In the 1960s the history of the Mafia changed for ever when the Sicilian Mob began flooding the United States with … heroin: heroin would turn the Mafia into a global organisation and make them more money than they had ever made before; but it would also sow the seeds of their own destruction. Inside the Mafia: Going Global, National Geographic 2005
Shutting down the French Connection was indirectly opening the door to … the Sicilian Mafia. ibid.
Galante: a heroin man … multi-billion-dollar profits and unparalleled violence. In the ’70s the Bonanno family was known as … the heroin family. ibid.
The Sicilians set up a sophisticated smuggling system … Toto Riina … his factories were producing ton after ton of pure heroin. ibid.
The Sicilians had turned on Galante. ibid.
Henry Hill regularly used Pizza restaurants for his heroin drop-offs. ibid.
Upstate New York: November 1957: In the sleepy town of Appalachia an extraordinary meeting was taking place … A summit meeting of the entire leadership of the American Mafia. In fact until that moment many denied the Mafia even existed. Inside the Mafia: Mafia? What Mafia?
In Sicily all Mafiosi had to take a sacred blood oath that they would never betray the organisation … The novice was sworn in through a quasi-religious ceremony and became a so-called man of honour. The American Mafia followed exactly the same initiation ceremony. ibid.
The Commission: a Mafia board of directors made up of the bosses of the five New York families plus those of Chicago and Buffalo. ibid.
Hoover had almost no Italian American agents who would infiltrate the Mob. ibid.
In America the subject of drugs continued to dominate Mafia discussions. ibid.
It was perhaps the most lucrative criminal racket in history. Between 1979 and 1984 the Sicilian Mafia smuggled nearly two billion dollars’ worth of heroin into the US. It made mobsters on both sides of the Atlantic rich. It also led to war. In Sicily rival bosses fought for control of the heroin-trafficking empire. The terror this war unleashed drove on the Godfather to break omerta, the Mafia’s sacred code of silence. His act of betrayal would lead to a transatlantic assault on the Mafia and make the first serious dent in their worldwide power. Heroin was flooding into the United States in the late 1970s. Smuggled inside Italian food products and distributed through Pizzarias owned by the Sicilian Mafia. It was known as the Pizza Connection. The US faced an epidemic of heroin addiction. But for American gangstas heroin meant money. And lots of it. Inside the Mafia: The Great Betrayal
From the chaos of the New York City streets rises a legion of visionary gangsters, determined to create their own version of the American dream. The Making of the Mob, Quest 2015
The American Mafia – making millions, killing thousands, and changing the face of crime for ever. ibid.
In the fall of 1931 Charles Lucky Luciano calls the most powerful gangsters in America to a hotel in Chicago for a meeting that will soon change everything. ibid.
They still have to give a huge cut of their profits to Joe Masseria. ibid.
Luciano and Lansky decide that they’re going to use their gangs to take out Joe the Boss Masseria. A move that will lead to an all-out war unlike anything New York has ever seen. ibid.
Every man has a weakness and for [Arnold] Rothstein it’s high-stakes gambling. The Making of the Mob II
Masseria’s empire has been targeted by a ruthless well-funded Sicilian mob boss named Salvatore Maranzano. ibid.
After taking out the two most powerful Mob bosses in New York, 34-year-old Charles Lucky Luciano sets in motion the next phase of his plan – to seize control of the New York City. Luciano and his crew – Mayer Lansky, Frank Costello, Bugsy Seigel and Vito Genovese – send an army of hitmen to eliminate loyalists of the New York underworld’s old regimes. The Making of the Mob III
‘Luciano calls for a major meeting of the crime bosses in New York and major gangsters elsewhere. Until this time there is really no Mafia in America.’ ibid. Selwyn Raab
Dutch Schultz: His numbers operation alone brings in $20 million a year. ibid.
Dutch Schultz plans to assassinate the man on a mission to take down the mob – New York prosecutor Thomas Dewey. Dewey launches a crusade against organised crime. The Making of the Mob IV
The New York kingpin orders a hit on one of his own. ibid.
Underground brothels are thriving and he [Luciano] wants a cut of their profits ... Luciano streamlines the prostitution business ... A city-wide network of up to 200 brothels and up to 1,200. ibid.
From a jail cell in Arkansas, Lucky Luciano is still in full control of his empire. ibid.
The most powerful gangster in the country is forced to surrender. ibid.
The New York kingpin will take the stand in his own defence. ibid.
Lucky Luciano has been sentenced to fifty years in a maximum security prison. The Making of the Mob V
Luciano is still calling the shots. But Costello and Genovese carry out his orders. ibid.
But Genovese lets the power go to his head. And Luciano’s empire starts to fall apart. When Genovese fleas the country on murder charges, Frank Costello is named acting boss of the family. But a snitch emerges from within forcing Luciano to order a hit that keeps his empire intact but brings him no closer to freedom. The Making of the Mob VI
Lepki Conviction Gratifies Dewey. ibid. newspaper article
In the 1940s heroin is legal in Italy. And Mussolini allows Genovese to export narcotics freely. ibid.
The Allies invade Sicily ... To Luciano, Genovese has been a liability for years, failing as a boss and drawing attention to the Mob. ibid.
Now, Lucky Luciano must leave it all behind. ibid.
Now, Luciano will have to figure out how to keep control of the American Mafia from four thousand miles away. The Making of the Mob VII
Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky – each of Siegel’s childhood crew has either been the boss or has had the freedom to run his own operation. Siegel wants to be remembered as more than just a trigger man – he wants a lasting legacy. ibid.
Luciano seizes what’s left of Genovese’s drug operation and makes it his own. ibid.
Cuba: the perfect place for Luciano to make his comeback. ibid.
It will become known as the Havana Summit. For his long awaited return Luciano decides to go big and brings a well-known performer in from New York City – named Frank Sinatra. ibid.
Luciano is now in control of a global narcotics empire. ibid.
Siegel’s operation has gone wildly over budget ... Now more than ever he need the Flamingo to succeed. ibid.
Bugsy Siegel’s big gamble on a forgotten desert town finally pays off. ibid.
1947: Siegel becomes the first of Luciano’s original crew to be killed. ibid.
[Genovese] reaches out to a mid-level gangsta in one of the other New York families ... named Carlo Gambino. ibid.
In front of a television audience of 30 million, the Mafia takes the stand. ibid.
The hit on [Lawrence] Mangano was ordered by his underboss Albert Anastasia. The Making of the Mob VIII
In partnership with Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino has successfully eliminated the head of his family – Albert Anastasia. ibid.
Vito Genovese is found guilty of smuggling and distributing narcotics and is sentenced to fifteen years in prison. ibid.
Frank Costello lives out his retirement in peace remaining an influential figure in the New York Mafia. ibid.
Mayer Lansky retires to Miami Beach where he lives well into his old age. ibid.
John Gotti is the most ruthless kingpin ever to rule the American Mafia. Kingpin: John Gotti, History 2018
In 1980s New York one of the most brazen and daring mobsters in American history captivates the entire country, uses brutal force to take what he wants and rises to control the Mafia’s most powerful crime family. ibid.
Dellacroce is prepared to take control of the Family but Carlo Gambino’s plan of succession bypasses his loyal lieutenant and instead crowns a white-collar capo as the new boss – his name is Paul Castellano. ibid.
The Gambino crime family is headed to war. ibid.
John Gotti is more determined than ever to take out the boss. ibid.