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Jerry Tarkanian’s Lakers coaching contract vanished after a suspected Mob hit

On June 17, 1979, Vic Weiss’ body was discovered in the trunk of his Rolls-Royce in North Hollywood, a suspected Mob hit. Associated Press
July 31, 2026

After a meeting that might have brought Jerry Tarkanian to Los Angeles to coach the NBA’s Lakers decades ago, a 51-year-old middleman hoping to complete the deal was shot to death and left in the trunk of his car. Today, the June 1979 murder of Tarkanian’s agent and longtime friend Victor J. Weiss of Encino, California, remains a cold case with no arrests, though some suspect Las Vegas mobsters were involved. Dan Moldea, an author and journalist now writing the “Mobology” Substack site, said Tony “The Ant” Spilotro came to mind after the Weiss killing was first brought to his attention. During the ...

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Mobbed-up soccer hooligans create chaos in southern Europe

This summer, all eyes are on North America as Canada, Mexico, and the United States host the 2026 World Cup….

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MS-13 member Jose Luis Reynaldo Reyes-Castillo, left, listens to an interpreter through headphones next to his attorney during his murder trial in Las Vegas. The Mob Museum Collection

MS-13’s history of brutality led to killing spree in Las Vegas

At the end of 2017, Richie Gaudio was launching fireworks in his East Las Vegas driveway to ring in the…

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Piracy became patriotism during the American Revolution

In late 1775, the Thirteen Colonies were in trouble. The British Parliament had enacted the Prohibitory Act in response to…

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Although Mafia boss Joe Colombo survived the June 28, 1971, shooting, it left him paralyzed and comatose until he died seven years later. Corbis

Did Gregory Scarpa Sr. mastermind the attempted assassination of Joe Colombo?

On June 28, 1971, 55 years ago, Mafia boss Joe Colombo’s march in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle would be his last….

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In the upcoming film By Any Means, actor Mark Wahlberg wears facial prosthetics to transform into the spitting image of Colombo crime family capo Gregory Scarpa Sr. Paramount Pictures

Mark Wahlberg portrays Mafia killer Gregory Scarpa Sr. in ‘By Any Means’

During the summer of 1964, New York City mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr. traveled south to rural Mississippi and, using violent scare…

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Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro and brother Michael murdered 40 years ago this month

Forty years ago, Tony Spilotro’s neon excesses gave way to the cold reality of Midwestern soil. In June 1986, a…

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In 2010, Russian mobster Sergey Tsapkov was responsible for 12 murders on a farm in southwest Russia. Although he died in prison in 2014, his accomplices received an early release for military service in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Aleksandra Larinzeva/Kommersant Photo/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

Since World War II, Russian mobsters have traded prison cells for battlefields

“I like watching historical films,” said the Wolf, a middle-aged ex-convict who wished to remain anonymous. “I don’t watch all…

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