Gangland Wire Blog

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How did Richard Cain become a Chicago cop Gary interviews Chicago Outfit historian and Administrator of the Chicago Outfit – Old and Current News and Articles Mike Byrne. Richard Cain was born to an Irish-American father and Italian-American mother.  He would sometimes go by Richard Scalzitti. Richard Cain started as a private Investigator learning about […]

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Lucky Luciano and the Night of the Sicilian Vespers Gary interviews well known true crime author Nate Hendley about Charles “Lucky” Luciano and how he recruited other young gangsters to kill the old Mustache Petes and created the modern National Crime Syndicate. Francis Ford Coppola used this scenario in his fictional recounting of these events

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Danny Greene – The Celtic Warrior Gary and Cam interview Rick Porrello, the author of Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia, The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia, Superthief, Bombs, Bullets, and Bribes. Danny Greene and the Cleveland Mafia Danny Greene was an up and coming young hoodlum who started working

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History of the ‘Ndrangheta In this episode, Gary and Cam examine the history of organized crime in Australia as a big shout out to Sydney fan Dan Bashford. They examine how the ‘Ndrangheta became the largest and most powerful criminal organization in Australia. The ‘Ndrangheta organization originated from the state of Calabria in Italy. After

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What is the biggest Mob Blunder ever? In this episode, Cam Robinson and Gary Jenkins discuss blunders by various organized crime families. We believe the largest and most devastating was the murder of Jimmy Hoffa on 6/30/1975. After his release from prison, Hoffa began campaigning to reclaim the leadership of the teamsters. The mafia enjoyed

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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.