Jimmy Cournoyer brought a billion dollars of weed into New York City and the east coast through an organization that brought together the Rizzuto and Bonnano Italian Mafia families, Native American Smugglers, Hell's Angels, and the Sinaloa Cartel into one massive money-laundering, weed-smuggling, cocaine-distributing organization. And he did it all before he ... Show More
Nov 11
The Tijuana Cartel's Bloody Rise and Fall
When the godfather Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo got busted in '89, he divvied up his empire from a prison cell and handed the coveted Tijuana plaza to the Arellano Felix Brothers, who transformed it into one of the most violent drug organizations in Mexico. At their peak, the brot ... Show More
1h 1m
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
Dec 2020
Cocaine Captain: The Story of JC Perez
Cocaine production is at an all-time high, but it came to fame in the Miami Vice era of the 1980’s with the help of the “Cocaine Cowboys.” In this episode, Mariana sits down with JC Perez, who piloted cocaine smuggling runs for one of the biggest bosses in the business. Over the ... Show More
50m 16s
Apr 2018
S1 Ep9: Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (Part 1)
When Charles Luciano organized the mob and decided that money didn't care what your ethnicity was, it was the chance for Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel to prove his worth.
With ambition as big as Las Vegas and a temper to boot, Siegel made his way to the top through charm, hustle, and ... Show More
39m 20s
Jun 2021
A Mob Boss Starts a Movement
June 28, 1971. It’s the second annual “Unity Day” rally at Columbus Circle in New York City, organized by the Italian American Civil Rights League. Joe Colombo is the very public face of the League, a group that actively fights discrimination and ugly stereotypes against the Ital ... Show More
30m 44s