o2005

In the history of organized crime in New York, the most feared men were rarely the ones whose names appeared in headlines. They were the specialists who worked in quiet rooms and on empty streets, leaving behind little more than a reputation. Among them were figures like Willie "Two Knife" Altieri, Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan, … Read more

For decades, the American Mafia operated as one of the most powerful criminal enterprises in the country. But according to former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese, a series of catastrophic missteps helped law enforcement dismantle the life from the inside. Franzese, who now speaks publicly about his years in organized crime, recently laid out what … Read more

Driving from New York City toward Long Island, you pass over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway just after emerging from the Manhattan tunnel. Directly below lies one of the largest cemeteries in the country: St. John Cemetery in Queens. Few people realize how many former mob figures are buried there. Founded around 1872, the cemetery has been … Read more

Al Capone controlled Chicago. He owned police officers, judges, senators, and union bosses. His organization, the Chicago Outfit, was the most powerful criminal enterprise in America. He took over the North Side by machine-gunning seven men in a garage. He took over Cicero by sending 200 armed men into the streets on election day. He … Read more

The Colombo family has long been regarded as the most warring of the five families in New York. Among the conflicts that shaped it, the Gallo war of the late 1950s and early 1960s stands out as one of the most consequential. The roots of the war lay in the leadership of Joe Profaci, who … Read more