Mob boss Louis Lepke dies in the electric chair.
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano testifies against his boss, John Gotti.
Arthur Sloan speculates on the career and mysterious death of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.
Frank Costello sees himself as a businessman, preferring diplomacy to violence.
Joseph Valachi is the first syndicate member to testify against the Cosa Nostra and reveal its inner workings.
Financial wizard Meyer Lansky survives some 50 years in organized crime.
Mobster Al Capone finally goes to prison for tax evasion.
Vincent Gigante attempts to convince the world that he is legally insane.
Mafia crime boss Joseph Bonanno outlives enemies and publishes his memoirs.
The Gambino crime family comes to power when Carlo Gambino has Albert Anastasia shot; Paul Castellano; John Gotti.
Mobster Henry Hill's testimony brings down some of New York's most feared criminals.
Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano creates Murder Inc. and makes millions in racketeering and prostitution.
He rose to become a gangster in South Boston, became an informant for the FBI to end the Italian mob in, distract them from his own criminal activities and ended in the largest informant scandal in FBI history.
Murder, Inc. was a ruthless gang that carried out an estimate 1,000 mob hits. founded by Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, they were assassins that carried out contract killings for the Itailian American, Jewish American mafia, and others
He was one of the most successful and notorious members of the Italian-American Mafia. During Tommy's tenure as underboss and boss of what would come to be known as the Lucchese crime family, he pioneered and perfected labor rackets in New York City's kosher chicken industry, the garment district, and the world of professional boxing which generated millions of dollars.
disliked, and distrusted by members of his own crime family, the Gambino crime family, he still rose to be the head of that crime family, however under controversial and disagreeable circumstances.
The fifth child of 13 children, John Joseph Gotti Jr was born on 27th October 1940 in the South Bronx. From a very young age, Gotti made a name for himself in the neighbourhood as the leader of the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, a group of young thugs. Gotti soon became 'capo' of the East New York Crew. After a violent coup he went on to take the leadership position of the Gambino Crime family. All of these events would set Gotti on the path to becoming one of the most well-known figures in Mafia history. Gotti's legendary fashion flair made him an interesting character. His rough cunning made his fellow mafiosi respect him. Gotti's volatile temper made them and others fear him.
Carlos Marcello grew up in the mysterious milieu of New Orleans in the early 20th Century to become the city's mafia boss for almost four decades. Despite his modest beginnings, Carlos joined the mafia at age 26 and quickly climbed in the ranks, aided by success in illegal gambling ventures and a talent for making effective payoffs to public officials. In 1947, Marcello became the longtime boss of New Orleans in a reign marked by absolute power, corruption, and antagonism of the U.S. government. At his height he would be revered as possibly the most powerful mob leader in the nation. One day Congress would even suspect Marcello of participating in a conspiracy to kill the President to of the United States.
Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug trafficker who operated in Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, but this claim is denied by his Southeast Asian associate, Leslie "Ike" Atkinson. Rather than hide the drugs in the coffins, they were hidden in the pallets underneath, as depicted in the feature film American Gangster (2007) in which he was played by Denzel Washington, although the film fictionalized elements of Lucas' life for dramatic effect. In 1976, Lucas was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 70 years in prison; however, after becoming an informant, his sentence was reduced to five years. He was convicted of the same offense in 1984, and sentenced to seven years in prison. He died in 2019.
In this shocking episode of mobsters, we deal with the brutal drug trade which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s, typified by the violent yet hugely interesting figure of the 'Santo Traficante'; literally, the saintly or sacred drug dealer.
Mickey Cohen became the king of West Coast mob rackets in 1947, following Bugsy Siegel's death.
Tony Spilotro made his name in Chicago's most powerful organized crime family and was given control of the gang's casino interests in Las Vegas.
Female mobsters Virginia Hill, Arlyne Brickman and Karen Hill.
Philadelphia mob boss Nicky Scarfo's paranoia, volatility and treachery ultimately lead to his demise.
After Roy Albert DeMeo was brought into the Gambino family as an associate, he became the mastermind behind a gang thought to be responsible for up to 200 murders.
Profile of New York gangster Joey Gallo, who was a member of the Colombian crime family, and initiated one of the bloodiest Mob conflicts in history
A group of ruthless Irish punks called the ``Westies'' terrorize Hell's Kitchen in New York City in the the 1970s.
Notorious, heroin kingpin, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, went from organizing one of the most powerful African-American heroin rings in New York to a government informant. Out of spite, Barnes turned on his fellow associates and destroyed the drug trafficking empire he took so long to build.
Exploring the crimes of Frank Nitti, who ran Al Capone's crime syndicate when the Mob boss was incarcerated
This mobster rose from a foot soldier in Al Capone's Chicago "Outfit" to eventual boss of the notorious gang. Under Tony Accardo's leadership, off-and-on for nearly fifty years, the "Outfit" prospered through numerous illegal rackets including gambling, prostitution and extortion.
This episode explores six of the most notorious mafia killings of all time and the everlasting effects these murders had on organized crime. From the Castellammarese War in the late 1920's to the assassination of the Boss of Bosses, Paul Castellano, in 1985, we'll go deep inside the most infamous mafia power struggles in American history. The program delves into the relationships of greedy, power hungry Mafiosi, exploring their conflicts, and illustrating their bloody resolutions. From Maranzano to Masseria, Dutch Shultz to Bugsy Siegel, the outcome is always the same... murder.
In the 1980s, New York City cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were secretly working as hired guns for the Mafia in a scheme that would go down as the worst case of police corruption in NYPD history.
Fashioning himself a modern-day Celtic warrior, 1970's Irish mobster Danny Greene clashed with the Cleveland mafia, resulting in a bombing war that would eventually destroy them both.
As leader of Murder, Inc., Albert Anastasia was one of the most vicious and feared mob bosses of the twentieth century.
Tommy Pitera became one of the most violent men of all time in the 1980's; betrayal brought the mob killer to justice.
During the 1970s, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso rose through the ranks of the New York Mafia to become underboss of the Lucchese family, raking in millions of dollars through elaborate scams and killing anyone who got in his way.
After New York's Bonanno mob family was nearly destroyed by an undercover FBI agent, Joseph "Big Joey" Massino brought them back to prominence and became the only major Mafia boss left on the streets...the "Last Don."
Gun-for-hire Joe "Mad Dog" Sullivan tries to hide his criminal activities from his family.
Frank Calabrese Jr., son of mobster Frank Calabrese, flipped against his father, and nearly brought down the vaunted Chicago Outfit.
"Mad Sam" DeStefano had a three-decade reign as a juice loan lender and sadistic enforcer with the notorious Chicago Outfit.
Dutch Schultz ruled the numbers rackets until mob bosses ordered his murder.
Richard Kuklinski lived a shocking double life; suburban husband and father at home, and brutal contract killer on the streets.
Carmine Persico stands as one of most enduring Godfathers in mafia history.
Gregory Scarpa lived a charmed triple life; mafia hit man, loving father and husband, and secret FBI informant.
Jimmy Burke was one of the most prolific mob earners in New York history.
