In the bitter winter of 1861, Britain’s Prince Consort, Albert, sat down and wrote a letter to his 19-year-old son, Bertie, the Prince of Wales. The cause was a piece of news that had reached Albert’s ears: his eldest son had reportedly become involved with Nelly Clifton, an Irish actress and sex worker. Albert’s letter, … Read more
Celine Dion became the highest-grossing residency artist in Las Vegas history, performing 1,141 shows across 16 years and selling over $681 million in tickets at Caesars Palace. The contract that launched that era, signed in 2002, was unprecedented in the industry, and the physical cost of honoring it would eventually alter the course of her … Read more
The private life of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was a carefully constructed fortress, designed to shield his political dynasty from the scandals of his past. But the woman who knew him before the empire, silent film star Gloria Swanson, held the keys to that fortress. Her survival, and her eventual decision to speak, would dismantle … Read more
Roy Deo’s most trusted associate was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn who wanted nothing more than to be a made man in the Italian Mafia. Chris Rosenberg got his wish in the most literal sense—he was accepted, he was protected, and he was ultimately executed by the man who had become a father figure to … Read more
Anthony Riggiano Jr. , a former associate of the Gambino crime family, sat down to reflect on the young mobsters he grew up around who were destined for bigger things in the underworld, even before John Gotti’s imprisonment. According to Riggiano, certain men stood out early for their leadership, their earning power, or their key … Read more
They called her the Black Widow of Las Vegas. Five husbands, five fortunes, five funerals. By the time Bonnie Lee Bley walked away from her fifth marriage, she had inherited more than $300 million across her life, owned stakes in four casinos, two resort properties, and enough real estate to rank among the wealthiest women … Read more
On July 7, 1946, a KKK Grand Dragon named Coleman Wade insulted Bumpy Johnson in front of 20 men at a whites-only club in Manhattan. What Wade did not know was that the Harlem crime figure had spent six months gathering detailed intelligence on him. Within 12 hours, Johnson would systematically dismantle everything Wade had … Read more
On February 8, 1934, a Harlem man walked unarmed into a basement warehouse where 14 Ku Klux Klan members were planning to burn down Black churches and community centers across the neighborhood. Less than ten minutes later, 12 of those men were dead. Two were released alive, carrying with them a warning that would echo … Read more
When witnesses in Detroit refused to testify against members of the Purple Gang, the criminal organization appeared untouchable. For years, the group operated with what seemed like absolute immunity from police interference, controlling the city’s vice, gambling, liquor, and drug trades. But by the 1930s, the gang’s own arrogance, internal resentments, and bloody infighting began … Read more
My daughter called me on a Tuesday afternoon to tell me not to come to her own wedding. She said I’d embarrass her future in-laws. I set my coffee down and didn’t say a word for a long time after she finished talking. My name is Lionel Crane. I’m fifty-seven years old. I spent twenty-eight … Read more