Chronicles of Events and Biographies Related to the American Mafia
When Giacomo “Black Jack” Tocco died in 2014, it was an end of an era for the Mob. At the time of his death, he’d been the longest serving Mafia leader in the history of American organized crime. He presided over an outfit that had prospered in the greater Detroit area for decades. While he’d…
When Joseph Iacobacci died earlier this year of natural causes, his death marked an end of an era for the Cleveland Mafia. Iacobacci nicknamed “Joe Loose” for his violent ways as a young man that made fellow gangsters quip he had a “screw loose” in his head, led his Cleveland Crime family during a tumultuous…
Stefano “The Undertaker” Magaddino was responsible for building the Bufalino crime family and was one of the longest serving mafia leaders in United States history. He was removed as boss during family unrest in the early 1970’s.
If there was ever a living example of the resiliency and pervasiveness of organized crime in America, it had to have been John “Sonny” Franzese Sr. Franzese, who died in February of this year, lived to be over 100 years old. Throughout his entire adult life, he was involved in organized crime and other criminal…
Arnold Rothstein was a jewish-american gangster who was thought to have taught mobster Lucky Luciano everything he knew about running a successful business.
A gambler, Rothstein eventually lost his life after walking out on a three hundred thousand gambling loss.
Aniello Migliore, who died on September 11, 2019, was one of the few remaining mobsters from the golden age of the Mafia. Migliore, a long-time member of the Lucchese Crime Family in New York city, had lived to see it all, from the infamous Appalachin meeting in upstate New York (or at least the aftermath…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 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…
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…