‘A shiny mark of incorruptibility’
Good stories usually have five key elements: a likable protagonist who selflessly rises to the occasion; a malevolent antagonist seeking…
mobsters
The life and death of Joe Colombo
Three rounds from an assassin’s gun all but silenced Joseph Colombo, one of the Mafia’s most publicly vocal bosses. Although…
Joe Friday tackled the Los Angeles crime syndicate
William H. Parker, a hardnosed police chief in midcentury Los Angeles, did not want organized crime in his city. In…
The seedy side of Mob life
George V. Higgins, a former New England journalist and federal prosecutor who achieved acclaim as a novelist, disliked being pigeonholed…
“American Gangster,” biopic of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas, celebrates 10-year anniversary
On this day 10 years ago, the film American Gangster debuted with A-list stars portraying the true story of a…
Iconic Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone died 70 years ago today
Al “Scarface” Capone, the ruthless yet media-friendly Chicago Outfit boss during Prohibition, died of natural causes 70 years ago today,…
Fat Herbie’s rise and fall
Second of two parts. Part One looks at Herbie Blitzstein’s murder twenty years ago. Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein was born…
A late Mob hit in Las Vegas
First of two parts. Part Two looks at Blitzstein’s criminal activity in Las Vegas. By the mid-1990s, death had claimed…