Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro passed away today. He was 61. The elusive Mafioso was viewed as the last man to know the people on both sides of the law involved in some of Italy’s most heinous and profitable crimes. He took those secrets t
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Everyone called him Tommy Brown, but that was not really his name. It was a nickname, a mob monicker, but it really got confused. His name in Italian is Gaetano Lucchese, and the closest we get to that is Guy Lucchese, as the name is pronounced “Guy
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They called them gli scappati “the runaways,” hiding in Venezuela or finding refuge in Miami, drifting through New York, even in the lemon orchards of Monreale. Where they really ended up was New Jersey. At least the ones that were the major targets.
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The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) dismantled a criminal organization smuggling large quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe via the Canary Islands. The investigation identified a significant threat; criminal organizations’ increasin
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John Derek, the movie actor, once said, “Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse.” Dominic Di Ciolla managed two out of three, but missed out on the last one. A lesser known player in the field of American organized crime, he came and w
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Colombo crime family consigliere Ralph DiMatteo pleaded guilty to racketeering charges last week. The Mafia leader went viral after his son posted a photo on Twitter showing him lounging in a pool the day after prosecutors had indicted him.
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Two alleged members of New York’s Genovese crime family were sentenced to prison last week. Both men - one a reputed Mafia captain, the other a soldier - had pleaded guilty to racketeering charges earlier this year after being charged in April 2022.
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Truman Capote, the late, famous American novelist and playwright, once said, “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.” A more than perfect observation of what took place in New York and various outlier areas of north-eastern Am
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Several months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it soon became clear to those in the Kremlin that their so-called “brother nation” was not going to sit still for target practice. What’s more, they were running out of professional soldiers. Russia h
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According to Giuseppe Montalbano, a deputy in the Regional Parliament, “Sicilians are by nature delinquents, all mafiosi or tending to mafiosi.” To him, “the mafia constituted an occult middle class with its fingers in every social stratum, imposing
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Authorities in Italy, Belgium and Germany joined forces with Eurojust and Europol in a new operation against the Calabrian Mafia, known as the ‘Ndrangheta, and its drug trafficking activities. Today, 31 suspects were arrested and assets worth over €3
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Branding is important. Even when you have a product as successful – and addictive - as cocaine. Though the stuff practically sells itself to everyone - from junkies and sports fans to Wall Street Gordon Gecko wannabes and vegan yoga instructors - it
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This is a story about a crime that never exists which triggered another beyond belief in a place saturated with a history of death and betrayal. About a man who organized his own funeral without knowing it and the youth who helped to kill him so he c
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The Calabrian Mafia was dealt a big blow this week. 132 individuals linked to the ‘Ndrangheta were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday in Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Romania, Brazil and Panama. Multiple locations
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One of Italy’s most wanted and dangerous criminals was arrested on Thursday morning. 49-year-old Pasquale Bonavota was caught as he exited a cathedral in the port city of Genoa, in the north of Italy. He became a wanted man in 2018 when he went on th
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Family is everything. It is how La Cosa Nostra, the American Mafia, managed to dominate the New York underworld for over a century. But in the underworld, family is no match for greed. Vultures and sharks are everywhere, ready to take what’s yours. T
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Every year, the multibillion-dollar proceeds of organised crime are pumped into the global economy - a torrent of dirty cash that is laundered through the banking system to disguise its origins. So how is it done? And how does it remain undetected? E
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Triad boss Chang An Lo went from rags to riches. From street thug to Triad leader and from prison to becoming involved in the political chess game between China and Taiwan. Known as the White Wolf, he claims to have retired from the underworld, yet h
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In the Mafia, people tend to have a long memory. Once you are on a hit list, you never get off. Unless you’re dead. After the murders of Nicolo Rizzuto Sr. and Nicolo Rizzuto Jr. and the death of mob boss Vito Rizzuto, it seems someone still feels th
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Since its beginnings, the Sicilian Mafia was led by and comprised of men. Cosa Nostra was the ultimate “Man’s World.” Men went out to commit crimes while wives sat at home. Sons followed in their fathers’ footsteps, while sisters stayed at home. As t
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