In the mid-1800s, criminal gangs sprang up in Sicily, using violence to extort farmers in the island's lucrative citrus trade. By the end of the century, the gangs organized into the Cosa Nostra: the all-powerful Sicilian mafia.
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Dec 2020
LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 5: The East LA Banditos
In East LA, a group of deputies named the Banditos stand accused of running the sheriff’s substation like a gang, institutionalizing a culture of fear and retaliation. And while they’re intimidating civilians and colleagues alike, they may be protected by the very top of the depa ... Show More
42m 51s
Dec 2020
LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 5: The East LA Banditos
In East LA, a group of deputies named the Banditos stand accused of running the sheriff’s substation like a gang, institutionalizing a culture of fear and retaliation. And while they’re intimidating civilians and colleagues alike, they may be protected by the very top of the depa ... Show More
42m 51s
Dec 2020
LA County Sheriff’s Gangs Pt. 4: The Compton Executioners
The Compton Executioners allegedly control every aspect of life at the LASD Compton substation. Gang members have been accused of assaulting fellow deputies and even killing civilians, claiming, often without evidence, that they were acting in self-defense. And although they’ve f ... Show More
43m 48s
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
Apr 2025
The 'Ndrangheta's Notorious Kidnapping Gang Wars
Today the ‘Ndrangheta, Calabria’s clan-based Mafia, is one of the world’s richest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations, worth an estimated $55 billion. But it wasn’t always like that. From the 1960s, as European politics went mad, the group glommed onto a new fad taki ... Show More
48m 23s
Feb 2021
Sicily's Brutal Wars and Mafia Super Trial
The "Maxi Trial" pitted two fearless Palermo prosecutors and turncoat "Pentiti" against the Cosa Nostra, its thuggish leader Toto Riina, and a whole host of corrupt cops, politicians and businessmen. But when the judge handed down 344 guilty verdicts, the real chaos was just begi ... Show More
41m 54s
Jul 2022
106 - Giovanni Brusca: A Mafia Horror Story
Giovanni Brusca was an enforcer under the Boss of all Mafia Bosses in Corleone, Sicily - Totó Riina. Part of a 12-person hit squad, Brusca was cold-hearted and brutal, and would become known as ‘The Swine’ or ‘The Slayer’. He would admit to killing more than 150 people during his ... Show More
43m 24s
Sep 2023
194: The History of the Dixie Mafia
By the 1960s, organized crime gangs were well and truly already becoming a presence across the north of the United States, as underworld figures fought for sole control over highly lucrative gambling, illegal alcohol, and prostitution rings. Down south, things were done a slightl ... Show More
22m 34s
<p><strong> </strong></p><br><p>In the early 20th century, a disorganised bunch of criminals transformed into a criminal empire and made billions in the process. </p><p>In this episode, we'll learn how it all got started and why you didn't want to get on the wrong side of Charles ... Show More
