Artifact Spotlight: Hollywood prop guns
What’s a Mob movie without guns? Prop guns have been a part of this movie genre since the first silent…
Author: Jackie Apoyan
Dead men walking: Murder Inc. trio electrocuted at Sing Sing prison eighty years ago
Eighty years ago, Sing Sing’s electric chair, “Old Sparky,” delivered its sinister, life-ending jolts in succession to the trio of…
Netflix crime drama ‘Griselda’ highlights story of ‘Godmother of Cocaine’
The Netflix limited series Griselda, inspired by the true story of the Colombian “Godmother of Cocaine,” tells the story of…
The Top 5 Mob myths: Hollywood’s creative license drives misinformation
From The Godfather to Griselda, the Mob is firmly embedded in pop culture, which comes with a few drawbacks. In…
The 1863 draft riots and the birth of the New York City Police
On July 13, 1863, during the Civil War, New York City burst into flames when the federal government started a…
Artifact Spotlight: Frank Calabrese Sr.’s handmade dictionary
“PRISON: IS WARE I AM AT,” reads an entry in the handmade dictionary of Frank Calabrese Sr., former boss of…
Classic Mob drama ‘The Sopranos’ first aired 25 years ago
When the groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos debuted in 1999, it was an instant hit and a critical success. It…
They don’t just kill each other
Innocent victims of Mob violence are one of the most underreported aspects of organized crime. This is due in part…
The Buffalo Mafia’s ill-advised art thefts
“Art Collection Is Looted; Loss Put at $1.3 million,” read a headline in the August 22, 1968, edition of the…
Artifact Spotlight: Alternative liquor products from Prohibition
When Prohibition started on January 17, 1920, beer brewers, liquor distillers and winemakers were in a predicament. The 18th Amendment…