The remains of a body may contain evidence related to a New York City mob hit from the late 1960s. The decomposed body was found by a stream in the town of Tuxedo – a town located in Orange County, New York along the Ramapo Rivera. The town was also a popular dumping ground used by the Gambino’s in the 60’s, to dispose of bodies. The remains of this partocular body was that of a…
If you have gone through YouTube watching back-to-back episodes of mob films and documentaries then you have probably heard the name ‘Ron Previte’. Just recently the 6 foot tall, 300 pound Previte even appeared on the first series of ‘The Mafia With Trevor McDonald’. What you will also know about Previte, is that he did a lot of things for money. Including the time he made a pact with the FBI to turn government witness….
Edward J. McGrath, or “The Big Guy”, as he was known around the docks, started out as a small-time bootlegger during Prohibition. Originally from the East Side of Manhattan, McGrath fell in with a group of West Side hijackers, including his future brother-in-law John “Cockeye” Dunn, while serving a five-year sentence in Sing Sing for burglary. Other key members of his gang would eventually include Andrew “Squint” Sheridan, the Bell brothers, George Daggett, Joe Butler,…
Reading Time: Louis Campagna was born in Brooklyn in 1900, little is known about his early life however his first spot of criminal lifestyle was when he was just a teenager, when he joined the infamous New York Five Point’s Gang of Manhattan. Al Capone, who later brought Campagna to Chicago was also a one time member of the same gang. In 1919, New York mobster Al Capone had moved to Chicago to help out…
Reading Time: Eliot Ness was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 19th 1903, and he was best known for destroying the multi-million dollar breweries operated by Al Capone, also in part for Capone’s downfall, including his arrest and conviction of Tax-evasion. Ness, in the mid-1930s was responsible for turning around Cleveland, Ohio when the city was overcome with crime and corruption, he weeded out roughly 200 crooked Police officers and brought down 15 other officials…
Reading Time: Greg ‘The Grim Reaper’ Scarpa was born May 8th 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, he was the second born, his parents being Italian Immigrants. At the age of 7, Scarpa was working as a coal deliveryman alongside his father, this gave Scarpa an itch for a better life for him and his family. Greg’s older brother Sal was the first of the Scarpa family to hook up with mob associates, by the age…
Reading Time: The Detroit mafia lives in the shadows. It always has, now, more than ever. “They don’t chase the news cameras like in other cities and a lot of them have been very adept of veiling themselves in legitimacy,” said former federal prosecutor and organized crime task force member Keith Corbett, of the area’s ruling mob powers. “In relative terms, it’s been a recipe for success, in that most of them have avoided long,…
Owen Vincent Madden was born in Leeds, England on December 18th 1891. Due to the fact the family wanted work, they moved first to Wigan before moving on to Liverpool, his father’s intentions were to finally move the family towards the United States, this was fulfilled in 1901. However tragedy struck the family, and Owney’s father died before he could complete his ambition. The family moved to Manhattan before finding a new home in New…
Philip Carlo Testa was born on April 21st 1924 in Mistretta, Sicily, and immigrated to New York City. Whilst in the States he befriended mob boss Angelo Bruno, who would soon become an opening into the Mafia world for Testa. It was believed that Testa’s income was solely from winnings as a common gambler, seeing himself as a statesman similar to Julius Caesar gaining him the nickname ‘The Julius Cesar of the Philadelphia Mob’. He…
Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano was born March 28th 1888 in Palermo, Sicily, he was nicknamed by the Brooklyn newspaper ‘The Executioner‘ and was the head of the Mangano Crime family (Mineo Family in 1931, then more commonly known as the Gambino’s from the mid 1950’s). He reigned as family boss from 1931 until his death in 1951. His brother, Philip, was a capo/consigliere during this period. Vincent was one of the bosses who retained the old…
James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke was one of the most notorious Irish-American gangsters of all time, a violent, ruthless criminal responsible for countless murders and one of the largest cash robberies in American history. Ironically Burke was never a member of the Mafia, but did spend most of his career working closely with made mafia men and the associates of two of the New York Crime Families. Born James Conway on July 5, 1931, in…
Aniello “Mr. Neil” Dellacroce was born March 15th 1914 in New York City, being 5’10 and broad shouldered, Dellacroce was often seen with organized crime figures such as the likes of Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese and Albert Anastasia. His stare was menacing, NYPD detective Ralph Salerno once told the media “You looked at Dellacroce’s eyes and you could see how frightening they were, the frigid glare of a killer.” In the 1930s, Dellacroce joined the…