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Al Pacino’s new memoir ‘Sonny Boy’ charts his path to movie stardom

Before the filming of the now-iconic restaurant scene, Al Pacino and Francis Ford Coppola were on borrowed time with Paramount. The success of this scene convinced studio heads of Pacino’s capabilities.
November 26, 2024

On the set of The Godfather, during the early days of filming, Al Pacino was worried about being fired. Francis Ford Coppola, the relatively inexperienced director under pressure himself from Paramount studio heads, had told Pacino, a then-little-known actor, that he was “not cutting it.” Soon that pressure would become less intense. Pacino’s strong performance during the filming of a scene in a restaurant involving a double killing rescued him from the studio chopping block. And an off-camera lunch with Hollywood legend Marlon Brando gave Pacino a much-needed morale boost. Finally, already in his 30s and with a less-than-stunning résumé, the New ...

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Tommaso Buscetta, center, was the first prominent Sicilian Mafia leader to become a government witness. His testimony contributed to the Pizza Connection trial in New York. Associated Press

Sicilian mafioso Tommaso Buscetta broke the sacred oath of omertà 40 years ago

In April 1988, mafioso-turned-informant Tommaso Buscetta testified before the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which was investigating the state…

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International law enforcement agencies work together to fight cybercrime. This now-familiar notice appears whenever they successfully take down a cybercriminal group’s website. This notice is from the 2021 takedown of the ransomware group NetWalker, whose victims included the healthcare industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Bureau of Investigation

The world’s top 5 cybercrime schemes

Last year a ransomware gang took control of the networks of two major casino corporations in Las Vegas. Caesars Entertainment…

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Eric Dezenhall rates Harry Truman as a leader who “would not have been president without the Mob” for his involvement with the Kansas City political machine, which was heavily influenced by organized crime. In this photo taken in the late 1930s, Senator Truman, right, examines revolvers with then Vice-President John Nance Garner. Library of Congress

Author explores ties between mobsters and U.S. presidents

On a hot summer day in the early 1980s, Eric Dezenhall, then in his 20s and working in President Ronald…

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Charles “Lucky” Luciano, well known by his facial scars and drooping eye, was abducted by assailants who left him for dead. This 1931 mugshot shows the slight disfigurements he received. Cipollini Collection

Charles Luciano survived ‘gang ride’ 95 years ago

With unseasonably warm weather for a mid-October evening, Officer Henry A. Blanke dropped the convertible top of his Ford patrol…

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On March 14, 1891, a lynch mob stormed the Orleans Parish Prison and murdered 11 Italians prisoners held in relation to the assassination of Chief of Police David Hennessy. The outrage that followed from the Italian American community contributed to the first Columbus Day.

Columbus Day and its ‘Mafia’ origins

On July 21, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed that Friday, October 21st, would be a celebration of the 400th anniversary…

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

Veteran crime reporter Anthony M. DeStefano doubles as Mafia author

In the mid-1970s, New York reporter Anthony M. DeStefano didn’t know much about the Mafia. But working at Fairchild News…

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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…

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