Blog

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

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)
June 4, 2026

“I like watching historical films,” said the Wolf, a middle-aged ex-convict who wished to remain anonymous. “I don’t watch all those films where the hero shoots 100 people, because I've been shot—in the head, in the chest—so I know what it’s like.” “Stabbed, too,” he continued. “They wanted me under their banner, and I told them to f--- off, so they shot me in the head but didn't kill me. I came back and shot all those f---ers.” The ex-convict’s nickname comes from a wolf tattoo on one of his forearms. “A wolf is a wild animal; he doesn’t obey or answer ...

Learn More
The Mob, Hulu’s upcoming reality show, stars actor Parker Posey as the host of a competition in which celebrities go head-to-head in Mafia-themed challenges. Hulu

Celebrities to compete for cash, get ‘whacked’ in Mob-inspired reality show

A Mob-themed competition show is set to air soon on Hulu and Disney+, featuring celebrity contestants at a luxury Italian…

Learn More

Mob fashion at its finest: The top 5 best-dressed mobsters

Adjectives that come to mind when people think of the most infamous organized crime figures may include ruthless, intimidating, or…

Learn More
The late Robert Blakey spoke at The Mob Museum in November 2013 during a public program, “JFK: An Inside Look at the Assassination of a President 50 Years Later.” The Mob Museum Collection

Robert Blakey, architect of the RICO Act that crippled the Mob, dies at age 90

No one made life more difficult for the Mob than Robert Blakey. In 1969, Blakey, a Notre Dame Law School…

Learn More
Leslie “Ike” Atkinson, right, is escorted from court following his sentencing on June 5, 1976. Courtesy of Cipollini Collection

Myth busted: Vietnam War-era drug traffickers did not smuggle heroin in soldiers’ coffins

Fifty years after U.S. officials brought down Leslie “Ike” Atkinson, the claim that heroin was smuggled into the United States…

Learn More
Geraldo Rivera poses on the stairs heading down to the Lexington Hotel’s basement, where Al Capone supposedly kept a hidden vault. Forty years ago, millions of Americans tuned in to watch Rivera’s two-hour live television special revealing the contents of the “vault.” Steve Kagan / Getty Images

Geraldo Rivera uncovered ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults’ on live television 40 years ago

On April 21, 1986, television reporter Geraldo Rivera completed his final on-air shot in a live broadcast from the Chicago…

Learn More
Leonardo “Leo the Lawyer” Rizzuto, the current boss of the Montreal Mafia, leaves court in 2008. Courtesy of Scott Burnstein

Embattled Montreal Mafia clings to underworld power amid setbacks

After nearly two decades of intermittent unrest in the Montreal Mafia, the Rizzuto dynasty is once again on the ropes….

Learn More
The hippo Vanessa, a descendant of Escobar’s original four, is the mascot of the zoo at Hacienda Nápoles. While the hippos at the theme park are safe, the Colombian government has marked the pods living in the Magdalena River Basin for culling. CC BY-SA 4.0 / Alvaro Morales Ríos[

Colombia approves plan to euthanize ‘cocaine hippos’ introduced by Pablo Escobar

More than 30 years after his death, Colombia is still struggling with the consequences of Pablo Escobar’s reign. This week,…

Learn More