The Buffalo Mafia’s ill-advised art thefts
“Art Collection Is Looted; Loss Put at $1.3 million,” read a headline in the August 22, 1968, edition of the New York Times. In the middle of the night, burglars broke into the home of art collector T. Edward Hanley and walked off with 14 paintings and two statues while Hanley slept in his bed. Associates of the Buffalo Mafia orchestrated the theft under the oversight of crime boss Stefano Magaddino, whose reign was nearing its end. The theft gave the FBI the perfect opportunity to take down the Mafia in Buffalo, New York. Magaddino found his empire in danger from ...
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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…
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‘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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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