As Rudy Giuliani, now 81, fights for his life in a Florida hospital following reports of critical but stable condition, one truth emerges clearly: his place in American history is already secure. Whether he emerges from this health scare or not, Giuliani’s contributions as a prosecutor, mayor, and steadfast advocate cannot be erased by contemporary critics or legal battles. While some paint him as unreliable, hard-drinking, or mercenary—narratives that often serve the momentary needs of political grifters—his substantive achievements dwarf such personal attacks.

Giuliani’s greatness traces directly to his prosecutorial brilliance in the 1980s. As U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he wielded the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) with historic force against the Mafia’s Five Families. In the landmark Mafia Commission Trial, he indicted and convicted top bosses for running a criminal enterprise of murder, extortion, and racketeering. The Pizza Connection case further dismantled international heroin networks tied to Sicilian and American organized crime. These were not abstract legal maneuvers; they represented a systematic assault on entrenched power structures that had long terrorized New York. Giuliani did not invent RICO—Congress passed it in 1970—but he perfected its use as a scalpel against entire organizations, delivering sentences that crippled mob leadership for a generation.

That same tenacity defined his tenure as New York City’s 108th mayor (1994–2001). Taking office amid high crime and fiscal strain, Giuliani implemented data-driven policing via CompStat, “broken windows” strategies, welfare reform, and tax cuts. Crime plummeted—murders by roughly 70%, overall crime by over 60%—transforming a city once synonymous with disorder into America’s safest large metropolis. His leadership after the September 11, 2001, attacks, where he provided calm authority amid unimaginable horror, earned him the title “America’s Mayor” and Time’s Person of the Year. These were results-oriented governance at its best, rooted in accountability rather than ideology.

Critics today, often aligned with narratives dismissing Giuliani’s later service, seize on anecdotes of personal flaws. One recurring claim involves a self-described lifelong Democrat who sought Giuliani’s help but alleged he demanded payment upfront and refused pro bono work. Such stories circulate conveniently when political winds shift, portraying him as greedy or unreliable. Yet even if elements of hard-living or financial focus hold truth—and many public figures have similar human frailties—they pale against the record. Greatness is measured by impact, not perfection. Personal conduct does not negate prosecutorial victories, urban revival, or crisis leadership.

Giuliani’s post-mayoral role as personal counsel to President Donald Trump, particularly after the contested 2020 election, cemented his legacy while inviting fierce opposition. He championed legal challenges to election irregularities, work that Trump later recognized with a federal pardon in late 2025. Detractors label this “lawfare”—coordinated legal warfare by entrenched interests, often dubbed the “Deep State,” aimed at neutralizing political threats rather than pursuing neutral justice. Cases involving RICO statutes (ironically, the very tool Giuliani once mastered), defamation suits from election workers, and disbarment proceedings followed a pattern: aggressive pursuit of Trump allies through novel or stretched applications of law, often in jurisdictions hostile to the former president. Whether one agrees with every legal theory advanced in 2020–2021, the selective intensity of these actions against Giuliani and Trump stands in contrast to leniency shown elsewhere, raising legitimate questions about weaponized institutions.

Giuliani’s service to Trump was not without personal cost. It invited financial strain, professional repercussions, and relentless media scrutiny. Yet it exemplified loyalty and a willingness to contest power when others faltered. In an era of institutional distrust, his willingness to question official narratives—however imperfectly—resonates with millions who view 2020 as a pivotal test of electoral integrity.

Rudy Giuliani is no saint; few transformative figures are. But his record as Mafia-buster, crime-fighting mayor, and unyielding Trump defender forms a legacy of tangible results and principled combativeness. As he battles health challenges, America should reflect on the man who helped tame New York’s underworld and skyline chaos, not the caricatures crafted for today’s partisan battles. History, not headline writers or prosecutors, will render the final verdict—and it is already leaning favorable.

I first told this to a class, making it up, no notes, spoken as narrator. I went home and wrote it down. 2002. I was 35 years old, friendless, under siege from pedophiles and child killers, soon to lose my job, my home, everything I treasured. 

The fiction, horror story was autobiographical. A sister in my dysfunctional family died from kidney disease and renal failure following a transplant, on Valentines Day 1978. A pet dog had saved our family from a house fire, but later died after a traffic accident when no one had wanted to walk it. I had visited the Amityville House. We had had a neighbour, Mrs Webster, who would look at our backyard and complain about our dog doing its' business there. Chris, Joff, Big and Arthur were real too. Big liked ant farms. Chris and Arthur shared music and guitar play. I would tell them the truth and they would not listen. I drew on real events and twisted them to narrate the story, to keep direction for focus. 

The start of the story with Webster throwing stones, calling out etc, echoes the narrator's experience of being cursed, wanting to warn others, and throwing stones and calling out. Webster and the Narrator die in a comfortable armchair looking for resolution and finding only horror. The new family was to be the Amityville Horror family. This is a prequel. 

https://oddballsstories.blogspot.com/2007/12/mystery-of-websters-curse-heroism-of.html

My first video attempts I sourced pictures from the Internet, but it was too disjointed. I got a Disney animator to do some art for me. But I had no money to complete my project. 

Recently, I've been working with Suno and Grok AI and they allowed me to do the work I've done. I've spent two weeks on this, and could do better with transitions and effects. I will put the better effort into the sequel, the Ballad of Mytzi the Puppy. 

As for the stone throwing, the actual story is my dad was very angry with me and wanted to drive me to school on his way to work. He vented as he drove. When I was to leave the car he punched me on the face, giving me a black eye. He apologised, saying he meant to hit my chest and not leave a mark. He was very concerned I might tell people he hit me. I assured him I wouldn't. A nurse asked me about the eye. I said I injured it playing Ball. To this day, nobody knows the joke. I had been in first grade. 

I welcome feedback.