Author name: Gary Jenkins

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Sidney Heard and the Kuggerrand Fraud In this episode, I interview Synova Cantrell about her book, Unorganized Crime: You Don’t Have to be Italian To Be a Wiseguy. Synova formed a friendship with a professional criminal named Sidney Heard and chronicled his flamboyant life in Unorganized Crime. Synova Cantrel is a prolific author who has written seven […]

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Frank Costello goes South In this episode, Casey McBride, Frank Costello historian, discusses how a well known New York mobster formed a relationship with the flamboyant Huey P. Long, Louisiana’s governor, and then-Senator during the 1920-1930s. Frank Costello and Phil “Dandy Phil” Kastel set up the slot machine business in New York City. They disguised

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How Ori Spado became a friend to many mobsters We interview Ori Spado, the Accidental Gangster this week.  Mr. Spado started out as an insurance man who pioneered the extended warranty business for new car dealerships. This part of his life has nothing to do with organized crime but we learn that Spado started in

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Michael McCollum has a rough start McCollum started early in a life of crime after his father, a motorcycle gang member, was the victim of a murder attempt where a dynamite bomb was detonated at their family home. Former law enforcement officer Gary Jenkins interviews former Hells Angel and Chicago Outfit Associate Michael McCollum. After having

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Interview with Mob Museum The Mob in Popular Culture blogger Larry Henry. Gary and Larry Henry discuss the film Casino and the work of Nichols Pileggi.

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In this podcast, our guest Lieutenant (Ret) Michale Callahan tells how the Illinois State Police assigned him to review a murder investigation after they learned that the television show Dateline was doing a show that will allege the defendants were wrongfully prosecuted. Lt. Calahan’s assignment will lead to the court overturning two murder convictions and

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The Bonanno Family and drug smuggling In 1972, the Bonanno War is over, Joe and Bill Bonanno are out in Arizona. The Commission appoints Phil “Rusty”Rastelli the new boss of the Bonano crime family. Carmine Galante, the old  Bonanno Consigliore completes a long prison sentence and returns to New York. Carmine Galante was at the

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Agent Leon Flosi and Giovanni Falcone In this third episode of the Pizza Connection story, I interviewed retired FBI agent Leon Flosi about Judge Giovanni Falcone and the Sicilian mafia. Agent Flosi was originally assigned to the Kansas City office where I became acquainted with him. He played an important part in the Strawman case

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Tommaso Buscetta documentary Welcome Wiretappers to episode 2 of this Pizza Connection series. In this episode, Cam and I take a look at the famous Sicilian mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta. He is the subject of a documentary available on Amazon Prime called Our Godfather and I inserted the trailer for this film below. He is

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Pizza Connection: the biggest case against the mafia Welcome Wiretappers, Cam and I welcome you to the first of a 4-part series on the famous Pizza Connection investigation. Because this case was so intertwined with the Sicilian Mafia and the American Mafia, we start with a little history of the Mafia in Sicily. We know