On Tuesday, within 24 hours of John J. Gotti's death, Dennis Rigas put the staff on high alert at his flower shop in Richmond Hill, Queens.
"We first got the call about two days ago and they told us that they didn't know exactly when, where or how," Rigas said. "We did not know when or where, but we have been on alert for two days."
For florists who specialize in funeral arrangements, few occasions are as momentous as the death of a mob boss. And the passing of Gotti, the so-called Teflon Don, was nothing short of a historic event. At times like this, an arranger's reputation can extend to the stuff of legend or be shattered in an instant. For Rigas, it meant having a special team in place and closing down his shop to all other business.
Rigas was at the wholesale market early on Wednesday when his wife, Maryann, reached him with the urgent news. He rushed back to the shop, Dennis Rigas Floral Creations.
"We cut off things with the outside world and made sure every piece was there early at 1 o'clock," he said. "There was no stopping. There was no going to the bathroom. There was no eating lunch. There was no talking."
By the end of the day, Rigas and his team had assembled three huge gates of heaven arrangements -- made with orchids from Hawaii, Charlotte roses, Acapulco lilies -- each with hundreds of flowers. "We make the frame out of wood," Rigas said. "Then every flower is put in an individual tube of water and then we create it with our imagination."
They also designed a broken heart made of carnations, roses and orchids, and a cross of chrysanthemums, roses, anthuriums and orchids. There were also some 50 sprays and baskets. "The gates of heaven is a very important piece for Italian people," Rigas explained. "It's a very expensive piece."
Asked who had placed the orders, Rigas said he'd rather not say. "They are special people we have known for our whole life," he said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
RSS