we look at the results of Federal Reserve decision day.St. Patrick's Day is this week, but you don't need to rely on luck to find business! You can easily retain and recapture your customers as rates dip with Precision Marketing by CoreLogic. Precision Marketing alerts you to your client's home shopping activity and provides a highly accurate estimate of their current equity, leveraging outstanding liens and CoreLogic's powerful Total Home Value X AVM.  Whether it's using cash to purchase a home, debt consolidation, or a straight cash-out refinance, Precision Marketing's data-driven insights pinpoint your best opportunities to retain and recapture your clients. Originators who leverage Precision Marketing have seen their pipelines increase by up to four times when compared to traditional lead generation methods. This is just one of several innovative marketing and data solutions delivered on the ARAYA Smart Data Platform. Find out whether your clients are shopping for a home or ready to cash out today! Visit corelogic.com/chrisman to learn more or to schedule a free demo.

A TUTTA C con Cristiano Cesarini e Lucio Marinucci. Ospiti: Dario Lo Cascio e Matteo Bonacina (Lecco Channel)

A TUTTA C con Cristiano Cesarini e Lucio Marinucci. Ospiti: Daio Lo Cascio ed Ezio Pellgrini (Dir. Terzo Tempo Sport Magazine)

Answering coaches' questions in this coaches mailbag episode with SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio. Topics include tips for transition offense, ideas for lowering turnovers, strategies for junk defenses, timeout management suggestions, and ways to talk with players wanting more playing time.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.

The night before Gasparilla! To get us ready, we are going back to the Lowth Center!Owen Cascio is a driven entrepreneur and proven leader with a passion for innovation and a knack for building high-performing teams. As the Co-Founder and CEO of PartPal LLC, he's revolutionizing the automotive industry in Tampa with a focus on customer-centric solutions and unparalleled service.As the second Lowth Center participant to grace the show, he exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit fostered within this esteemed program. Cascio excels at interpersonal communication and thrives in collaborative environments.He's a quick-witted problem-solver who can adapt to any situation and deliver exceptional results under pressure. With a strong background in business development and a deep understanding of customer needs, he's leading PartPal to new heights of success.Support the showIf you want the freebie from our guest, have a question for the host or guest, or are looking to become a guest or show partner, email Danica at PodcastsByLanci@gmail.com to get connected.Music Credits: Copyright Free Music from Adventure by MusicbyAden.Show Partners:Coming Alive Podcast Production: www.comingalivepodcastproduction.comJohn Ford: https://www.johnford.com/

El 22 de enero de 1862 nació Vito Cascio Ferro, un prominente miembro de la mafia siciliana, frecuentemente mostrado como el "jefe de jefes", aunque tal posición no existía en la flexible estructura de la Cosa Nostra en Sicilia.

In this inspiring episode of Uncontested Investing, we're joined by Janine Cascio, CEO of Simplending Financial, a trailblazer in private lending and an advocate for women in finance. Janine shares her journey from studying accounting to leading a nationwide lending company, emphasizing the importance of mentorship, mindset, and building a strong company culture. She discusses Simplending's growth strategy, the value of networking and education in real estate, and her passion for helping others achieve financial success.    Whether you're a real estate investor or an aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is packed with actionable insights and inspiration.   Key Talking Points of the Episode   00:00 Introduction 01:04 How Janine's love for math led her to real estate 02:19 Balancing company health with employee growth at Simplending Financial 03:30 Janine's leadership philosophy: “Always a student, always learning” 04:24 The challenges of building the Simplending Financial team 05:31 How Simplending uses local events and partnerships to grow its Houston presence 08:21 Mindset practices for team success 09:13 How Simplending Financial is leveraging content for marketing 10:25 Handling challenges in a competitive market with a focus on mindset and resilience 11:33 How to develop a strong mindset for success 13:01 Focusing on customer obsession to build trust and credibility 15:27 The value of support in building your confidence as an entrepreneur 17:11 How mentors have helped Janine grow as a professional 19:04 Networking and trade shows: Building connections and showing up consistently 20:53 She Thinks, She Believes, She Acts, She Receives 22:11 The future of Simplending Financial 23:57 What Janine is passionate about outside of business 24:34 How to get in touch with Janine   Quotables   “Always a student, always learning—there's no finish line when it comes to growth.”   “Networking isn't just about meeting people; it's about showing up consistently and building relationships over time.”   “Mindset is 95% of success—if you master that, everything else falls into place.”   Links   Simplending Financial https://simplendingfinancial.com   Janine Cascio https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-cascio-33181869/   RCN Capital https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/ info@rcncapital.com   REI INK https://rei-ink.com/

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., explores how autistic individuals perceive and process sensory experiences, focusing on internal sensations of the body, known as interoception, and their impact on emotions, anxiety, and sleep. Cascio highlights the challenges of heightened sensory awareness, including how it can disrupt rest, and underscores the importance of understanding these experiences to improve therapy and overall well-being. Cascio shares personal anecdotes and challenges myths about autism, emphasizing the rich internal worlds of autistic individuals. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40215]

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., explores how autistic individuals perceive and process sensory experiences, focusing on internal sensations of the body, known as interoception, and their impact on emotions, anxiety, and sleep. Cascio highlights the challenges of heightened sensory awareness, including how it can disrupt rest, and underscores the importance of understanding these experiences to improve therapy and overall well-being. Cascio shares personal anecdotes and challenges myths about autism, emphasizing the rich internal worlds of autistic individuals. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40215]

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., explores how autistic individuals perceive and process sensory experiences, focusing on internal sensations of the body, known as interoception, and their impact on emotions, anxiety, and sleep. Cascio highlights the challenges of heightened sensory awareness, including how it can disrupt rest, and underscores the importance of understanding these experiences to improve therapy and overall well-being. Cascio shares personal anecdotes and challenges myths about autism, emphasizing the rich internal worlds of autistic individuals. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40215]

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., explores how autistic individuals perceive and process sensory experiences, focusing on internal sensations of the body, known as interoception, and their impact on emotions, anxiety, and sleep. Cascio highlights the challenges of heightened sensory awareness, including how it can disrupt rest, and underscores the importance of understanding these experiences to improve therapy and overall well-being. Cascio shares personal anecdotes and challenges myths about autism, emphasizing the rich internal worlds of autistic individuals. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40215]

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., explores how autistic individuals perceive and process sensory experiences, focusing on internal sensations of the body, known as interoception, and their impact on emotions, anxiety, and sleep. Cascio highlights the challenges of heightened sensory awareness, including how it can disrupt rest, and underscores the importance of understanding these experiences to improve therapy and overall well-being. Cascio shares personal anecdotes and challenges myths about autism, emphasizing the rich internal worlds of autistic individuals. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40215]

A TUTTA C con Cristiano Cesarini e Lucio Marinucci. Ospiti: Dario Lo Cascio e Giovanni Finocchiaro (La Sicilia)

Mark Cascio of SAVI Coaching is back to help make your 2025 basketball season a success!This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.

In this JAMODI Clip, Coach Mark Cascio discusses the importance of making adjustments in coaching rather than overhauling systems. He emphasizes the need for consistency to build player confidence and the significance of creating a strong team culture. Coach Cascio also highlights the importance of defining values and vision in coaching, and offers practical tips for electing team captains based on these values.

In this JAMODI Clip, Coach Mark Cascio discusses the intricacies of coaching basketball, focusing on shot selection, team culture, and the importance of intentionality in coaching. He emphasizes the need for coaches to establish clear standards for shot selection and to foster a positive culture that celebrates good shot choices, regardless of the outcome. Coach Cascio also highlights the significance of player feedback in shaping coaching strategies and the necessity of adapting one's coaching philosophy to maintain a consistent vision throughout the season.

In this JAMODI Clip, Coach Mark Cascio discusses the critical aspects of shot selection in basketball, emphasizing the importance of good shooters knowing when to pass up shots. He explores player development, the need for a growth mindset, and the significance of building a strong team culture. Coach Cascio also highlights the role of communication in coaching and the necessity of encouraging players to have the courage to shoot, regardless of past performance.

In this JAMODI Clip, Coach Mark Cascio discusses the importance of emotional detachment for coaches, innovative coaching techniques, the balance between technique and skill, and the significance of understanding game context in player development. He emphasizes the need for coaches to adapt their methods, focus on player-centered practices, and ensure that players know when to apply their skills in real-game situations.

In this hoops talk, Coach Mark Cascio discusses the evolution of coaching, emphasizing the importance of adapting techniques, fostering a culture of courage and confidence, and the significance of effective communication. He highlights the need for coaches to embrace change, focus on game context in skill development, and build a shared culture that empowers players. The discussion also touches on the value of partnerships in coaching and the necessity of understanding each player's unique development needs. Coach Cascio discusses the importance of intentional coaching, shot selection, and building a culture of confidence within a basketball team. He emphasizes the need for coaches to be adaptable and open to feedback from players, while also maintaining a consistent coaching philosophy. Coach Cascio highlights the significance of creating a clear vision and values for the team, ensuring that all members are aligned and invested in the culture being built. He discusses various aspects of coaching, focusing on player development, team dynamics, and the importance of communication with parents. He emphasizes the need for a culture of improvement, transparency, and the balance between positive reinforcement and constructive criticism. JOIN THE SAVI COACHING COMMUNITY: www.savifree.com

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio provides 6 ideas to improve your team's offense this early part of the season.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.A Quick Timeout is brought to you by Ballogy. A mobile app created by coaches for coaches, the Ballogy mobile app makes it easy for you to effectively evaluate, manage, and track overall skill development for your team. Go to Ballogy.com for more information.Thanks to our partners, GameChanger! The one app every basketball team needs. Free live video streaming, advanced scorekeeping, live game and season stats, automatic highlight clips, and team management. Learn more at GameChanger!

Welcome back to The Mixtape with Scott, the podcast where we explore the personal stories behind the professional lives of economists. I'm your host, Scott Cunningham, coming to you from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Each week, we dive into the journeys, insights, and lives of economists whose work shapes how we understand the world.This week's guest is Elizabeth Cascio. Elizabeth studies education, public policy, and the well-being of children. Her research often looks at big policy changes in 20th-century America, like the spread of publicly funded early education and major civil rights, education, and immigration laws. Recently, she's focused on childcare and early education, trying to understand how policy design, economic conditions, and political voice shape educational attainment and economic mobility.Elizabeth's work has been published in leading economics journals, including The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, and The Journal of Public Economics. She's also written policy pieces for The Hamilton Project. She's a professor at Dartmouth College and holds research affiliations with the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Institute for the Study of Labor. She's served on editorial boards and is currently an editor at The Journal of Labor Economics.This episode is also part of a series I've been doing called “The Students of…,” where I talk to students of economists in areas I'm particularly interested in. One of those areas is “The Students of David Card.” Elizabeth earned her Ph.D. at Berkeley, where David Card and Ken Chay—both key figures in the development of causal inference within labor economics—were significant influences on her work. Once you hear about her research, their impact becomes clear.Elizabeth's work touches on economic history, but she's primarily a labor economist and public policy researcher. She uses history as a tool to understand policy and its impacts on children and families. Her work connects the past to the present in ways that make big questions about education and mobility clearer.So, let's jump in. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Cascio to The Mixtape with Scott. Elizabeth, thanks for being here. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

What's your plan for the start of basketball practices? What should you be spending time on? Are there things that can and should wait? SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio provides suggestions for practices as you start your basketball season.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.A Quick Timeout is brought to you by Ballogy. A mobile app created by coaches for coaches, the Ballogy mobile app makes it easy for you to effectively evaluate, manage, and track overall skill development for your team. Go to Ballogy.com for more information.Thanks to our partners, GameChanger! The one app every basketball team needs. Free live video streaming, advanced scorekeeping, live game and season stats, automatic highlight clips, and team management. Learn more at GameChanger!

Today, we're excited to welcome Janine Cascio, CEO of Simplending Financial. This episode is a must-listen, as Janine has taken Simplending from a startup only a couple years ago to impressive success in a short time span. She's shares some actionable insights and real-world strategies from her hands-on journey. Together, we dive into topics like business growth, fitness, her yoga lifestyle, marketing, and more. Let's bring on Janine Cascio!

Los fraudes en la industria musical no son algo nuevo y datan desde mucho antes de la inteligencia artificial o del famoso escándalo de Milli vanilli en los años 90. En diciembre de 2010 Sony Music publicó “Michael”, el primer álbum póstumo de Michael Jackson. La controversia sobre la autenticidad de tres de los temas contenidos en el disco llegó a instancias legales y condujo a que en 2022 se retiraran estos temas de la discografía del Rey del Pop. El autor Damien Shields investigó durante años el caso y recientemente publicó el podcast “Faking Michael”. A lo largo de 13 episodios, y con una excelente narrativa y producción, Damien nos relata los hallazgos de su investigación sobre los “Cascio tracks” y los personajes que rodearon el que podría considerarse uno de los mayores fraudes en la industria de la música. En este episodio, en compañía de Rodrigo desde la Patagonia, analizaremos a detalle todas las pruebas para que no tengas dudas.

Lauren Cascio is a leading innovator in product design and technology. By following her heart and creating without fear of failure, Lauren challenges herself and opens up new channels for people to connect online and in real life. This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It's based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This story was produced by Haley Dapkus with sound design and mixing by Mumble Media. It was written by Abby Sher. Narration by Gina Scarpa. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. Thank you to Lauren Cascio and the whole Rebel Girls team who make this podcast possible. Stay rebel!

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio breaks down defensive principles of play through this film edit.Click to watch the film session with Coach Mark Cascio.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.A Quick Timeout is brought to you by Ballogy. A mobile app created by coaches for coaches, the Ballogy mobile app makes it easy for you to effectively evaluate, manage, and track overall skill development for your team. Go to Ballogy.com for more information.

SAVI's Coach Mark Cascio shares small-sided games for teaching defensive concepts.Click to watch the episode (Subscribe to the YouTube Channel to get all the A Quick Timeout Podcast film session breakdowns)This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.Subscribe to A Quick Timeout Newsletter for SSGs, Xs & Os and expert basketball coaching interviews.

SAVI Coaching's Mark Cascio dives into a film study of families of actions used in conceptual offense.Watch this episode by clicking here.Listen to Coach Cascio's previous podcast, "How to Teach Triggers for Conceptual Offense."This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.Thanks to our partners, GameChanger! The one app every basketball team needs. Free live video streaming, advanced scorekeeping, live game and season stats, automatic highlight clips, and team management. Learn more at GameChanger!If you're in the market for a sports team dealer, the folks at 323 Sports will not disappoint. Low prices, high quality, and GREAT customer service. They'll "Do It Right" for you and your sports program!

In this episode of Weight Loss Made Simple, Dr. Stacy Heimburger explores the power of positive affirmations and how they can reshape your beliefs for successful weight loss and mindful planning. By embracing purposeful, empowering self-talk, you'll learn to replace self-limiting thoughts with confidence-building statements that uplift your motivation and encourage healthier habits. Discover practical affirmations to fuel your journey toward nourishing your body, achieving your goals, and prioritizing your well-being. Join us as we dive into the science behind positive self-talk, and get ready to unlock the potential of your mindset to achieve your dieting and wellness objectives.References:Falk, E. B., O'Donnell, M. B., Cascio, C. N., Tinney, F. J., & Kang, Y. (2015). "Self-affirmation alters the brain's response to health messages and subsequent behavior change." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(7), 1977-1982.Sherman, D. K., & Cohen, G. L. (2006). "The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory." Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 183-242.Creswell, J. D., Dutcher, J. M., Klein, W. M., Harris, P. R., & Levine, J. M. (2013). "Self-affirmation improves problem-solving under stress." PloS One, 8(5), e62593.Free 2-Pound Plan Call!Want to jump start your weight loss? Schedule a free call where Dr. Stacy Heimburger will work with you to create a personalized plan to lose 2 pounds in one week, factoring in your unique circumstances, challenges, and aspirations. Schedule now! www.sugarfreemd.com/2poundThis episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

SAVI's Coach Mark Cascio discusses triggers for conceptual offense and how to teach actions and decision-making to players.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.Hudl continues to make advancements to their suite of performance analysis solutions. Tools you know like Sportscode are enhanced by their industry-leading tech like Hudl Focus - an AI-powered smart camera that's built to integrate into Sportscode right out of the box. It captures and uploads video automatically from any gym. Head over to Hudl to get a peek at all they're bringing to the hardwood, for every level of the game.Thanks to our sponsors at 323 Sports. If you're in the market for a team dealer, the guys at 323 Sports will not disappoint. Low prices, high quality, and GREAT customer service. They'll "Do It Right" for you and your sports program!Thanks to our partners, GameChanger! The one app every basketball team needs. Free live video streaming, advanced scorekeeping, live game and season stats, automatic highlight clips, and team management. Learn more at GameChanger!Subscribe to A Quick Timeout Newsletter for SSGs, Xs & Os and expert basketball coaching interviews.

In this episode of Louisiana Unfiltered, Brad Cascio, an assistant district attorney in Livingston Parish, joins Kiran Chawla as they discuss the use of castrations as a legal tool against sexual offenders. Brad shares his experiences with prosecuting castrations, emphasizing the importance of holding offenders accountable and protecting children.  Brad Cascio was the lead prosecutor of 54-year-old Glenn Sullivan of Springfield who has been sentenced to 50 years and physical castration for raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. #GlennSullivan #LivingstonParish #Castration #LouisianaUnfiltered #KiranChawlaTimestamps: 02:34 The Legal Weapon: Castrations in Louisiana03:42 Making a Legal Impact04:16 History and Implementation of Castration Laws 04:56 First Experience with Chemical Castration06:24 Balancing Personal and Professional in Cases07:13 Disturbing Details: The Oglethorpe Case09:23 Impact of Castration on Victims and Families 14:56 Ensuring Accountability and Justice 16:01 Communication and Acceptance of Castration18:21 Utilizing Castration for Accountability19:29 Impact and Satisfaction of Implementing Castration21:15 Commitment to Combatting Sex Offenses23:40 Beyond Castration: The Impact of Sexual Offenses24:40 Glenn Sullivan Case: First Physical Castration36:35 Victim's Remarkable Strength42:10 The Offender's Control Tactics47:17 Castration Terms and Conditions50:08 Learning and Collaboration Among ColleaguesLocal Sponsors for this episode include:Neighbors Federal Credit Union:Another Chance Bail Bonds:Sound and Editing for this audio podcast by Envision Podcast Production:

Coach Marck Cascio shares Xs&Os observations from the men's and women's college basketball tournament as well as provides a checklist for postseason evaluations for coaches as they wrap up the season that was.This episode is sponsored by the Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine. Mention "Quick Timeout" and receive $300 off on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star, and CT models.Hudl continues to make advancements to their suite of performance analysis solutions. Tools you know like Sportscode are enhanced by their industry-leading tech like Hudl Focus - an AI-powered smart camera that's built to integrate into Sportscode right out of the box. It captures and uploads video automatically from any gym. Head over to Hudl.com/AQuickTimeout to get a peek at all they're bringing to the hardwood, for every level of the game.Thanks to our partners, GameChanger! The one app every basketball team needs. Free live video streaming, advanced scorekeeping, live game and season stats, automatic highlight clips, and team management. Learn more at gc.com/aquicktimeout

Today's guest is Anton Ivanov.   Anton Ivanov is a US Navy veteran, real estate investor, entrepreneur, and founder of RentCast.io and DealCheck.io.   Show summary:    In this podcast episode, Anton Ivanov, a seasoned real estate investor, shares his expertise on optimizing real estate operations. He advises on the importance of delegation, professional property management, and maintaining a CEO mindset. Anton recounts his journey from house hacking to managing a diverse portfolio, emphasizing starting small and learning progressively. He highlights the need for efficient turnover processes, tenant retention, and aligning rental rates with market trends using tools like RentCasio. Anton's strategies have notably increased revenue without new acquisitions, showcasing the value of operational efficiency and cost management for sustainable growth.    Links:  https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/21693881   -------------------------------------------------------------- Delegating and Focusing on Improvement (00:00:00)   Introduction and Background (00:00:26)   Starting and Growing Real Estate Portfolio (00:01:18)   Focusing on Improving Operations (00:02:48)   Transitioning to CEO Role (00:03:35)   Professional Property Management (00:04:50)   Minimizing Vacancy and Tenant Retention (00:09:14)   Implementing Systems with Property Managers (00:13:45)   Lease Renewal and Rent Adjustment (00:18:14)   Vacancy Minimization (00:20:36)   Lease Renewal Strategy (00:22:13)   Action Items for Revenue Growth (00:25:13)   Expense Reduction (00:27:27)   Contact Information (00:28:56) -------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with Anton:    Email: anton@rentcast.io   RentCast Facebook: https://facebook.com/RentCastApp Twitter: https://twitter.com/RentCastApp Web: https://rentcast.io    DealCheck Facebook: https://facebook.com/DealCheckApp Twitter: https://twitter.com/dealcheckapp Web: https://dealcheck.io   Connect with Sam: I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowtoscaleCRE/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwilsonhowtoscalecre/ Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com   SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE A RATING. Listen to How To Scale Commercial Real Estate Investing with Sam Wilson Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-scale-commercial-real-estate/id1539979234 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4m0NWYzSvznEIjRBFtCgEL?si=e10d8e039b99475f -------------------------------------------------------------- Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below: Anton Ivanov (00:00:00) - You know, ultimately you are in charge. It is your business, it is your assets. But you need to be able to delegate and kind of step back and focus more on areas that need improvement, as opposed to just doing everything yourself.   Sam Wilson (00:00:13) - Welcome to the how to Scale Commercial Real Estate show. Whether you are an active or passive investor, we'll teach you how to scale your real estate investing business into something big.   Sam Wilson (00:00:26) - Anton Ivanov is a US Navy veteran, a real estate investor, entrepreneur and founder of rent, Cascio and Diehl Checchio Anton, welcome back on the show.   Anton Ivanov (00:00:36) - Thanks for having me, Sam. Great to be here as always.   Sam Wilson (00:00:40) - Absolutely. The pleasure's mine. Anton. It, uh. I didn't look it up here ahead of time, I can't remember. It's been a couple of years since the last time you were on the show, so it's great. Great to have you come back on. I don't remember the episode number. So here, maybe we'll include that there in the show notes, in case you want to go back and kind of hear Anton's, uh, first podcast with us, where he breaks down a lot of the ways he built this business and some really other cool, uh, things that he's done there in his real estate investing career, which we're not going to really get into too much today.   Sam Wilson (00:01:07) - However, Anton, for every guest who comes on the show, even returning guests, there are still three questions I asked them in 90s or less. Can you tell me where did you start? Where are you now and how did you get there?   Anton Ivanov (00:01:18) - Absolutely. So we started investing, uh, me and my wife about, uh, it's been about ten years now going on that, uh, we actually started very small. We started with house hacking. Uh, you know, we bought a one duplex that we lived in. One of the units rented out the other. We moved on to some out of state turnkey investing in single family properties. And then most recently, we were buying commercial multifamily in, um, commercial and like, fourplex residential multifamily in Kansas City, Missouri. So we've had kind of a very, uh, more slower growth, I like to say it, but it was more manageable. Uh, it helped us make, you know, some smaller mistakes, learn from them, and then move on to bigger deals over the years.   Anton Ivanov (00:01:59) - And we've covered a lot of this with you, Sam, on the last podcast. So, um, again, I'm a big proponent of kind of not jumping into necessarily the biggest deals, uh, if, if, you know, if, if you prefer starting smaller and learn from that. Um, and yeah, we've been super happy with that, uh, lately and kind of what I wanted to focus on this show. We've, we've spent a lot of time on focusing on improving our operations, um, and kind of increasing the cash flow. The existing units we have, we have, uh, 42 units right now spread out across, uh, three places, Atlanta, uh, San Diego, and then the bulk of our portfolio and, uh, Kansas City, Missouri. Um, and yeah, just the market recently has been a little bit tougher. You know, obviously we have still prices are pretty up there. They haven't, uh, softened up, as I would expect them by now.   Anton Ivanov (00:02:48) - And then the rates are high. It's just kind of a tougher environment, in my opinion, for acquiring new rentals. So I think it's a great time to focus on operations, because I think it's oftentimes neglected by some investors that just kind of focus on more and more deals, more and more units in their portfolio. Uh, but I think you can get a great ROI in your time and kind of effort by just focusing on what you already have.   Sam Wilson (00:03:12) - Man, there's a lot to be said for that, and I look forward to jumping in to getting kind of the nitty, your nitty and gritty details on how you guys have done this. I guess before we get into that, though, 42 units spread completely across the country. I mean, yeah, Kansas City, San Diego, and if you're if you are managing operations, it sounds like you're, you're self managing these properties.   Anton Ivanov (00:03:35) - Um, so no. And actually that that takes me straight into our first point is, uh, you know, I look at, you know, when you first starting investing in real estate, you're kind of more I would say, uh, you know, boots on the ground.   Anton Ivanov (00:03:48) - You're more involved, especially with acquisition and management. I think it's important as you transition to larger volumes of units, you know, ten, 20, you know, 40 like US units, especially if they're spread out across the country. Um, I think at that point, you kind of stop being maybe like the workhorse of your business, of your real estate, uh, you know, venture empire, if you would, and you kind of start to become the CEO, right? Where you're, you know, ultimately you are in charge. It is your business. It is your assets. Uh, but you need to be able to delegate and kind of step back and focus more on areas that need improvement, uh, as opposed to just doing everything yourself. So one of my, you know, first tips for kind of improving operations at scale, uh, again, is not necessarily doing it yourself, but finding professional property managers. So we've used professional management for all of our units. Funny thing is, when we bought that duplex that we house hack, that was our first property that we bought, we used the property manager for the upstairs unit, even though we lived in the building.   Anton Ivanov (00:04:50) - And it sounds kind of stupid, maybe silly, you know, like, hey, why don't you just manage your your right there. It's the unit above. But I had this vision of kind of growing our portfolio to 40, 50 units, and I wanted to start getting experience with working with property managers, kind of seeing how that plays out, which prepared us to, uh, later buy out of state properties that I was not going to manage myself. So I think it's important, you know, I I've met folks who self-manage, especially if they're local. The buildings that they own are local. It can work. But I just think it turns into a full time job very quickly, especially if you have a lot of units. I think you can free up your time. Uh, and if you find a good manager, you know, and kind of work with them. Right. It's it's also another thing I would say about property managers. Uh, it's it's not really a give it to them and forget.   Anton Ivanov (00:05:40) - Kind of arrangement, which I think some people expect. Um, and, you know, in an ideal world, maybe it would be. But everybody is different. You're you're different from, you know, Sam from, uh, from me the way you want your units managed. And, yes, a property manager has their own, like, procedures and steps, and they like to do things a certain way. That doesn't mean that you can't go to them and say, hey, look, I know you guys like to do it this way, but here's how kind of I would like to tweak the process. Like, again, you're basically the CEO. You know, they're working for you. You're paying them. Um, and I think as the CEO, you have the full right. And kind of not to micromanage them essentially, nobody likes that. You know, they don't want you to be there just making every little, you know, second guessing their decision and stuff like that. But know if you feel like things are not going the right direction, step in there.   Anton Ivanov (00:06:28) - You know, do a monthly phone call. This is what we do with our property managers, even if things are going smoothly, just to check in and see how things are going, any big issues, anything we should be concerned about? Look at trends and let them do the work. Uh, especially if you own out of state properties.   Sam Wilson (00:06:43) - That's really great advice, and I bet most people don't do that who are out of state owners is having that monthly check in. Yeah. How do I mean and I also wonder if, you know, how did you convince and or get on the calendar of your property manager saying, hey, I want this monthly check in because I bet some property managers out there that would be like, hey, Anton, it's great knowing you, buddy, but I really don't want to spend 20 minutes with you once a month talking about your properties and go away. So, uh, how did that conversation.   Anton Ivanov (00:07:16) - Yeah, well, two things. So I think as you, uh, you know, as you scale your portfolio, the more units you own in a certain area, the more units you have each property manager manage.   Anton Ivanov (00:07:25) - Uh, you kind of become a more valued client. Right? So if, if you, if they're just managing one house for you, you're absolutely right. They may just not be inclined to spend as much time with you because you're like one out of 500 or something units. But as your units grow, you have, you know, a dozen 20, 40 plus units. Uh, it becomes much more easier, at least in my experience, to get on their calendar, uh, have them be a little more responsive. Um, and I would take advantage of that. You know, I would. You are a more valued client. They should spend more time with you. Um, so that's kind of one thing. I think it's natural for that to just happen as you grow your portfolio. The second one does come down to property managers and not being able to basically, you know, fire one if it doesn't work out. I had to do this in some of our markets, you know, some property.   Anton Ivanov (00:08:13) - There's so many property management companies and some are like you said, they're just like they don't really want to like stir the boat. They just kind of want to collect their cut from from the rent every month. They don't want to talk to you, you know, like they don't want to talk to the tenants. Um, and in my opinion, those are usually not the best property managers. Like, I don't think, again, a property manager should be like, always, you know, shaking things up, but they should be responsive. Communication is like one of the keys that I always looked at in property managers. If your property manager is not responding to your emails, phone calls, whatever, I bet they're not doing that with the tenants. Also, like there's probably some some like communication issues with the tenants and that's what you don't want. Because to me, like how they talk to me is, you know, kind of relates to how they talk to the tenants. And I want a property manager that will talk to the tenants, be responsive, like stay up to date, because that's how you increase tenant satisfaction and retention, which actually takes me to our next point, uh, very, very nicely.   Anton Ivanov (00:09:14) - How do you improve operations and kind of efficiency of your portfolio is minimizing vacancy when you have a portfolio at scale, a large multifamily commercial portfolio? What I've found and I've talked to a bunch of investors is vacancy becomes your biggest expense. It's not your taxes, it's not your insurance. It's not your it's it's actually vacancy. If if you have 40 units and ten of them are vacant, you know, that's like a 25% reduction in your income, it becomes huge. So focusing on minimizing vacancies. And there's many different aspects to this right. This it's both basically you know when you do have vacant units, uh, you need to get efficient at filling them. And this comes down to having a very good unit term process. You know, you're not like messing around, finding a contractor doing scopes of work. Like we've got it down to a science where basically we have a portfolio like our bulk of our portfolios in Kansas City. We have a standard list. Like I'm like, hey, here's basically a punch list, right? Here's here's what you go through.   Anton Ivanov (00:10:15) - Uh, they we have a standard set of contractors where they agreed on budget and materials. Like, we like to standardize, we paint like, you name it, like it's it's such a well honed process. And again, that's something that's easier to do at scale. You know, if you own a single family here or single family, there is kind of a little more individual work. Like what does this house need when you have commercial units, you know, larger special talk to folks that have 100 plus years. When it's right there. Like I can't be going and doing a personal inspection, or every manager is going to do an inspection, like have a standard set for how you turn a unit. So when a unit does become vacant, they give you the keys. It's like, boom, we done the inspection, boom, we've scheduled the work. We had contractors lined up, you know, a week too. It's it's done. The work is done. We can release it. We already know what we're leasing it for.   Anton Ivanov (00:11:04) - Uh, we already have a kind of a marketing plan. We know where to pose these properties. And, you know, with the unit is vacant for a weeks, you know, 2 or 3 weeks, like max, where as a as opposed to sitting there on the market because, again, every month you're not collecting rent, you're losing a ton of money. Uh, and it's kind of like a hidden expense, right? It's not like on your operating expenses, on your CapEx or anything. It's it's it doesn't show up there. But but when you're not collecting rent, that is an expense. So huge, very huge minimizing vacancies. The other thing I will say, kind of where we started with the whole vacancy, is the whole tenant. I call it like tenant retention. Right. Uh, general concept, but it basically involves keeping tenants happy. It's it's a multifaceted thing. It's it's hard to like, point it like, hey, do this and your tenants will be happy.   Anton Ivanov (00:11:53) - But having a good property manager like we started talking can go a long way. You know, tenants, in my experience, most of them like they're not like super picky. Like you'll get 110 and out there, that's just kind of a pain in the butt. Uh, excuse my language, but but most people, you know, if if they have an issue, uh, they understand, like, things break, right? You know, dishwashers break, whatever garbage disposals break. They just want good communication. And we've heard that time and time again from our tenants. Like, they love the fact that. So we have like, programs where they can text, they can use a website to submit maintenance requests, like it's easy to get Ahold of our managers, our maintenance departments. And I think that alone can go a long way to like, keeping tenants happy and keeping them in your units as opposed to like you know, always moving out because they just, you know, they ask for something to get fixed.   Anton Ivanov (00:12:44) - And it's been weeks before somebody even called them back. Like, that's not the experience you want. So, uh, just work with your property manager, establish some programs that can be very simple, like you don't have to send them gift cards or like, you know, I've heard, like some landlords do, like crazy stuff like that, you know, they'll, uh, send them a birthday gift, send them a Christmas gift if you have the capacity and kind of to do that, like. Yeah, I think it'll be great, you know, at least a little postcard or something like that. But even just the basics, you know, be responsive if they have issues, you know, work with them on the issues. Just be reasonable with the tenants. Uh, keep them happy. Put yourself in their shoes. I think that can go a huge way to to reduce your vacancies.   Sam Wilson (00:13:24) - You've brought up a lot of things that I would feel are more on the property manager. Things to do, such as? Right.   Sam Wilson (00:13:32) - Having text message, you know, hey, I can text and say, yeah, something broke or this or that. How are you incorporated? Or how are you having these discussions with your property managers and saying, hey, these are systems we want to implement.   Anton Ivanov (00:13:45) - Yeah. So that that yeah, you're absolutely right. So I'm not doing these myself. I'm not out there like with my phone number giving giving it to the tenants. No, this is exactly like the first thing I think, you know, having a good, good, good property manager, having a good relationship with your property manager and then finding one that is willing kind of to work with you if they don't have these systems to implement them. That's like one of the keys. And that's why I started with that as my number one point, a property manager at a scale like with a with a larger portfolio can make or break, you know, your basically success, your long term cashflow. So again, it's you know, it's more like an art form.   Anton Ivanov (00:14:24) - I can't tell you like, hey, you know, go on Yelp or something like that. Look for these keywords. Find a property manager like it's it's it's been like a bit hit or miss for us. You know, we've we have started with some companies that were doing okay. Then we got to a certain point with kind of our larger volume that we found. Hey, you know what? This is just not working. I would say the best thing that helped us was a I only ask I only find property managers now through referrals. Uh, we haven't entered a new market in a while, but I would never, like, go on Google or Yelp or whatever and just grab a random company. I just think that's, you know, your the chances of you finding a really good one are pretty low. Um, I would definitely. If you're in a new market, you've never invested there before, I would try to network and connect with other investors, property groups, like whatever, find a little circle, you know, little local meetups, and then ask who they use for property managers, find out how big their portfolio is.   Anton Ivanov (00:15:18) - Uh, so it kind of matches what you're doing, because, again, a property manager who, like, specializes in single family is going to be different than somebody who manages like 100 plus unit, you know, apartment complexes. Like you need to find a manager that like, fits what you're trying to do. Um, and then again, it's just about establishing a relationship, you know, when you come into it. I would ask him questions. Like, hey, uh, you know, how open are you guys to doing a phone call with me every month? Like, it's it's a question that you can easily ask during, like, your initial vetting process with the property manager. Uh, you know, all these questions like, hey, how do you guys handle maintenance? Like, is it a website? It's just a forum. Like, do they have to call? Uh, so I actually have, I think like a property manager checklist or interview, uh, questionnaire. Maybe we can throw that in the show notes that like covers a lot of these bases.   Anton Ivanov (00:16:06) - And it will just should give you a better understanding of how they do things. Because, yeah, you want to find a company that already has a lot of this stuff in place. And really good property managers, they do like they're not going to be, you know, like set and forget. They they will have these programs because it's in their best interest to like the like most property managers don't collect money when the units are vacant. They want to keep the tenants, you know, to keep them happy, keep the owners happy. So a good property manager company is probably going to have a lot of this stuff already. It's just again, a matter of finding one, which is not easy, but it is possible, right?   Sam Wilson (00:16:39) - No, I love it. That's, uh, that's very, very helpful finding a property manager that you think you said it. But just to recap, but find the property manager that that matches the property type you're looking for them. Exactly. And has experience in that because there's like like you said, there's it's a wildly different skill set for a 100 or 200 unit apartment complex than it is perfect.   Sam Wilson (00:16:58) - Yes, 100 single family homes spread around the city. So that's, uh, that's really, really helpful. Can I go back to. Yeah. The vacancy. Yeah. First thing that you hit on as a way to, you know, improve operations. And of course, you know, I also like what you said there when you said that, hey, you know, you're you're if you're not collecting rent, it doesn't show up as an expense other than your top line revenue number is smaller, but there's not exactly there's not like a line item says, hey, you didn't collect rent and here's how much money you lost. Yeah. Which would be kind of helpful, I would think.   Anton Ivanov (00:17:30) - Yeah. Well, we tend to put it up higher like before the operating expenses. Right on the like the NOI worksheet. So.   Sam Wilson (00:17:37) - Right. Right, right. Yeah. Somehow it needs to be like above the top line. Like here's your minus for all your vacancy. Right. But anyway, I digress.   Sam Wilson (00:17:44) - The question I had for you outside of, you know, uh, quick turnovers, that sounded like one thing that you said that you guys are really, really honing in on is if you have a turnover. Yeah, it's done very, very efficiently. What else are you doing on that front in order? And of course, you know, your second comment which was retention, which is also, you know, part and parcel of minimizing vacancy is keeping the tendency you have. Yeah. Is there anything else on that minimization of vacancy that you guys are actively doing that maybe our listeners could employ?   Anton Ivanov (00:18:14) - Yeah, I would say, uh, and kind of this I actually had a third point that this will take us in there nicely. So this is more on the retention side. So again, keeping the tenants happy with simple things like communication, maintenance. Uh, the other thing where I think landlords struggle and we have to is the whole like lease renewal and rent like, like where to keep the rent because you know, yeah, if the tenant is happy, a lot of times, though, it still comes down to what are you charging in rent? Uh, you know, if, if, if you're, like, overcharging them way above market, they're going to shop around.   Anton Ivanov (00:18:47) - They're going to move. Right? So, uh, but where do you do it? Or. I've met landlords that are like, on the opposite, they'll be like, I haven't raised rent for this tenant and ten years, you know, and, and and I'm happy and they're happy I think, you know, with that there's, there's a medium right there. So, uh, my philosophy is I do want my portfolio to kind of keep track with the market rents, right, or over a long period of time. So I'm not a big proponent of not raising rent for tenants for like decades. It's just I think there's really no reason to do that. Uh, yes. Maybe you will lose some absolutely exceptional tenants. But if you actually do the math of how much rental potential rental income you lost over the course of, whatever, five, ten years, you didn't raise the rent on them, even if you fact, you'll have a turnover and the new tenant, it will work out better in your favor, in my opinion.   Anton Ivanov (00:19:38) - You know. Right. It comes down to a little bit into like your personal philosophy and all that stuff. Uh, but just mathematically, I think you'll do better to keep track with the market rents for your portfolio overall. Now, what we tend to do for, for our own portfolio is we would be a little more aggressive when leasing new units, right? So if we have a vacant unit, we'll do a market analysis. Now by the way I'll do a self, you know uh plug here. So we have a rent Casio platform. Uh you go and rent Casio. You don't need an account uh, if you have a residence. So it's currently only for residential properties like apartment complexes. We don't quite support industrial or warehouse or retail on the commercial side yet, but if you have residential, you know, both small multifamily and larger commercial properties you can plug in and address, you know, the, like the property size type, and it will give you a rental analysis, like a rental CMA report with what the rent should be, what are the rental comps and stuff like that.   Anton Ivanov (00:20:36) - So there's like really no excuse with today's tech is. Getting to with not knowing what the, you know, current market rents are and a good property manager should have a like a ping on that as well. Like they should know. You know what what kind of properties would rent for. So basically when we're leasing new units, you know we already had a vacancy. We did a turn especially it's kind of like a, you know, a decent rehab. It's in good shape, will be a little more aggressive meaning like will list it pretty close to what we think market rent is maybe a little bit under, but it'll be like pretty up there. And you know we'll kind of judge rental demand. Obviously that's another thing with kind of working with your leasing agent for minimizing turnover is is like I've seen property managers that will just throw a rental number on there like they think it should rent for, I don't know, 1200. Uh, and then they'll list it and then it's like crickets and, and they just keep the listing on and they keep the listing on.   Anton Ivanov (00:21:27) - Maybe they get one showing like. No, like we tell the leasing agents like, hey, if, if, if you list it for a week, you should get like at least five, ten showings, whatever it is, depending on the year. Like you should get interest. If you're not, then it's too high. Like it's it's as simple as that. It's not like your pictures or you know what I'm saying, because markets also change so rapidly. Like you can look at long term trends, which was shown on the Rent Cars website. You can actually look at like zip code and where the rents are going, but they change like too quickly. They're seasonal, you know, there'll be less demand in the winter, like for example, around the holidays. Usually nobody's moving. Then there's like more demand, like in the summer when people tend to move. Right. So you just have to be like really on it. You're leasing agents should be not necessarily you personally, but uh, just do little adjustments and then you get more showings.   Anton Ivanov (00:22:13) - You feel kind of the vacancy. So we're a little more aggressive on the leasing of new units. Were a little less aggressive on renewing leases. So we typically do one year leases, sometimes two. But we'll be we'll kind of look at the tenant. And if they're paying their good if their rent is kind of pretty close, like if it's a new tenant, maybe they at least a year ago. Sometimes we'll skip a year. We just won't even do an increase. I'm not a big fan of like just doing $50 a year every year, like something regular. We will actually see what they're paying, what their history is. Uh, what would we lease that unit for? Uh, if it was like, you know, vacant if we just did market rent and if it's within like 10 to 12%, I mean, like 10 to 15, even sometimes 20% within market, we will leave it alone. We will maybe bump it up, but we will kind of always trail the market rent on lease renewals basically by about like 15%, sometimes even more for good tenants.   Anton Ivanov (00:23:09) - So we'll kind of keep it up, but we will be much less aggressive. And that kind of gives you a spread. Because if that tenant was to go and be like, you know what, they give me a little increase. Like, I don't know, $100, $150 a month. And what are they going to do? Like think about it. They're going to go and shop, right? First they're going to be like, you know what, I don't want to pay more because it's like human nature. Why would I pay more? They'll go do a market analysis for the same kind of unit type that they're in. And if the market rent is really like ten, 15% higher, they probably won't really find anything that is better than what they're paying. And they'll be like, well, I guess, you know, it's inflation. And you know, people expect rent increases, right? They just don't want to be in a position where like, uh, you know, they feel like you're overcharging them.   Anton Ivanov (00:23:54) - So if they go and they find a bunch of other units for leasing for less, or maybe they're just better conditioned leasing for the same. So just put yourself in the tenants position. Again, my preferred strategy a little more aggressive on vacant units, a little less aggressive on, uh, existing tenants and lease increases. Uh, but, uh, you know, find a strategy that works for you. Communicate that to your property manager, like your property manager should be on it. It shouldn't be like, oh, what should I lease this unit? Like we have a process like go to rent cast or whatever platform they like to use, you know, find the rent estimates. You know, look at the tenant. Is this a lease renewal? Is this a new tenant? Right. Like have kind of almost like a workflow checklist whatever that, you know, that they know. Uh, but let them do it, you know, once once they're comfortable with. And we had great success with this.   Anton Ivanov (00:24:42) - Like we got our leasing agents and they like it too, by the way. Like, you know, property managers do like systems. They have a lot of units. They kind of they don't want to be overthinking too. But if you get them on a system, I actually found that they're very responsive to it provides like overall a good company. Like they're, you know, they're honest. They want to work. Uh, they like these systems. They, they like that, like, hey, I do do do do this. And my owner is happy. The tenants are happy. Like, we're done. You know, it's, uh, I've, I've haven't had personal issues once. You kind of get them on board with that man.   Sam Wilson (00:25:13) - That's great. So we got three action items here. Yeah. In order to. And it all comes. Well, you know, one is minimize the vacancy, two is retain the existing tenants that you have and then three is inside of retaining those existing tenants.   Sam Wilson (00:25:27) - Um, you know, it's it's paying really close attention to how your units are priced and when who the tenant is. That's, that's currently there. And or if it is a unit that you're filling. So that's really, really helpful. What has been your. I know you'd mentioned this maybe off air and maybe you didn't mention it on air, but I think you told me that there was a certain percentage that you've really increased the top line revenue to your business without adding more units here, just implementing this strategy.   Anton Ivanov (00:25:54) - Yeah. I think I haven't like done the math exactly today, but I think over the last. So we haven't bought new units I think for two years. And it's primarily because of Covid and kind of the market was really up there, you know, with the prices, then the rates start going up. So we've really focused on operations because I feel like as a real estate investor, you always should be focusing on something again, like you're the CEO. Like you shouldn't be just sitting around, you know, collecting your paycheck, which is nice, but, uh, and a great time if you feel like the market is a bit saturated, you know, not not the best interest rate environment.   Anton Ivanov (00:26:27) - Focus on operations. We've grown our, uh, top line revenue and our cash flow because of that by over 20% by doing these tips. So by focusing on vacancies, working with our property managers, uh, and, uh, you know, kind of really keeping up with market rents, I think over the last couple of years, we've increased cash flow by over 20% without buying a single unit. And I think unless you're like, really? On what I, what we just talked about, probably almost any investor, any building, any asset can use something from that. And these are just like a few tips. You know, there's obviously like cutting costs and and improving your like maintenance and all that stuff that you can get into. But I would basically look at your, uh, you know, your profit and loss for, for each asset or for your whole portfolio and just work through every number like it starts with rent, then it's your vacancies, you know, then you jump into your expenses and just look at, you know, criticize every number, uh, like, you know, can I increase this number? You know, if it's rent, can I decrease this expense number, like scrutinized, like just brainstorming.   Anton Ivanov (00:27:27) - It's actually kind of cool and and, like, fun, in my opinion. Like, you'll be surprised. Like, we've even, uh, this is kind of a little off side, but we've done, like, things like, we went to our utility provider, uh, for trash, like, for trash collection. We said, like, hey, we have all these units, like, we have 30 plus units. You guys are servicing. Can we can we get, like, a 20% discount? And I don't think we got 20%, but we got like 15% discount for like, no reason. Like it's just a matter of just, you know, just asking for it, just brainstorming it. Increase your top line or decrease your expenses and just see your cash flow, you know, balloon without actually increasing units. And then you can apply this over and over again to new units you buy down the road. So it's like you're setting your current portfolio for success, but you're also preparing to basically maximize the profit and cash flow of future acquisitions, which I think is huge, especially like, you know, if the if the environment of the market is a little more tougher and maybe investors are passing over these buildings because they're like, hey, the numbers don't really work, you can look at them and you'll be like, you know what? I can make this work because I have this whole toolkit for improving my income and reduce my expenses.   Sam Wilson (00:28:35) - Anton, thank you for taking the time to come back on the show today. This was certainly insightful. I love the way you guys think about property management, how you interface with your property managers. Again, you've given us several just awesome, uh, very, you know, tangible action items, steps that we can take here. If our listeners want to get in touch with you and learn more about you, what is the best way to do that?   Anton Ivanov (00:28:56) - Yeah. So check out our I already mentioned our Rent Casio platform. Uh, great for looking up rents and tracking your portfolio. We also have our deal checker platform. That's for for property analysis on new acquisitions. And if you want to get Ahold of me, just send me an email to Anton at Rent Casio. I actually reply, I get a ton of emails, but I reply to all of them. Just may take me some time. If you have questions about our software or about real estate, feel free to hit me up.   Sam Wilson (00:29:21) - Fantastic will include that there in the show. Notes Anton. Dot what was it?   Anton Ivanov (00:29:26) - Anton at rent Casio.   Sam Wilson (00:29:29) - Anton at rent Casio. I know I was messing that up somewhere. That's okay. Thank you again for your time today. I do appreciate it.   Anton Ivanov (00:29:36) - Thank you. Sam, it's always a pleasure.   Sam Wilson (00:29:37) - Hey, thanks for listening to the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate podcast. If you can do.   Sam Wilson (00:29:41) - Me a favor.   Sam Wilson (00:29:42) - And subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, whatever.   Sam Wilson (00:29:48) - Platform it is you use to listen. If you can do that for us, that would be a fantastic help to the show. It helps us both attract new listeners as well as rank higher on those directories. So appreciate you listening. Thanks so much and hope to catch you on the next episode.

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Retired Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins brings you the best in mob history with his unique perception of the mafia. In this episode, Gary discusses with Justin Cascio, a mafia genealogist, his book In Our Blood: The Mafia in Corleone, Italy, In Our Blood: The Mafia Families of Corleone. We explore the roots and activities of … Corleone Sicily with Justin Cascio Read More » The post Corleone Sicily with Justin Cascio appeared first on Gangland Wire.