While we remember dozens of notorious criminals from the recent past, few gangsters left their mark on the 20th century like Sam Giancana did. In his decade leading the Chicago Outfit, Giancana did more than just run the mob’s lucrative rackets. He also formed ties with key politicians, like the Kennedys, and allegedly worked with…
Tommaso Buscetta – Responsible for the Maxi Trials
Turncoats are increasingly a staple of organized crime these days; Mafiosos, facing lengthy prison sentences, agree to cooperate with the prosecution and finger their fellow mobsters in exchange for lighter sentences. Sammy “the Bull” Gravano’s testimony against John Gotti in the early 1990s is perhaps the best example of this. However, it wasn’t always that…
Anthony Provenzano – Responsible for Hoffa’s Disappearance?
Deceased mobster Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano died in prison over three decades ago and may be forgotten by all but historians and people deeply interested in organized crime. However, Provenzano, like many of the more infamous 20th Century gangsters, played a small but colorful role in American history, albeit an infamous one. Provenzano’s criminal career…
Russell Bufalino – A Significant Influence in La Cosa Nostra
When you think about organized crime in America, New York, New Jersey, and Chicago come to mind, and maybe Miami. However, what about Northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York? Thanks to the powerful, long reigning crime boss Russell Alberto Bufalino, these parts of the country played a prominent, if low key role in American Mafia…
Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran – I Heard You Paint Houses
Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran definitely was involved in union corruption and organized crime, with alleged ties to the Bufalino Crime Family out of Pennsylvania. However, it is not what Sheeran did as a criminal that makes him noteworthy but what he might have done. In a book published after his death, an author with close…
Carmine “The Snake” Persico – The “Immortal” Colombo Crime Family Boss
On March 7, 2019, Carmine Persico died at the Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. At the time of his death, Persico had spent over 30 years in prison for crimes committed as the head of the Colombo Crime Family. However, despite the fact that he’d been behind bars for decades, Persico had remained…
Francesco Cali – A Rapid Rise to Gambino Crime Family Boss
Family Ties to the Old Country Frank Cali was born in New York City in 1965 to Sicilian immigrants. Cali’s connection to Sicily would play a key role in both his personal life as well as his career as a mafioso. He married Rosaria Inzerillo, who was from a reputed Mafia family in Palermo. Cali…
“Donnie Brasco” and FBI’s Infiltration of the Bonnano Crime Family
Donnie Brasco did more damage to the New York mafia than anyone else had ever done before. Brasco’s actions led to dozens of indictments and over one hundred convictions of organized crime figures across New York. The very fabric of the New York mafia and its Five Family Commission was upended, and respected Mafiosos were…
Bartholomew “Bobby” Boriello – Gotti Bodyguard and Chauffeur
In the Mafia, your friends can be a double-edged sword. Who you know can help you rise through the ranks of the mob, sometimes faster than someone with no close relationship to Mafia leadership. At the same time, being a close associate of a godfather or some controversial mafia figure can put a target on…
Thomas Bilotti
Loyal to Castellano, even in death. Few Mafia bosses had careers as short as Thomas Bilotti did. The unfortunate Bilotti spent two paltry weeks as a key underboss in the Gambino Family, only to be gunned down execution style in one of the last big Mafia wars of the 20th Century. Bilotti fell victim to…