The list of suspects in Bugsy’s murder reads like a classic whodunnit ... His real name was Benjamin Siegel. And he was the Mob’s most feared hit-man. But beneath the smile the handsome New Yorker was a cold-blooded killer. Siegel began a partnership with Meyer Lansky in New York. They formed an organised crime syndicate with its hands in gambling, prostitution and murder. Unexplained Mysteries
Very experienced in thuggery. They [The Syndicate] shook down local push-cart vendors. They worked on behalf of the unions ... They worked on behalf of management to intimidate the unions. Mark Gribben, crime historian
Throughout the 1980s Vincent the Chin Gigante could be seen shuffling along Sullivan Street in New York’s Greenwich Village. He wore bedroom slippers and a tattered bathrobe. His hair was uncombed and he supported a day’s growth of grey whiskers. The average New Yorker assumed he was crazy. Vinnie ‘The Chin’ Gigante
The FBI hoped to link Chin to at least six Mafia hits and the attempted murder of mob boss John Gotti. Investigators also believed Gigante controlled the Genovese family’s vast criminal enterprises, including extortion and drug running. But they need to take the veil off his crazy act. So the FBI began to follow his every move. ibid.
He was twenty-nine when he earned the assignment that would make his career: to kill a mob boss, a Godfather named Frank Costello. ibid.
But it wasn’t until mobster Vito Genovese took Gigante under his wing that his criminal career began to take shape. ibid.
On July 25th 1997 Vincent Gigante was found guilty and sentenced to twelve years in prison. ibid.
Not so long ago in America a hidden empire of crime, violence and money ruled large parts of this country. Inside the American Mob s1e1: Stayin’ Alive in the 70s, National Geographic 2013
‘It is the most enduring, powerful and venal organised criminal organisation to exist and to continue in America.’ ibid. Selwyn Rabb
In the 1970s they controlled trucking, the ports, the garbage business and a lot of meat, produce and fish markets. ibid.
Five families: Genovese, Lucchese, Gambino, Bonanno and Colombo. ibid.
Joe Colombo was a mixture of old world and new ... A master of murder and corruption. ibid.
Colombo loves the attention and doesn’t seem to know when to stop. ibid.
Mob boss Joe Colombo was shot at his own rally in 1971. ibid.
With Pistone’s alias established, Operation Donny Brasco slowly begins. ibid.
It’s 1978 and the United States’ government is at war with a hidden empire. A network of gangstas who live by a code of crime, violence and power. Inside the American Mob s1e2: Operation Donnie Brasco
Right in their midst, hiding in plain sight, is an undercover agent named Joe Pistone. He has been living among the Colombo family for the last year under the alias Donnie Brasco. ibid.
Pistone now gets close to Sonny Black whose fortunes in the Bonanno family are rising thanks in part to the Florida club. ibid.
The son [Michael Franzese] who once followed his gangsta father blindly into the life now walks away from the Mob for ever unscathed. How Michael Franzese got out of the American Mob with his life remains a mystery to this day. ibid.
The information Pistone provides law enforcement leads to over 200 indictments and more than 100 convictions of major Mob figures. ibid.
1983: Mob bosses brazenly gun down their own members including other bosses in the streets of New York City: Joe Colombo, Joey Gallo, Carmine Galante, Sonny Black … Inside the American Mob: Taking Down the Mafia s1e4, National Geographic 2013
Giuliani sees the Mafia as his battle. ibid.
That informant – Gregory Scarpa – would become arguably the most important of all paid informants. ibid.
The first target in the electronic assault – the Lucchese crime family based in Harlem. ibid.
Law enforcement indicts and arrests nine members of the Commission. ibid.
It is 1986 and the fortunes of the five families of the American Mob are changing rapidly. Inside the American Mob s1e5: Rise and Fall of Gotti
The hit on Castellano was not sanctioned by the Commission. ibid.
Spero is one of the last major mob members still on the streets. Inside the American Mob s1e6: End Game
By 2003 the sun’s finally setting on the American Mob. ibid.
Joe Massino – when he becomes the first boss of a Family to cooperate with the federal government. ibid.
I was born and raised in Brooklyn where I was introduced to the American Mob through an uncle of mine. Inside the American Mob s2e1: Becoming Boss, Salvatori Polisi
Many cities across America were built on a hidden empire of crime. And in the 1970s crime bosses ruled the streets with violence and money. ibid.
In New York that enterprise is divided into five families. ibid.
Colombo oversaw an army of psychopathic killers … Colombo loved the attention and didn’t know when to stop. ibid.
‘The 1970s: we were all wannabes, we did the grunt work for the mob bosses or the upper echelon mob guys. And those mobsters had power in those days.’ Inside the American Mob s2e2: Going Undercover, Salvador ‘Crazy’ Polisi
It’s 1978 and the United States government is at war with a hidden empire. The network of gangstas who live by a code of crime, violence and power. ibid.
With [Joe] Pistone’s alias established, Operation Donnie Brasco slowly begins. ibid.
Not everyone in Jimmy’s crew liked or trusted newcomer Donnie Brasco and his attempt to become an associate within the Colombo family hit a roadblock. ibid.
For the first time an American agent has been fully accepted into the world of the Mob. ibid.
Three captains wanted to take control of the [Bonanno] Family: Sonny Red Indellicato, Phil Monkey Gioaccone & Dominick Trinchera. ibid.
Joe Pistone has pulled off one of the greatest deceptions in law enforcement history. Sonny Black invites him to join the [Bonanno] Club. ibid.
Philadelphia: When you join La Cosa Nostra, you’re in it for life. You have that honour and respect. Inside the American Mob s2e3: Escaping the Mob, Philip Leonetti, Philadelphia underboss
It’s 1980 and the United States’ government is locked in a battle to the death with the Mafia. But the secret society known as Cosa Nostra still remains immensely powerful throughout the country. ibid.
In the American Mob success can be as dangerous as failure, especially if the Mob thinks you’re skimming the take. ibid.
In New York Michael Franzese, captain and top earner in the Colombo Family, is also becoming disillusioned with his way of life … Law enforcement is closing in. ibid.
Scarpo was a well respected and feared member of the Colombo Family. Inside the American Mob s2e4: Fighting the Mob
It’s the early 1980s. The secret society known as La Cosa Nostra remains the most powerful organised crime force in the country. Untouched by the Law. Mob bosses brazenly gun down their own members, including other bosses, on the streets of New York City. ibid.
Do it right this time. Sonny Black, final words while being shot
Since the turn of the century the Mafia in America consolidated its power creating a criminal empire which had its roots in a variety of different industries. Their unofficial headquarters was New York City where the five major Families were based. Their leaders formed the Mafia’s secret ruling council called The Commission. Mafia Empire: Breaking the Vow, Discovery 1999
Lending money at exorbitant interest rates known as Points and collecting debts with the threat of violence was the long-time Mafia tradition of loan-sharking. ibid.
Two years later law enforcement benefited from the introduction of new legislation The Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organisations Statute known as Rico. ibid.
For years the Mafia had perpetuated the myth that they were not involved in the drugs trade ... The international narcotics conspiracy was the link between the Sicilian and American Mafia. ibid.
With convictions and lengthy jail sentences for almost all the defendants in the Pizza Connection trial was hailed as a major triumph. ibid.