Gangland Wire

Jimmy Frattiano and the Two Tonys This is a bonus episode with a telling of the story of how Fratianno made his bones by murdering the Two Tonys from Kansas City. Show notes by Gary Jenkins To go to the store or make a donation  click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here.  To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary,  click here To subscribe on iTunes  click here,  please...

Jimmy Fratianno and the Lawyer Dennis McDonald was a civil lawyer who became fast friends with Jimmy Fratianno just before he went into witness protection. This is a rare interview with Dennis McDonald who gives listeners a rare insight into a member of the La Cosa Nostra. After a life of crime, the government was expending a lot of resources on nailing Jimmy Fratianno. As this was happening, he w...

Dan Moldea Dan Moldea describes himself as Ahab and his White Whale is the missing Teamster boss James R. Hoffa and maybe even solving the crime. In this episode, he tells about this journey from a clandestine meeting with Chicago Outfit hitman Charles Crimaldi to a more credible source who was close to one of the men who may have disposed of the body. The Books of Moldea Mr. Moldea has reported o...

Crimaldi tells about Mad Sam DeStefano going to Outfit boss Sam Giancana and asking for a package deal to murder three men. One was a man named Leo Foreman and Giancana gave his permission. The second was a man Peter Cappollitti who owed Mad Sam money. Giancana refused his permission reminding DeStefano about a time in the recent past where Capolitti was in other trouble and DeStefano had pleaded...

Charles Crimaldi tells Robert Wiedrich about his day-to-day life. He recounts a situation where he warns off a guy he did not want to kill but warned the guy, if he showed up a certain place, Crimaldi would have to kill him. He tells about the time DeStefano wanted him to murder a judge. Show notes by Gary Jenkins To go to the store or make a donation  click here To rent Brothers against Brothers,...

Crimaldi tells about the day-to-day life of working for a maniac like Mad Sam DeStefano. He tells how DeStefano got himself placed in a hospital while incarcerated. He paid off the guards to leave the room while he conducted his loan shark business. Show notes by Gary Jenkins To go to the store or make a donation  click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here.  To rent...

Suburban Hospital Hideout In this episode, Charles Crimaldi tells Chicago Tribune reporter Robert Wiedrich about Northlake Community Hospital. He alleges the Outfit owned a man he knew as Dr. Bruni and this doctor would admit wanted men and allow them to hide from the authorities. He said the Outfit might take over a whole ward on a weekend and run big Gin Rummy tournaments. Show notes by Gary Jen...

Charles “Chuckie” Crimaldi – Portrait of a Hitman Chicago mob hitman Charles Crimaldi once explained his job this way: ”I’ve broken arms, and I’ve broken legs, and I’ve watched a man die with a knife in his throat. But most of them had it coming, so what’s the difference? I have no regrets.” This series of shows is taken from a 1973 Chicago Tribune series by reporter Robert Wiedrich. He titled thi...

Nate Hendley Gary interviews the well-known Canadian true crime author Nate Hendley. Recently, He released his book Dutch Schultz: The Brazen Beer Baron of New York on Kindle for the first time. Mr. Hendley tells some of the best stories about this crude, repulsive 1930s mobster. For all his faults, Dutch Schultz could read the public’s desire for vice. As prohibition ended, he moved quickly into...

Ron Rawson on Carlos Marcello Ron Rawson is our resident expert on all things Mafia in New Orleans. He has researched the Marcello crime family for many years. We discuss the origins of the Italian mafia and the famous murder of the former New Orleans Chief of Police, David Hennessy. Even though the suspects were unknown, police arrested and charged nineteen members of the Sicilian community. Afte...

Stephen Metelsky Gary interviews Stephen Metelsky about his life as an Intelligence Unit officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Stephen left his career as a Mountie and entered the academic world but he did not leave undercover work behind. He wrote about many famous undercover operations in his new book Undercover: Stories From the Underworld of Law Enforcement. Stephen went into...

The Mob and Boxing with Jeffrey Sussman Jeffrey Sussman is the author of 15 non-fiction books including the subject of this podcast, Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science.  Recently, Gangland Wire interviewed him about Murder Inc. taken from his popular book, Big Apple Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in New York. Mr. Sussman has a long interest in the sport of b...

David Bowman and Las Vegas Metro Intelligence David Bowman is one of the unsung heroes in law enforcement’s battle for Las Vegas with the imported Chicago outfit mobsters, Tony Spilotro, Frank Cullotta, Larry Neuman, and many others. He tells about getting into the drug business at an early age. It is pretty obvious that David Bowman is not a hardened career criminal and went to the wrong side of...

Buford Pusser True Crime author and blogger Synova Cantrell tells the true story behind the murder of Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser. The well-known Walking Tall movies depict the story of this tough southern named Sheriff Buford Pusser and his fight with the State Line Mafia or more [popularly known as the Dixie Mafia.   Actors like Joe Don Baker, Bo Svenson, and, in the most recent remake, “Dwa...

Ray Morrow – His Path to Undercover Work Retired F.B.I. agent Ray Morrow Ray Anthony Morrow grew up in Aliquippa, PA. He followed the proper path toward a career in law enforcement. He graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. Degree in Law Enforcement & Corrections/ Behavioral Science. His first job was with the Federal Bureau of Investigation where they hired him to be a File Clerk in...

Michael Mikey Scars DiLeonardo This is a re-release of an interview I did last year but it must be listened to again or maybe for the first time. I was able to make contact with Mikey Scars DiLeonardo via telephone. This is a the second of a two part re-release of my first interview. Michael is a relocated federal witness in WitSec or Witness Protection. Mikey Scars is a Mafia legacy because his S...

Michael DiLeonardo This is a re-release of an interview I did last year but it must be listened to again or maybe for the first time. I was able to make contact with Michael “Mikey Scars” DiLeonardo via telephone. Michael is a relocated federal witness in WitSec or Witness Protection. Michael DiLeonardo was a real mafia legacy in that his Sicilian-born grandfather, Vincenzo DiLeonardo, was a capta...

John Pennisi John Pennisi is the interview subject. A very unusual former mobster. john Pennisi writes a regular blog titled Sitdown News (click to find this) . He has become an accomplished author as he creates a new life outside his former life as a soldier in the Lucchese crime family. John Pennisi and Staten Island The Lucchese crime family has held a strong presence on Staten Island for many...

Paul Ricca – the beginnings In this episode, Gary examines the life of a young Italian immigrant named Paul Ricca who started his mob career with murder. He fled to Cuba in 1920. Once safely in Cuba, Ricca had the good fortune to meet a member of the Camorra mafia named Giuseppe Esposito who was known as “Diamond Joe” and a well-known leader in Chicago’s bootlegging business. Diamond Joe was just...

Russell Shorto -Johnstown Mob Gary interviews the author of Smalltime: A story of My Family and the Mob. Mr. Shorto is the namesake and grandson of Johnstown Mafia gambler and long-time close associate of Youngstown Pennsylvania boss, Joseph (Little Joe Ragno) Regino. The grandson, Russell Sorto grew up knowing there was something dark and mysterious about his grandfather but the family never talk...

Anthony Celano Retired Intelligence Detective Gary interviews a crime-mystery writer  Anthony Celano . He is a retired New York City Police Department Intelligence Detective. Gary and Tony had very similar careers and this episode is like a couple of old friends who worked the mob telling war stories. He tells the greatest story about a confrontation he had with John Gotti when he was sitting surv...

Abe Reles: A Brotherhood Betrayed Gary interviews Michael Cannell , the author of four non-fiction books and former sportswriter and editor for the New York Times. His most recent book, A Brotherhood betrayed: The man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder Inc. tells the story of Murderer Incorporated’s most prolific killer, Abe Reles.  The feared Albert Anastasia had turned to a group of young ambiti...

Raymond Patriarca the Early Years Raymond L.S. Patriarca started like every other major mafia figure of the 20th century. First, his parents were Sicilian. His father, Elatario Patriarca emigrated from Sicily in the early 1900s. He married a woman named Mary and they lived in Worster Massachusetts where Raymond was born. The Patriarca family moved to Federal Hill, an Italian neighborhood in Provid...

Bill Roemer FBI Bill Roemer was one of the first FBI agents assigned to Chicago’s Organized Crime Squad. He and his fellow agents in the C-1 Squad (organized Crime Squad) lost their access to many off-the-books wiretaps and hidden microphones. Once the Omnibus Crime Control Bill passed in 1968, Congress made it illegal and punishable by a prison sentence to conduct electronic surveillance without...

Justice and Davis Gang Gary interviews retired Oklahoma City Detective Sergeant Richard Mullins about his career and his investigation of the Justice and Davis criminal gang. This was a group of long-time professional criminals who terrorized business owners during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. By the end of their run, they specialized in large grocery stores because they kept large sums of money to...