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.
November 22, 1963
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested and charged with the murder, but suspicions linger that the Mob was behind it.
September 27, 1963
Joseph Valachi, a soldier in the Genovese crime family, testifies before the McClellan Committee and publicly acknowledges the existence of “La Cosa Nostra.”
January 26, 1962
Charles “Lucky” Luciano dies of natural causes in Naples, Italy.
November 8, 1960
John F. Kennedy is elected president. Mob leaders in Chicago and elsewhere use underworld connections and tactics to support his candidacy.
January 1, 1959
Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista flees the country and rebel leader Fidel Castro takes control. Casinos run by American mobsters, including Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante Jr., are shut down.
November 14, 1957
The Apalachin Meeting, a summit of Mob leaders from across the United States, is raided by New York state police. News of the raid prompts FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to acknowledge the existence of the American Mafia.