The birth of the mob and everything since.
Talking to us won’t make you a rat. Share your story with us and it could end up on our Timeline.
We welcome contributions to the timeline in the form of a story or photo. Please note: Once contributions are submitted, they will be reviewed by The Mob Museum before being posted.
May 2, 1972
J. Edgar Hoover dies of natural causes in Washington, D.C.
March 15, 1972
The Godfather, the first of three Francis Ford Coppola movies narrating the fictional Corleone crime family, debuts in New York City.
October 15, 1970
The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act becomes law, giving federal prosecutors broad new investigative powers and longer prison sentences for violators.
February 14, 1969
Vito Genovese, head of the crime family that still carries his name, dies of natural causes in a federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri.
November 27, 1966
Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes moves to Las Vegas and takes over the top two floors of the Desert Inn Hotel. He goes on to buy six casinos, most of them from the Mob.
November 24, 1963
Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub operator with Mob ties, kills Lee Harvey Oswald in a Dallas Police Department basement.