‘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 as a flop. That didn’t surprise Pacino. “The whole film was a blatant indictment of the 1980s, and it went against the status quo — the ‘Just Say No’ campaign of Nancy Reagan and the establishment of the time,” he writes in his new memoir, Sonny Boy. “It certainly didn’t fit into the Hollywood mold either.” In the memoir, Pacino calls the movie a “flop — not commercially, but critically. Artistically. Spiritually.” Pacino’s book begins with his difficult upbringing in New York City, where ...
Learn MoreThey 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…
Learn MoreThe 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…
Learn MoreArtifact 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…
Learn More‘The Green Felt Jungle,’ published 60 years ago, rattled Las Vegas
When The Green Felt Jungle was published 60 years ago, the book created a stir by detailing Mob influence and…
Learn MoreColombian drug lord Pablo Escobar killed 30 years ago this month
Warning: This blog contains graphic images that some readers may find disturbing. Thirty years ago this month, the bloody reign…
Learn MoreNinety Years Ago Today, Prohibition Ended at 2:32 p.m. Pacific Time
On Tuesday, December 5, 1933, the unprecedented repeal of a constitutional amendment went into effect, officially relegalizing intoxicating liquors in…
Learn MoreArtifact Spotlight: Frank Gusenberg’s Colt .38 Special Revolver
This Colt Detective .38 Special was the only firearm found at the crime scene of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. This snub-nosed revolver was the go-to sidearm for lawmen and lawbreakers alike.
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