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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...
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“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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
View ArticleTommaso 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...
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Sam Giancana – JFK Ties, Mistresses, and the Outfit
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...
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Aniello Migliore – A respected and highly regarded member of the Lucchese family
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,...
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Arnold Rothstein – A Poker Game Gone Wrong
While he may not be as well-known as may other 20th Century gangsters, Arnold Rothstein may very well be the father of organized crime in America. Rothstein was one of the original gangsters who took...
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John “Sonny” Franzese – A Colombo Family Legend
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...
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Stefano “The Undertaker” Magaddino
While most people associate the American Mafia with a few big city locations – mainly New York and Chicago, with an honorable mention for Miami – there was once a time when upstate New York was a...
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Joseph Iacobacci –“Joe Loose” of the Cleveland Mob
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...
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Giacomo “Black Jack” Tocco – Last of the Old School Detroit Partnership
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...
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Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo – De Facto Boss of the Chicago Outfit
Tony Accardo is another one of those American Mafiosos who, despite lacking the name recognition of Al Capone or Lucky Luciano, nonetheless played an outsized role in American mafia history. From his...
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