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Geraldo Rivera uncovered ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults’ on live television 40 years ago

Geraldo Rivera poses on the stairs heading down to the Lexington Hotel’s basement, where Al Capone supposedly kept a hidden vault. Forty years ago, millions of Americans tuned in to watch Rivera’s two-hour live television special revealing the contents of the “vault.” Steve Kagan / Getty Images
April 24, 2026

On April 21, 1986, television reporter Geraldo Rivera completed his final on-air shot in a live broadcast from the Chicago hotel where Prohibition-era Mob boss Al Capone supposedly had an underground vault. With 30 million viewers watching, the vault contained not much more than a couple of decades-old bottles and a cloud of dust. Afterward, sensing that critics would pounce, Rivera went on a bender, convinced his career was over. “He said he got tequila drunk across the street,” William Elliott Hazelgrove told The Mob Museum. Hazelgrove is the author of the newly released book, Capone’s Vault: The Real Story of the Biggest ...

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In Coíntzio, Michoacán, Mexican officials work to clear the charred remains of a bus. The vehicle was set on fire to block the road—a “narco blockade”—following the death of cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.” Associated Press

Killing of cartel boss ‘El Mencho’ triggers violent backlash across Mexico

One by one, Mexico’s most notorious drug lords are being brought to justice. In each case, Mexican and U.S. law…

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Jack Dragna, pictured here in the late 1930s or early ‘40s, was the boss of the Los Angeles Mafia from 1935 until his death in 1956. Years after his death, the L.A. Mob’s decline led to the moniker, “Mickey Mouse Mafia.” Courtesy of J. Michael Niotta

Los Angeles kingpin Jack Dragna was no ‘Mickey Mouse’ boss

In 1984, when Los Angeles Mob boss Peter Milano was arrested along with 19 others, LAPD Chief Daryl Gates announced…

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Martin Scorsese, pictured here in 2024 at a German film festival, is an executive producer on a new Netflix series centered on a modern-day megaresort boss. Harald Krichel [ZJ1.1]/ CC BY-SA 4.0

Planned Netflix drama series to focus on ‘dangerous version’ of modern Las Vegas

A Las Vegas-centered drama series is in production for Netflix, focusing on “a dangerous version” of the city and an…

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Organized crime has been involved in point shaving for decades. During this game against Harvard on December 16, 1978, Boston College player Rick Kuhn, right, conspired with Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill to ensure that Boston won, but not by too much. Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Recent NBA, NCAA point-shaving scandals follow the Mob’s playbook

When Antonio Blakeney ventured into international basketball, he became a star. He had been Louisiana State University’s top scorer in…

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Lucky Luciano, left, and his partner, Igea Lissoni, pictured in Rome giving a candid interview to reporter Philip Clarke, middle, in 1949. Courtesy of Cipollini Collection

Eighty years ago, Lucky Luciano traded prison for exile

When New York Governor Thomas Dewey commuted the sentence of imprisoned Mafia boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano 80 years ago, it was widely…

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Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding is, as of 2025, on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for his involvement in narcotics trafficking and murders. FBI

Manhunt underway for Ryan Wedding, former Olympian turned accused drug kingpin

A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder accused of cocaine trafficking and murder has landed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives…

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Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano murdered outside Manhattan steakhouse 40 years ago

Forty years ago, a faction of Gambino crime family members orchestrated and executed a brazen coup to permanently remove their…

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