Blog

Veteran crime reporter Anthony M. DeStefano doubles as Mafia author

Reporter and author Anthony DeStefano has written on organized crime topics since the 1970s, including 10 nonfiction books.
September 25, 2024

In the mid-1970s, New York reporter Anthony M. DeStefano didn’t know much about the Mafia. But working at Fairchild News Service, he and two other staff members, at an editor’s request, wrote a 10-part series for Women’s Wear Daily on organized crime’s control of the Garment District. “It created a stir,” DeStefano said in a telephone interview. “I was a little stunned.” The series led to criminal investigations and prompted other news outlets to chase the story. It also launched DeStefano’s career as a crime-and-courts reporter and author of 10 nonfiction books on the Mafia. His latest, Broadway Butterfly, was released last ...

Learn More
This crime scene photo from the Pierre Hotel robbery shows the safe room after the heist. Law enforcement initially thought the boxes were chosen at random, but insiders later shared the culprits had a list of contents that informed their selections. New York Daily News Archive

The top 5 heists in Mob history

What makes a “good” heist? Is it an exceptionally detailed plan, a cast of colorful characters or an unfathomable amount…

Learn More
In the upcoming film Alto Knights, Robert De Niro plays a dual role portraying Mob bosses Vito Genovese, left, and Frank Costello, right, as they are locked in a dispute over Mob leadership. Library of Congress, Jeff Spicer/Getty Images, Library of Congress

Upcoming film ‘Alto Knights’ depicts mobsters Vito Genovese, Frank Costello in bitter feud

The Mafia movie Alto Knights features veteran actor Robert De Niro playing dual roles as rival mobsters Vito Genovese and…

Learn More

Chicago crime boss Al Capone transferred to Alcatraz 90 years ago this month

Depression-era mobsters and outlaws often found themselves locked up in undeniably unpleasant jails and prisons, but being sent to Alcatraz…

Learn More

CIA, Mob team up to topple Fidel Castro in Paramount Plus docuseries ‘Mafia Spies’

The CIA’s alliance with the Mafia during the Kennedy years to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro is at the center…

Learn More

John Dillinger’s wooden gun and death mask preserve notorious moments in his life

On July 22, 1934, “Public Enemy Number One” – John Dillinger – was killed by federal agents moments after he…

Learn More
Scarface retains cult status with Al Pacino’s ‘iconic’ performance

Scarface retains cult status with Al Pacino’s ‘iconic’ performance

The 1983 movie Scarface, featuring Al Pacino in the title role, continues to attract attention more than 40 years after…

Learn More
Jose Manuel Martinez booking photo

The life and crimes of a Sinaloa sicario

Ten years ago, the confessions of a California-based hitman revealed new information on decades-old unsolved cases and offered a glimpse…

Learn More