Geraldo Rivera uncovered ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults’ on live television 40 years ago
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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Author explores ties between mobsters and U.S. presidents
On a hot summer day in the early 1980s, Eric Dezenhall, then in his 20s and working in President Ronald…
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Charles Luciano survived ‘gang ride’ 95 years ago
With unseasonably warm weather for a mid-October evening, Officer Henry A. Blanke dropped the convertible top of his Ford patrol…
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Columbus Day and its ‘Mafia’ origins
On July 21, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed that Friday, October 21st, would be a celebration of the 400th anniversary…
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Veteran crime reporter Anthony M. DeStefano doubles as Mafia author
In the mid-1970s, New York reporter Anthony M. DeStefano didn’t know much about the Mafia. But working at Fairchild News…
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The top 5 heists in Mob history
What makes a “good” heist? Is it an exceptionally detailed plan, a cast of colorful characters or an unfathomable amount…
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Upcoming film ‘Alto Knights’ depicts mobsters Vito Genovese, Frank Costello in bitter feud
The Mafia movie Alto Knights features veteran actor Robert De Niro playing dual roles as rival mobsters Vito Genovese and…
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Chicago crime boss Al Capone transferred to Alcatraz 90 years ago this month
Depression-era mobsters and outlaws often found themselves locked up in undeniably unpleasant jails and prisons, but being sent to Alcatraz…
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