The Irish Mob TV - Mobsters TV -
On December 11th 1978 the biggest robbery in US history took place, the Lufthansa Heist. It was the perfect robbery and the mastermind behind it was the Irish gangster Jimmy the Gent Burke. The Irish Mob s1e3, 2007
The basis for Robert De Niro’s character in the film Goodfellas. ibid.
Jimmy Burke was one of the richest and most powerful gangsters in New York. ibid.
Burke was sentenced to life in prison where he died on April of 1996 at the age of 64. ibid.
In the 1970s a war was fought for control of the Cleveland rackets in Ohio, a war that ripped the city apart. On one side was the Mafia, and on the other was the Irishman known as the Celtic warrior, Danny Greene. ibid.
Multiple assassination attempts failed. And Greene put it all down to the luck of the Irish. ibid.
Cleveland, Ohio, March 29th 1975: Christie’s Lounge: a well-dressed older man sipped his drink. He was telling a familiar story to the regulars. He was getting out of the rackets, leaving the Mob life, retiring to sunny Florida. He threw back his last swallow, put on his hat and walked out into the cold spring air. Moments later the bar was rocked by a powerful blast outside. Patrons rushed out and choked on the awful smell of burning flesh. Mobster [Alex] Shondor Birns was finally out of the rackets. Just not the way he planned. Mobsters s3e2: Danny Greene, Biography 2010
One man refused to hide: Irish mobster Danny Greene. His war would tear apart one of the country’s oldest and most successful Mafia families. ibid.
The Cleveland Mafia had a good thing going. The Boss John Scalish ran a quiet operation but one that pulled in bucket loads of cash. ibid.
He [Greene] resigned from the union and after pleading guilty to corruption charges he was also hit with a $10,000 fine. Danny was out of a job, but his turn as a shady labour leader had got the attention of gambling kingpin Shondor Birns. ibid.
Greene enlisted local thugs and hoodlums into what he called a band of Celtic warriors. ibid.
The thought of taking over the Italian rackets appealed to Greene. ibid.
Cleveland was rapidly becoming the bombing capital of the world. The following year – 1977 – 37 explosions rocked the city and surrounding area. ibid.