Upon his death from a torturous, four-day bout with pneumonia in 1932, Frank McErlane was described by Chicago Police as the “toughest gangster of them all.” His ruthless bootlegging peers in the Windy City feared him so much they reportedly paid him a “pension” of hundreds of dollars a week just to stay out of town.
Al Capone. The first name that everyone thinks of when you say “mob boss” or “gangster” is Al Capone. So, obviously, our list begins with him.
It also estimated that the Genovese family consists of about 270 "made" members. The family maintains power and influence in New York, New Jersey, Atlantic City and Florida. It is recognized as the most powerful Mafia family in the U.S., a distinction brought about by their continued devotion to secrecy.
Lucky Luciano
Charles "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian-American mobster, considered the founder and father of organized crime in America and the most powerful Mafia boss of all time.
Messina Denaro was considered "Mafia nobility" — the last of three top mafia bosses, the others being the notorious Salvatore "Toto'" Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, both of whom also eluded capture for decades, continuing to live clandestine lives in Sicily.
Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of The Commission in 1931, after he abolished the boss of bosses title held by Salvatore Maranzano following the Castellammarese War. He was also the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family.
Today, the American Mafia cooperates in various criminal activities with Italian organized crime groups, such as the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra of Campania and the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria.
The three main Italian mafia-style groups — the Cosa Nostra, Camorra and Ndrangheta — operate worldwide but keep a very low profile outside of Italy, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to detect these organised crime groups.
As the birthplace of the original mafia, Italy is home to some of the world's most powerful organized crime groups, operating domestically and abroad.
Longtime Colombo under-boss John “Sonny” Franzese is the living embodiment of the ultimate mob rule — bragging in an interview about refusing to rat despite it making him the oldest federal prisoner at the age of 100.
Definitions of moll. the girlfriend of a gangster. synonyms: gangster's moll, gun moll.
'The Last Gangster' on ABC: Sammy Gravano, notorious gangster turned FBI informant, reflects on Gambino crime family testimony - ABC7 Chicago.
In the “roaring twenties,” Al Capone ruled an empire of crime in the Windy City: gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, bribery, narcotics trafficking, robbery, “protection” rackets, and murder.
Five Families, moniker given to the five major Italian American Mafia families in New York City: Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese.
The Albanian mafia in the United States has been thought to greatly increase their dominant power and is one of the most violent criminal organisations in operation, particularly with their strong connections in the European Union.
The FBI has kept an eye on the five families that have run New York's US-Italian mob since the 1930s - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families - and continue to do so today.