In the 1990's, a new group of criminals started making their presence known on the streets of New York City: the Albanian mafia. Soon, they earned a reputation that even scared the Italian mafias that had dominated the city for decades. Muscling in on Gambino and Lucchese rackets, they pulled guns on made men and people began referring to the Rudaj Organizat ... Show More
May 26
The Rise and Fall of The Yakuza Devil's Child
Mako Nishimura graduated from high school delinquent to kamikaze biker gang, street tough and, eventually, a fully made member of a yakuza syndicate - the first (or perhaps second?) woman to do so. Nishimura made her gang huge amounts of cash selling women plus selling, and takin ... Show More
1h 2m
May 19
The Cartel Del Noreste's Kingdom of Terror w/ Andrew Glazer
Nuevo Laredo is one of the most feared cartel cities in Mexico, a place where disappearances, gun battles, and corruption became part of daily life as the Cartel del Noreste, or CDN, tightened its grip on the border. Born from the remnants of the brutal Zetas organization, CDN tu ... Show More
1 h
Jul 2023
The Italian Squad: A Group of 1920s NYPD Immigrant Detectives Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia
The story begins in Sicily, on Friday, March 12th, 1909. Three gunshots thundered in the night, and then a fourth. Two men fled, and investigators soon discovered who they had killed: Giuseppe Petrosino, the legendary American detective whose exploits in New York were celebrated ... Show More
28m 5s
May 2022
Mafia Pt. 1: The Rise of La Cosa Nostra
When mafiosos rose to power in 20th century America, they were untouchable criminals with an unbreakable code. Their origins in Sicily left them with a taste for extreme loyalty, secrecy, and violence. And even before notorious gangster “Lucky” Luciano remade them into an organiz ... Show More
47m 57s
Jan 2021
Italy’s secretive ‘Ndrangheta Mafia on trial
More than 350 people currently face trial for their alleged connections with one of Italy’s most powerful Mafia syndicates, the ‘Ndrangheta. The crime group is known for its secrecy. Bosses, accused of murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking, often hide in bunkers in Calab ... Show More
23m 34s
Sep 2019
E163: The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
On February 14th, 1929, Chicago was shocked by the most violent crime the city had ever seen, when 7 gang affiliated men were gunned down simultaneously. The attack was the culmination of a gang war that had lasted for 9 years, and had a marked effect on organized crime in the ci ... Show More
58m 7s