Longtime Colombo figure John ‘Sonny’ Franzese dies at 103
The violent, sociopathic and amazingly long life of John “Sonny” Franzese, a former Colombo crime family underboss who once ran…
New York City
Mob TV shows, movies put New York on center stage
When it comes to Mob movies and television shows, New York is in the spotlight again. Two television series focused…
Murder of Gambino boss triggered flawed theories
The evening of March 13, 2019, the relative calm of a residential neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City…
‘The Cigar’ burns out in Brooklyn
When Bonanno crime family don Carmine “The Cigar” Galante declared himself the so-called “capo di tutti i capis,” or “boss…
Ninety years later, Arnold Rothstein murder still a mystery
Ninety years ago this week, with the dying breath of New York’s most provocative Mob entrepreneur, one of America’s great…
When the Mafia ruled Times Square
The latest television series featuring Mob figures continues this fall with the second season of HBO’s The Deuce, focusing on…
Joe Gallo’s ‘Crazy’ celebrity status
Though Joseph Gallo was only in his early 40s when he was gunned down, his status in American popular culture…
Excerpts from “The Chronicles of The Last Jewish Gangster” by Myron Sugerman
The history of the Mob and the history of Jews in America are intertwined, and it’s a history that Myron…
“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…
Seventy years ago today, Bugsy Siegel’s storied Mob life came to an abrupt end
It is important to our Museum and to me as the resident historian that criminals and their criminal acts are…