Former New York Mafioso shines light on syndicate ‘treachery’

When he was 20 years old, John Pennisi shot a man to death in a dispute over a girlfriend. “The…


The 10-week-long Commission trial played to full courtrooms

Last of two parts. The Commission trial continued through November and into December of 1986.  The eight men on trial…


The Commission trial lifted the lid on the New York Mafia

First of two parts. In the annals of Mafia courtroom dramas, one case tends to stand above the rest, The…


The afternoon that Joe Masseria dined on bullets

The tale of Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria’s assassination on April 15, 1931, is one of many gangland legends that…


How Prohibition changed beer

For dedicated home brewers and beer snobs, the tale is familiar. Prohibition killed small and mid-sized breweries, and after repeal,…