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 s1e2
Masseria’s empire has been targeted by a ruthless well-funded Sicilian mob boss named Salvator 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 Siegel and Vito Genovese – send an army of hitmen to eliminate loyalists of the New York underworld’s old regimes. The Making of the Mob s1e3
‘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 dollars 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 s1e4
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 two hundred brothels and up to twelve hundred prostitutes. 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 s1e5
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 countries, 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 s1e6
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 s1e7
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 needs The Flamingo to succeed. ibid.
Bugsy Siegel’s big gamble on a forgotten desert town finally pays off. 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 s1e8
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.
In 1973, inspired by President Nixon's War on Drugs, Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, introduced a new set of Drug Laws that remain in force to this day, continuing to bear his name. For possessing a risible amount of any drugs, New Yorkers risk draconian sentences of between fifteen years and life in a state penitentiary. And New York State pays out more than $500 million every year to keep incarcerated those who have fallen foul of this regime. Misha Glenny, McMafia
Perhaps the most terrifying statistic of all that Soares uncovered was that in Albany County (minority population 13 per cent) more than 95 per cent of imprisoned Drug Laws offenders were black or Hispanic. Whichever way you look at the figure, it can only mean one thing – something is rotten in the state. ibid.
Thomas Winston, a stereotype, a black New Yorker who has been in and out of prison all his life for the sale and possession of drugs. Thomas has signed up for a campaign to reform New York’s Rockefeller drug laws. The sale or possession of small amounts of drugs are given a mandatory sentence equivalent to second-degree murder. Angus MacQueen, Our Drugs War: Life and Death of a Dealer
New York City 1991: Right there. No, the flower shop. Valentine’s Day, baby. Rob the Mob 2014 starring Michael Pitt & Andy Garcia & Nina Arianda & Ray Romano & Griffin Dunne & Michael Rispoli & Rank Whaley & Burt Young & Yul Vasquez & Samira Wiley & Bill Raymond & Adam Trese et al, director Raymond de Felitta, robbery
‘My name is Jonas Wojtowicz – you can call me the Dog.’ Storyville: The Great Sex Addict Heist: The Dog, BBC 2015
At 2.58 p.m. that afternoon two men entered a bank in Brooklyn and began what turned out to be the most sensational, most bizarre, most unbelievable bank robbery in the history of crime. ibid.
‘When we went inside the bank, Bobby walks over to me and says, I can’t do it.’ ibid.
‘One of the most celebrated losers of recent times.’ ibid. television news report
Mike, is that motherfucker there? Let me talk to him. Chuck, I’m going to tell you something. You have that fucking hundred in my hands tomorrow. If you ain’t got that two hundreds in my hands tomorrow, I’ll break every fucking bone in your body. I swear to my kids. You understand? Fear City: New York vs The Mafia s1e1: Mob Rule, Netflix 2020, tapes
People once called New York Fun City. Now police and fireman’s unions in New York are calling it Fear City. ibid. television news
1970s New York: A lawless city plagued by drugs, violence and murder … ‘It’s a story about New York. It’s a story about horrible acts of violence. And then it’s a story about greed for money and power and dominance.’ … ibid.
Five untouchable Mafia families hold the city in their grip. This is a story of the men and women who attempt the impossible: to bring down the Mob. ibid.
Our biggest task force ever: we were going to bug the Mafia. ibid. rozzer
In the 1970s the city of New York was owned by the Mob. ibid. Curtis Sliwa
Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese … New York was total anarchy. The Bronx was burning every night. ibid.
New York was in the grip of the Mafia. The government wasn’t much in control of anything. ibid. DOJ dude
Using Rico, a person could now be convicted because they ordered someone to do a crime. ibid.
Going after the bosses of all five families. When he first broached that to me, I had my doubts. ibid. DOJ dude #2