Artifact Spotlight: Alternative liquor products from Prohibition
When Prohibition started on January 17, 1920, beer brewers, liquor distillers and winemakers were in a predicament. The 18th Amendment…
Author: Victoria Koelkebeck
‘The Green Felt Jungle,’ published 60 years ago, rattled Las Vegas
When The Green Felt Jungle was published 60 years ago, the book created a stir by detailing Mob influence and…
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar killed 30 years ago this month
Warning: This blog contains graphic images that some readers may find disturbing. Thirty years ago this month, the bloody reign…
Ninety Years Ago Today, Prohibition Ended at 2:32 p.m. Pacific Time
On Tuesday, December 5, 1933, the unprecedented repeal of a constitutional amendment went into effect, officially relegalizing intoxicating liquors in…
Artifact Spotlight: Frank Gusenberg’s Colt .38 Special Revolver
This Colt Detective .38 Special was the only firearm found at the crime scene of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. This snub-nosed revolver was the go-to sidearm for lawmen and lawbreakers alike.
John Gotti’s takedown detailed in new Netflix series
A three-part docuseries now available on Netflix examines the dramatic rise and fall of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti…
Eighty-two years ago this month, Murder Inc.’s Abe Reles took a mysterious fall
Abraham “Kid Twist” Reles’ damning testimony assisted in taking down some of the most vicious Mob enforcers during the sensational…
Mobsters blamed for Election Day violence in New York City 90 years ago
Before a hotly contested battle for the New York mayor’s office culminated in a big win for a “law and…
Classic Mob movie ‘Mean Streets’ celebrates 50th anniversary
Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets, released in October 1973, is regarded as a classic crime drama, depicting a New York City…
Defiance of Kefauver Committee put Frank Costello behind bars for 14 months
When New York underworld boss Frank Costello famously walked out while being questioned by the Kefauver Committee in 1951, he…