Oct 14, 2009
"Mad Sam" DeStefanoThe story of a man many consider to be the most vicious in Chicago gangster history.by Allan MayCharles "Chuckie" Crimaldi worked as a "juice collector" for Sam DeStefano during the 1950s and 1960s. He claims that Sam pioneered "organized" loansharking in...
Oct 14, 2009
Tommy EboliTommy Eboli ran the Genovese crime family for nine years, and some thought he nearly ran it into the ground. But it was a drug deal gone sour that ended his reign as one of the most powerful gangsters in the nation.by Allan May When Vito Genovese went to...
Oct 14, 2009
Jack ZutaThe murder of Jake Lingle, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, caused a firestorm of publicity and fatal problems for Zuta, so unlovely a hoodlum that his fellow Chicago gangsters despised him.by Allan May "We only kill each other," Bugsy Siegel said to a contractor...
Oct 14, 2009
James EppolitoFew writers get to tell about mob hits made on members of their own family. One writer who had the opportunity was Detective Louie Eppolito of the New York City Police Department. On the evening of October 1, 1979, the day Pope John Paul II visited the Big...
Oct 14, 2009
Vincent "The Schemer" DrucciVincent "The Schemer" Drucci had the shortest tenure of any of Chicago’s North Side gang leaders. An Italian, he headed a gang that was dominated by Irish, German and Polish criminals. A mob rarity, he was given a 21-gun salute at his funeral. But...
Oct 14, 2009
The Italian Mayfield Road Mob dominated organized crime in Cleveland during the latter years of Prohibition. Many members of the gang came from the Little Italy section located on Cleveland’s East Side and, prior to prohibition, specialized in payroll stickups. One such...
Oct 14, 2009
Samuel Samuzzo AmatunaThe story of a flashy Chicago gangster who killed his first man at age 17, then rose to the top of mobsterdom -- only to find that not only is it lonely at the top, but dangerous. by Allan May "In the first place, according to the ‘boys in the racket,’...
Oct 14, 2009
Bootleggers in the 1920'sOur organized crime columnist, examines a perplexing unsolved double murder case from Cleveland.by Allan May On January 16, 1920, prohibition went into effect nationwide. Two weeks later, in Cleveland, Ohio, a double murder took place that shocked the...
Oct 14, 2009
Tommy BilottiA look at Paul Castellano's underboss, Tommy Bilotti, a man who struck fear in New York City. by Allan May Tommy Bilotti lay spread eagle in the middle of the cold, wet Manhattan street like he was snoozing on a king-size bed. But Tommy Bilotti was not asleep, he...
Oct 14, 2009
Lucky Luciano Despite what some academics still contend, it's more fable than fact that Lucky Luciano was behind the massacre of mob leaders that became known as the Night of Sicilian Vespers. by Allan May I became fascinated by the "Night of Sicilian Vespers" after reading...
