How's the Curly girl doing?

The conversation is between reputed Outfit killer Frank Calabrese Sr. and his son, Frank Jr.

Calabrese Sr. doesn't know that his son is cooperating with the FBI, when his son visits him in 2000 at the federal prison center in Milan, Mich.

Calabrese Sr. is paranoid about discussing illegal family business in the open in a prison visiting room where there are cameras.

Calabrese Sr. had a reason to be paranoid. His conversations were being recorded.

Calabrese Sr. believes his son is out of on the street, trying to collect street tax from a bookie nicknamed Curly, who used to be an associate of the Calabrese street crew.

Calabrese Sr. asks his son "How's the Curly girl doing?" Calabrese Sr. uses the reputed bookmaker's nickname, Ralph "Curly" Peluso, but refers to him as a girl. Calabrese Sr. often does refers to men as women to throw off potential eavesdroppers.

Calabrese Jr. tells him that bookmaker is no longer "cooking," i.e. booking.

He explains that the health inspectors came by and took the cook down to City Hall. In other words, the FBI interviewed the bookmaker downtown.

Calabrese Sr. has an Italian phrase for the FBI, Scarpe Grande, and he uses that phrase to confirm that his son is talking about the FBI.

Calabrese Sr. doesn't believe the story and asks if "Mish" talked to the bookmaker. "Mish" is a nickname for his son, Calabrese Jr.

In his convoluted way, Calabrese Sr. is asking if his son talked to the bookmaker personally, and Calabrese Jr. replies that he, "Mish," went out to the person's house.

Calabrese Sr. suggests his son should keep an eye on the bookmaker to see if he hooks up with any other crews.

Calabrese Sr. refers to his son as "she" during this portion of the chat.

The son says the cook is probably just cooking for a few select people, in other words the bookmaker is just taking bets from a few clients.

Calabrese Sr. still isn't buying it and says the cook might be jumping ship, "going to another restaurant" - going to work for another Outfit crew.

After that, Calabrese Sr. asks if money has been passed along to Calabrese Sr.'s brother, Nick, who's in another prison and may possibly need a lawyer because the FBI at the time is trying to link him to a 1986 murder through DNA evidence.

Calabrese Sr. calls the prison, "a hospital," and blood refers to the bloody glove Nick Calabrese left behind at the hit.

And that's the breakdown of a coded mob conversation.