Biography channel documentary gangsters out blog

Men have dominated the history of organized crime as bosses, capos, soldiers and associates. They traditionally relegated women to servile roles as prostitutes, shills, dancers and servers. America’s La Cosa Nostra and Sicily’s Mafia are old-style patriarchies. American crime families have been men-only clubs, and women can’t be “made.” In Mob movies, females typically portray mothers, wives, siblings, girlfriends, “molls” and, at best, crime-wise, low-level smugglers.

However, that history has changed to a limited but important degree within the past couple of decades, as law enforcement agencies across the globe arrest more and more male Mob bosses and drug kingpins. These men receive lengthy prison terms, creating the demand for outside help to run their rackets. In Italy, where its ubiquitous organized crime is seemly entrenched for good, this reality has presented opportunities for a number of women to substitute for or replace men as crime bosses.

Anti-Mafia crackdowns by Italian police started in the s with stringent new laws. One national statute gives the government the right to seize the assets of suspects who intimidate, exploit or use codes of silence to obtain businesses, or to sway elections. Another imposes precise rules on selected prison inmates convicted of murder, extortion or other Mafia-type crimes. The rules include no phone use and tight restrictions on prison visits and recreation to restrain communication.

These limitations, along with the increase of bosses sent to prison, induced the Mafia to transfer its illicit funds and control of criminal rackets increasingly to women. According to the investigative news website TransCrime, while Italian courts indicted only one female boss in , they indicted 89 of them in

Recent research by TransCrime shows that male bosses headed for prison commonly hand their assets over to their wives or sisters. Even though women made up only percent of those sent to pri

On March 13, , Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, a year-old reputed Gambino crime family leader, was shot to death outside his home on Staten Island in New York City.

After a pickup truck hit his parked SUV, Cali went outside to investigate and was gunned down. Three days later, a suspect was arrested in New Jersey.

News stories about Cali’s high-ranking position in a New York Mafia family came as a surprise to many, according to author Selwyn Raab. Knowing that headlines can lead to problems for the organization, some Mob figures have learned to live in the shadows.

“Nobody knew he was the boss,” Raab said.

A former New York Times investigative reporter, Raab is the author of Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America&#;s Most Powerful Mafia Empires. The book is the basis for an upcoming eight-part History Channel series on New York’s five Mafia families — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese — and their criminal involvement over time in the nation’s most-populous city and beyond.

The History Channel has not set a date for when the series will air. The executive producer is Ray Liotta, whose acting credits include a lead role in the classic Mob movie Goodfellas and in the recent Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark.

The Five Families still active

The History Channel’s series, now in the early stages of development, is focusing on the five New York crime families that Raab says were the jewel in the Mafia’s crown.

“Nobody was as widespread as them or as wealthy,” he said.

At one time, federal and local officials poured enormous resources into anti-Mafia efforts in New York City, putting more than a few underworld operatives behind bars. Much of that focus has shifted to other priorities, Raab said, but that doesn’t mean the Mob has gone away. The Five Families have been “wounded, but not mortally,” the author said. “No one has driven a spike through t

Bare-knuckle boxing and one of London’s most notorious criminal gangs provide a potent one-two punch in the upcoming historical drama A Thousand Blows.

Created by Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight, the series begins streaming Friday on Hulu and tells the story of boxer Hezekiah Moscow and trainer Alec Munroe. Friends from Jamaica, the pair find themselves thrust into the s London fight scene where they encounter vicious rival Henry “Sugar” Goodson and Mary Carr, the leader of the all-female Forty Elephants faction.

Although the events of A Thousand Blows are mostly fictional, Knight drew inspiration from Victorian era figures for his unique cast of characters. So before settling in for all six rounds—er, episodes—here’s everything you need to know about their real-life counterparts.

Hezekiah Moscow and Alec Munroe were actual friends

The trailer for A Thousand Blows shows friends Hezekiah Moscow (played by Malachi Kirby) and Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall) arriving in London and eager to “make some money in the ring.” The two were, in fact, boxing partners from the era.

According to researcher Sarah Elizabeth Cox, who served as a historical consultant for the series, the real Moscow was born in Kingston, Jamaica, around and became known by the derogatory names “Ching Hook” and “Ching Ghook.” The nicknames—rooted in racist slurs against Asian people—possibly stemmed from a journalist at a London pub saying Moscow “looked a bit Chinese,” per Cox.

Although there are only three official records of Hezekiah Moscow, he regularly appeared in newspaper articles. Most concerned his involvement in boxing, though reports from describe him as an employee of the East London Aquarium. The Leeds Timescalled him a “lion tamer.”

By November , Moscow had wo