Dead men walking: Murder Inc. trio electrocuted at Sing Sing prison eighty years ago
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
3w ago
Eighty years ago, Sing Sing’s electric chair, “Old Sparky,” delivered its sinister, life-ending jolts in succession to the trio of Louis Capone, Emanuel “Mendy” Weiss and Louis “Lepke” Buchalter. The executions on March 4, 1944, marked the climactic close to a particularly bizarre chapter in the Mob’s history. The sensational trials and revelations of the Mob’s violent enforcement arm, better known as Murder Inc., were brought to an electrifying end. Many defendants were tried across several counties beginning in 1940. Some turned state’s witness, others received lengthy prison terms and seven ..read more
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Netflix crime drama ‘Griselda’ highlights story of ‘Godmother of Cocaine’
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
1M ago
The Netflix limited series Griselda, inspired by the true story of the Colombian “Godmother of Cocaine,” tells the story of her muscling her way into the male-dominated underworld of drug trafficking. Starring Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara as Griselda Blanco, the six-part crime drama chronicles Blanco’s rise to power during the 1970s in establishing drug routes into the United States. Along the way she encounters betrayal, violence, drug abuse and paranoia, and, finally, after establishing a lavish, decadent lifestyle, imprisonment.  A parallel plot line follows Miami policewoman June Haw ..read more
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The Top 5 Mob myths: Hollywood’s creative license drives misinformation
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
1M ago
From The Godfather to Griselda, the Mob is firmly embedded in pop culture, which comes with a few drawbacks. In a medium that prioritizes entertainment over education, misconceptions are bound to spread, often becoming promoted to conventional wisdom. Budding mobsters have even been influenced by film and television in the way they see and conduct themselves. Myths propagated by pop culture have built the image of the Mob into a powerful, yet honorable, organization, detached from its real-world counterpart. Hidden behind these false premises are kernels of truth, however, so let’s dive into t ..read more
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The 1863 draft riots and the birth of the New York City Police
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
1M ago
On July 13, 1863, during the Civil War, New York City burst into flames when the federal government started a draft. Residents, especially poor immigrants, were inflamed at the possibility of serving. The city’s police force became the target of their anger. Reports of the situation rang out around the country. The Daily State Gazette of Trenton, New Jersey, reported, “Two o’clock – The riot is said to have assumed vast proportions … the police have been handled terribly severe. It is reported that Police Superintendent Kennedy and some 15 of the police were killed and many wounded.” As the ri ..read more
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Artifact Spotlight: Frank Calabrese Sr.’s handmade dictionary
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
2M ago
“PRISON: IS WARE I AM AT,” reads an entry in the handmade dictionary of Frank Calabrese Sr., former boss of the Chicago Outfit’s 26th Street/Chinatown crew. Calabrese was serving a life sentence at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina. He had been placed in a strict form of solitary confinement, called Special Administrative Measures (SAMs), usually reserved for terrorists to prevent any communication with the outside world. “Your mind can start playing games,” said his son Frank Calabrese Jr., “so he wanted to keep his mind crisp.” Frank Sr. was not resigned to spending t ..read more
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Classic Mob drama ‘The Sopranos’ first aired 25 years ago
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
2M ago
When the groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos debuted in 1999, it was an instant hit and a critical success. It continues to influence popular culture 25 years later. The crime series is centered on psychologically troubled Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey mobster overseeing an organized crime family while attempting to hold his home life together with a wife and two children. Throughout the series, Soprano attends regular therapy sessions with a psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). His anxiety stems in part from problems involving both families — the crime family ..read more
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They don’t just kill each other
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
2M ago
Innocent victims of Mob violence are one of the most underreported aspects of organized crime. This is due in part to the persistent belief that mobsters only kill each other. Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel is credited with advancing this narrative to soothe a business associate. Building contractor Del Webb took over construction of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas in 1946 and found himself employed by Siegel, a mobster reputed to have killed more than a dozen people. In an oft-repeated anecdote, Siegel boasted to Webb about how he had personally killed 12 men who went against him. After noticing the ..read more
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The Buffalo Mafia’s ill-advised art thefts
The Mob Museum
by Jackie Apoyan
2M ago
“Art Collection Is Looted; Loss Put at $1.3 million,” read a headline in the August 22, 1968, edition of the New York Times. In the middle of the night, burglars broke into the home of art collector T. Edward Hanley and walked off with 14 paintings and two statues while Hanley slept in his bed. Associates of the Buffalo Mafia orchestrated the theft under the oversight of crime boss Stefano Magaddino, whose reign was nearing its end. The theft gave the FBI the perfect opportunity to take down the Mafia in Buffalo, New York. Magaddino found his empire in danger from an unexpected source: Hanley ..read more
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Artifact Spotlight: Alternative liquor products from Prohibition
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
3M ago
When Prohibition started on January 17, 1920, beer brewers, liquor distillers and winemakers were in a predicament. The 18th Amendment made it illegal for them to manufacture or sell their main product, so how were they going to survive? The Volstead Act, passed by Congress to enforce the 18th Amendment, defined “intoxicating liquors” as any drink with alcohol content of at least one half of 1 percent. It also outlined exemptions related to religious, medicinal and scientific uses of alcohol. While not ideal, this was something manufacturers could work with. By boiling off the alcohol, Anheuse ..read more
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‘The Green Felt Jungle,’ published 60 years ago, rattled Las Vegas
The Mob Museum
by Victoria Koelkebeck
3M ago
When The Green Felt Jungle was published 60 years ago, the book created a stir by detailing Mob influence and public corruption in Las Vegas. Some hailed the 1963 addition to organized crime history as a much-needed exposé, while critics regarded it as inflammatory and unfair. Written by two crime reporters, Ed Reid and Ovid Demaris, The Green Felt Jungle was not the public’s first exposure to the Las Vegas underworld, but community boosters were put off by what they regarded as its harsh portrayal and insulting tone. The local business community viewed it as sensationalistic and harmful to ec ..read more
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