The Black Hand: An Organized Crime History Podcast

Send a text On Episode 26, we delve into the life of Freeway Rick Ross, one of the most infamous drug dealers of the 1980's, not only did he flood the streets with close to a billion dollars worth of crack cocaine during his heyday, but he also unknowingly funded a CIA backed rebel army fighting a war 2,000 miles away, I hope everybody enjoys today's episode and tunes back in next week f...

Send a text On Episode 25, we delve into the life of former Gambino Family Boss John Gotti, as a teenager Gotti came up under a Gambino capo named Carmine Fatico before making a legitimate name for himself as capo of the Bergin Crew which gave him the power to carry out one of the most infamous hits in American Mafia History which catapulted him to the position of boss, leading to 6 of the crazies...

Send a text On Episode 24 we delve into the life of former Irish mobster Danny Greene, who's infamy rivaled most of his Italian American counterparts, he got his start in Labor Racketeering which helped him pave his way to notoriety and come into contact with a well known Cleveland Gangster named Alex "Shondor" Birns, and towards the end of his life, Danny and his Celtic Club, which...

Send a text On Episode 23, we delve into the life of Meyer Lansky, one of the most infamous figures in the history of American organized crime, known as the Mob’s Account, Lansky made his fortune in numerous gambling ventures throughout New York, Las Vegas, Florida and Cuba, but more than that Lansky Rubbed elbows with the revolutionizers of the New York mafia and really was one himself, and had h...

Send a text On Episode 22, we delve into the life of former heavyweight drug trafficker Frank Lucas, not only did he run the heroin trade in Harlem for over 5 years, but was one of the first drug traffickers to work around the five families monopoly on drugs and get his heroin straight from the source, specifically the Golden Triangle Region of Southeast Asia which allowed him to sell some of the...

Send a text  On Episode 21, we delve into the life of Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, the boss of the Philadelphia Crime family from 1981 until 1990, however, Scarfo is most well known for his incredibly treacherous and violent personality, which eventually led to his downfall, I hope everyone enjoys today's episode and tunes back in next Wednesday for Episode 22 PLEASE give us a follow on ou...

Send a text on Episode 19, We delve into the life of former arms trafficker Sarkis Soghanalian, who is one of the most prolific gun runners of all time but also had his hand in an incredible amount of important events in history, not only was he the largest arms trafficker of the cold war, but was also the lead seller of firearms to the government of Iraq under Saddam Hussein in the 1980's, a...

Send a text On Episode 19, we delve into the life of former Irish Crime boss Martin Cahill,  one of Ireland's most notorious criminals of all time, but more then that, Cahill led a gang that pulled off some of the biggest robberies in Ireland's history, I hope everyone enjoys today's episode and tunes back in next Wednesday for Episode 20 PLEASE give us a follow on our socials- Inst...

Send a text On Episode 18 we delve into the life of one of the Five Families most infamous mobsters in Carmine Galante, an utterly ruthless gangster who was suspected to be involved in up to 80 murders, but more then that, Galante was one of the biggest drug dealing heavyweights the American Mafia has ever seen, and towards the end of his life, he made a power grab within the Bonnano family which...

Send a text On Episode 17, we delve into the life and history of Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and The Black Mafia Family, a drug trafficking organization that was controlled by hubs in Atlanta and Los Angeles, but managed to move cocaine through just about every state in the U.S. over the span of 15 years, making $300 million dollars in the process. PLEASE give us a follow on our social...

Send a text On Episode 16 we delve into the life of James "Whitey" Bulger, not only was he one of the most infamous crime bosses of the 20th century and the last great Irish mob boss in America, but Bulger was also able to corrupt an entire FBI field office, specifically an agent named John Connolly, who acted as Whitey's protector and largely facilitated his 20+ year run on the str...

Send a text On episode 15, we delve into the complete history of the Gulf Cartel, a drug trafficking organization that really sprouted during prohibition in the 1930's,  but after it's formation, under the leadership of a notorious drug trafficker named Juan Garcia Abrego, the Gulf Cartel became the first Mexican drug trafficking organization to dominate the U.S.-Mexico border, but more...

Send a text On Episode 14 we delve into the life of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, a former New York mobster well known for his crazy act that served as boss of the Genovese crime family for a little over 20 years, but more than that, during his time as boss, Gigante became one of the most powerful and influential mobsters to ever live. I hope everyone enjoys todays episode and tunes back i...

Send a text On Episode 13, we delve into the entire history of the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang formed in the late 1950's in California by 13 juvenile inmates, also known as La Eme, The Mexican Mafia took over California's state level prison system before coming out to the streets in the 1970's and making a name for themself as an organized crime syndicate, and from the 1970's...

Send a text On Episode 12, we delve into the life of Harry "The Hook" Aleman, a former capo in the Chicago Outfit who ran the Taylor Street crew throughout most of the 70's, but more then that, Aleman was one of the premier hitmen of his era and was a suspect in at least 13 mob murders in the span of 5 years. I hope everyone enjoys today's episode and tunes back in next Wednesd...

Send a text On Episode 11 we delve into the lives of Raymond Washington and Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the two co-founders of the Crips Street Gang, one of the most infamous and instantly recognizable street gangs in the U.S. if not the world, we'll also be talking about the complete history of the gang itself, and how it went from a small time local street gang to one of, if not th...

Send a text On a very special Episode 10, we delve into the lives of The Chambers Brothers, a group of 4 brothers born in Lee County Arkansas that migrated to the Midwest and took over the crack game in Detroit, becoming one of the most interesting and multi faceted drug trafficking organizations that the state of Michigan has ever seen in the process, I hope everyone enjoys today's episode a...

Send a text On Episode 9 we delve into the life of former New England Mob boss, Raymond L.S. Patriarca, who lead his family for over 30 years and turned it into one of the country's premier mob organizations, making a name for himself as one of the most prolific mob bosses in history. I hope everyone enjoys today's episode and tunes back in next Wednesday for episode 10 PLEASE give us a...

Send a text On Episode 8 we delve into the life of Cuban American crime boss Jose Battle Sr,  who was the founder of one of/if not the only Cuban controlled American organized crime syndicate (Known as the Cuban Mafia or The Corporation), and became one of the most powerful crime bosses in the U.S. for nearly 40 years. I hope everyone enjoys todays episode and tunes back in next Wednesday for Epis...

Send a text On Episode 7 We'll be delving into the life of former Mexican cartel leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and turned it into one of, if not the most powerful smuggling operations in the world, today on Part 2 we'll be covering his two infamous prison escapes, his life on the run, and everything else about his life up to the point that he was arrested for the last time in 2019, I hope...

Send a text On Episode 7 we'll be delving into the life former Mexican cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman who for almost 40 years was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and turned it into one of if not the most powerful and profitable smuggling operations in the world,  today on part 1 we’ll be talking about his tumultuous early upbringing, his rise to power within the Guadalajar...

Send a text On Episode 6 we delve into the life of former New York mob boss Joseph Colombo, one of the most controversial 5 families bosses of all time, he took over the Profaci family under some odd circumstances, but he inherited a family in turmoil, when he became boss The Gallo Gang was in the middle of a war with the Profaci Family and he'd have to deal with it for the rest of his mob ca...

Send a text On Episode 5 we'll be talking about the entire true story behind the movie GoodFellas, we'll be delving into the lives of Paul Vario as well as everybody in the Jimmy Burke Crew, including Henry Hill, Tommy DeSimone, and Jimmy Burke himself, we'll also be covering all the crazy stuff the Burke crew pulled over the years, I sincerely hope everybody enjoys today's epi...

Send a text On Episode 4 we delve into the life of former Lucchese family mobster Frankie Carbo , Carbo came up committing petty crimes but before long he elevated to carrying out hits and is allegedly the man behind a notorious mob hit, but after prohibition ended Carbo made a name for himself in the world of boxing and would eventually pull strings in some of the biggest fights of the 50's...

Send a text On Episode 3 we delve into the life of Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa, the definition of a standup Cosa Nostra guy. He came up big in the Chicago Outfit under a mobster named Claude Maddox and before long he became a millionaire and the unofficial commissioner of vice in Cicero Illinois for over 20 years before becoming The Chicago Outfit's acting boss, a title he would hold...