The biggest Mafia sweep in American history
The morning of January 20, 2011, was a particularly early one for many in law enforcement. Before dawn, more than 700 federal agents spread out across the Northeast and rounded up 127 mobsters in the largest single-day takedown of organized crime in American history. Ten separate agencies (including the FBI, DEA and Secret Service), with assistance from ten others, including the Italian National Police, provided assistance and logistical support. Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time, “Today's arrests and charges mark an important step forward in disrupting La Cosa Nostra’s illegal activities.” Those illegal activities were a laundry list of ...
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Did the Chicago Outfit elect John F. Kennedy president?
A number of authors assert, based on claims by individuals who were linked in one way or another to organized…
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Federal law enforcement agencies announce series of major busts
While most of us are focused on the pandemic and the final weeks of the presidential campaign, federal law enforcement…
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Decades of temperance activism led to passage of Prohibition 100 years ago
All the tumult of 2020 makes it easy to forget that it is a huge anniversary in the history of…
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‘Goodfellas’ still going strong after 30 years
In the painting, a man with white hair and beard, his left hand steering an outboard motor, is piloting a…
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Capone, Torrio and the Sunshine City, St. Petersburg, Florida
Ninety-five years ago, during the summer of 1925, Florida was in the midst of a massive land boom. Real estate…
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Frank Cullotta, Chicago Outfit associate who led the Hole in the Wall Gang burglary ring in Las Vegas, has died
Frank Cullotta, leader of the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang burglary ring in Las Vegas, died early Thursday in…
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Mobsters in the military
Historically, the U.S. military has alternated in size between small standing armies in peacetime and vastly expanded forces during war….
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