Blog

Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana killed 50 years ago

June 30, 2025

Late in the evening of June 19, 1975,  Sam “Momo” Giancana was cooking in his basement apartment, presumably for a guest. Before the late-night meal could be served, Giancana was shot in the back of the head. The murder of the former Chicago Outfit boss remains one of the most debated unsolved homicides in organized crime history. His tumultuous final years fuel several theories about his demise. Over the course of his long career filled with violence and political maneuvering, Giancana provided motives to rivals and allies alike. From infamy to fame Born Salvatore Giancana on June 15, 1908, in Chicago to Sicilian ...

Learn More
Nick Pileggi adds a new entry to the extensive library of Mob movies in March with The Alto Knights. Pileggi also wrote Goodfellas and Casino, both mainstays of the organized crime film genre. Courtesy of Kate Henry

New movie ‘The Alto Knights’ revives bitter feud between major mobsters

The newest Mob movie written by journalist and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, The Alto Knights, is his third major script focused…

Learn More
After the indictments, U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani, left, and FBI Director William Webster held a press conference and showed a diagram outlining defendant’s position within the Commission’s hierarchy. Bettmann/Corbis

The bosses of the Mafia Commission were indicted 40 years ago

New York, like other major cities across the United States, faced waves of crime during the 1970s and ’80s. What…

Learn More
Inspired by The Godfather films, Mafia: The Old Country is the latest in the Mafia series by Hangar 13 and set in Sicily in the early 1900s. The game is scheduled for release later this year. 2K Games

The top 5 organized crime video games

In the 1980s, video arcades loaded with coin-operated gaming cabinets were a common shopping mall destination for people with quarters…

Learn More
New York Post front page story about John Gotti's conviction

Legendary New York tabloid’s heyday included focus on Mafia stories

Beginning in the 1970s, the New York Post’s coverage of the Mob typified tabloid journalism during organized crime’s heyday in…

Learn More
Pacino received more leading roles after his success as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. One of those roles, Tony Montana in Scarface, would rival The Godfather as his most famous performance. Universal Pictures / Photofest

‘Scarface’ achieves cult status with Al Pacino in starring role

When Scarface premiered in 1983, starring Al Pacino as a Cuban drug trafficker in South Florida, the movie was regarded…

Learn More
Harry Anslinger ran the Bureau of Narcotics from its inception in 1930 to 1962. His policies led to strict drug enforcement and harsh penalties. Once describing marijuana as having “its roots in hell,” he was a vocal advocate of criminalizing it, which succeeded in 1937. Library of Congress

Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger led America’s crusade against drugs

Harry Anslinger is best known as the first head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), the first in the…

Learn More
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.

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

On the set of The Godfather, during the early days of filming, Al Pacino was worried about being fired. Francis…

Learn More