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♪

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For 30 years, the Five Families,

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the heart of the mafia,
had a free run in America.

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00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,290
♪

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00:00:19,370 --> 00:00:22,000
REPORTER: And on the floor,
riddled with five bullets,

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the body of Al Anastasia.

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Loan-sharking, prostitution,
taking over unions.

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They had their hands
on politics.

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♪

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00:00:35,250 --> 00:00:36,620
They could do
whatever they wanted.

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They got away with everything.

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[gunshots]

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REPORTER:
The two gentlemen inside

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died as a result of multiple
gunshot and shotgun wounds.

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♪

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00:00:49,540 --> 00:00:53,160
MICHAEL FRANZESE: Did we kill
as part of that life? Yeah.

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If I violate
the terms of this oath,

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then I can
pay for it with my life.

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♪

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[gunshot]

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REPORTER: Paul Castellano,
gunned down yesterday

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on a public street.

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REPORTER: Police officials say
John Gotti has replaced

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the late Paul Castellano

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as the new head
of the Gambino Family.

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MICHAEL: People think
you're taking an oath

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to lie, steal, cheat, kill.

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That's not the oath.

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Omertà means one thing:
Silence.

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I respectfully
decline to answer.

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I respectfully
decline to answer.

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I'm not going to answer
another question here

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just 'cause
I'm not under arrest

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and I'm going to walk out.

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"We do not talk to the law.

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We do not talk to outsiders.
All of our business is private."

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And that is the absolute
rock bottom code of the mafia.

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NARRATOR: For half a century,
the mafia stuck

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to this sacred oath
and pillaged New York City

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and the greater
American economy.

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Omertà was the key
to their success.

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Without it, they would drown.

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♪

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Its first major threat
would come in 1963,

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in the form of Joseph Valachi,

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a man willing to break
this sacred oath

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and reveal the structure
and secrets of the mafia.

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Those on the inside would soon
learn the cost of doing

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business in America,
where greed, individualism

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and celebrity
would continuously test

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the strength
of their age-old code.

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Omertà.

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♪

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♪

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To understand the mafia
in America,

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you need to understand
the mafia in Sicily,

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the crown jewel
of the Mediterranean Sea.

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It had been fought over
for thousands of years.

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The Phoenicians,
the Greeks, the Romans,

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the Arabs all planted a flag.

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In the mid-IXX century,
it belonged

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to the Spanish Bourbon dynasty.

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Sicily as an island, it develops
its own unique culture,

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so that made Sicilians
feel for a long time

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different from Italians,
different from Europeans.

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Sicily, up until
the IXX century,

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was a feudal society

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with large land ownings,
owned by absentee landlords

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who governed with the help
of middle managers.

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In 1860,
General Giuseppe Garibaldi

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invaded the island
and brought it

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under Italian control,

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leading to the most significant
transfer of power

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in the history of Sicily.

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Suddenly,
there's like a free for all

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and everything is for sale.

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And at first,
a lot of Sicilians

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support and back the unification
of the country of Italy.

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However, as time goes on,
a lot of Sicilians

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are faced
with a number of crises,

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ranging from agricultural strife
to being heavily taxed.

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There are some uprisings
against the government.

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Those uprisings are put down.

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There's a period of disorder.

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There are brigands and bandits
who take advantage

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of the vacuum of power
that follows this invasion.

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♪

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[speaking Italian]

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♪

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They considered themselves
men of honor,

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men of respect, men important
enough to be above the law.

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These men would soon venture
to New York City

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in search of opportunity.

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And with them,
they would bring this attitude

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of playing by their own rules.

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♪

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ED O'DONNELL:
Immigration to the United States

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in the late IXX and early XX
century explodes.

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Things are going poorly
in many European countries.

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Poverty, war, oppression.

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The United States
has lots of opportunity,

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many jobs, land, freedom.

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And so there's
this huge migration

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from Europe
to the United States.

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And of that migration,
something on the order

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of four million people
come from Italy.

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♪

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You had immigrants coming
from southern Italy,

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the poorest, most uneducated
rural part of the country.

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♪

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They came here
to a life that probably

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was not really much better.

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♪

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Now they're thrown
into this cauldron

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of New York City, the epicenter

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of modern industrialization
and capitalism.

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There are dozens and dozens
of ethnic groups,

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and it's a really intense,
competitive environment

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just to survive.

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♪

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BILL TONELLI: From the old
country, they brought with them

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a certain amount of clanishness.

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They relied on family even more
than the Italians did in Italy,

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and they didn't expect
anything good from authority.

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They didn't expect
any help from outside.

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So they came here
with those same attitudes.

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The gangsters
and the grandmothers

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all had the same worldview.

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♪

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CHRISTOPHER BONANOS: The most
famous Italian-American

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neighborhood in New York City
is obviously the Little Italy

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centered on Mulberry and Mott
Streets in Lower Manhattan.

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But there were a scattering
of others as well.

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ANTHONY DESTEFANO:
Certain neighborhoods were

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largely Italian American,

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and the criminal element
held sway because they knew

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where everybody was,
knew where everybody lived.

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♪

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It was kind of like a cocoon

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where people didn't want
to cooperate necessarily

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with police because they knew
the criminals were in the area.

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♪

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In the early 1900s, crime
in New York City was ubiquitous,

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as it was everywhere else,

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but it was also
pretty small scale.

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There's a bit of what we might
call low level organized crime,

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00:07:42,620 --> 00:07:44,830
but it's really just local gangs
that control maybe

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00:07:44,950 --> 00:07:47,830
four or five blocks,
and they are shaking down

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and extorting from people
within their own neighborhoods.

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ANTHONY DESTEFANO:
In East Harlem, there were

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00:07:53,790 --> 00:07:56,660
Italian people from all over.

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It had a number
of characters who were,

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I guess you could call them
padrones, who were important

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00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,250
to the neighborhood as kind
of quasi-crime figures.

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♪

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00:08:08,330 --> 00:08:10,830
And could be
a source of employment,

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could be a source of money,
could be a source of trouble.

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00:08:13,870 --> 00:08:15,660
♪

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00:08:15,790 --> 00:08:18,700
In the early XX century,
these local criminal groups

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00:08:18,830 --> 00:08:20,160
ruled across New York City.

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00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:22,290
♪

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00:08:22,410 --> 00:08:25,330
Then, in 1919,
they were presented

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00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:27,410
with a new revenue stream,

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00:08:27,540 --> 00:08:30,830
and it was bigger
than any racket they ever had.

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00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,500
Prohibition, a nationwide ban
on the sale and transport

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00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:38,160
of alcohol officially began
in 1920.

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00:08:38,250 --> 00:08:41,620
The opponents of alcohol, who
bring us Prohibition in 1920,

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00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:43,700
think they've achieved
a great victory.

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00:08:43,870 --> 00:08:45,950
But what they don't know
is that Prohibition

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00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,540
is going to turn out
to be an incredible gift

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00:08:48,660 --> 00:08:51,250
from teetotaler America
to the mob because they are able

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00:08:51,370 --> 00:08:54,910
to capitalize on this gigantic
national black market.

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00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,160
Americans do not lose
their thirst

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00:08:57,290 --> 00:08:59,500
for alcohol in Prohibition.

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00:08:59,580 --> 00:09:01,910
CLAIRE WHITE: It's all
about that supply and demand,

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00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,540
and it really allows
mobsters in the city

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00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:07,500
to consolidate power
and to build wealth,

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00:09:07,620 --> 00:09:09,790
becoming millionaires
thanks to Prohibition.

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00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:13,290
SELWYN RAAB:
Prohibition was an earthquake.

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00:09:13,410 --> 00:09:16,500
Overnight,
these roving groups had

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00:09:16,660 --> 00:09:19,790
to get a semblance
of how to operate.

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00:09:19,910 --> 00:09:23,160
They had to go from being just
street hoods into executives.

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00:09:23,330 --> 00:09:25,910
♪

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00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,790
SAMI JARROUSH: Bootlegging
was the illegal importation

185
00:09:28,870 --> 00:09:32,370
of alcohol from Canada,
the UK, from the Caribbean,

186
00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:34,540
into the United States
of America.

187
00:09:34,660 --> 00:09:36,830
Now, in order
to get the liquor in,

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00:09:36,950 --> 00:09:39,910
you need to have people that are
going to meet these boats.

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00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,200
♪

190
00:09:41,330 --> 00:09:44,000
And so bootlegging starts
to pick up in places

191
00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,450
like New York and Chicago,
for example,

192
00:09:46,580 --> 00:09:48,540
because these are cities
with ports of entry.

193
00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,700
Prohibition is going
to turn organized crime

194
00:09:52,830 --> 00:09:54,830
in New York City
from very disorganized,

195
00:09:54,910 --> 00:09:57,040
very competitive
into, like, a corporation.

196
00:09:58,370 --> 00:09:59,870
They need transportation,

197
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,000
they need accountants,
they need lawyers.

198
00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,750
And all of this requires
a lot of sophistication

199
00:10:04,870 --> 00:10:06,660
and a lot of organization,
much like the legit businesses

200
00:10:06,790 --> 00:10:08,370
that are thriving in America.

201
00:10:08,500 --> 00:10:10,540
So Prohibition turns the mob

202
00:10:10,660 --> 00:10:12,950
into a corporate
business-like structure.

203
00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,500
♪

204
00:10:15,660 --> 00:10:18,160
The change in legislation
gave these criminals

205
00:10:18,330 --> 00:10:20,540
an opportunity to level up,

206
00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:23,660
an opportunity
to make more money,

207
00:10:23,830 --> 00:10:25,750
demand more respect,

208
00:10:25,870 --> 00:10:28,500
and ultimately
redefine themselves.

209
00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:29,830
♪

210
00:10:29,910 --> 00:10:32,500
By the late 1920s, two men,

211
00:10:32,660 --> 00:10:35,120
Joe Masseria
and Salvatore Maranzano,

212
00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,500
had emerged as two
of the most powerful bootleggers

213
00:10:38,660 --> 00:10:41,040
in New York City.

214
00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,580
Masseria in East Harlem,
Maranzano in Brooklyn.

215
00:10:45,700 --> 00:10:48,330
Each recruited a gang
of young Italian immigrants

216
00:10:48,410 --> 00:10:51,000
to help run their operations.

217
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,580
Lines were drawn
between the two factions.

218
00:10:54,700 --> 00:10:58,080
And in 1930,
a violent fight for control

219
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,540
over the bootlegging market
played out in the streets.

220
00:11:01,660 --> 00:11:04,500
Bodies turned up
all over the city,

221
00:11:04,620 --> 00:11:06,750
from office buildings
in East Harlem

222
00:11:06,870 --> 00:11:09,040
to courtyards in the Bronx.

223
00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:14,250
It was bloody,
but blood is bad for business.

224
00:11:14,370 --> 00:11:18,080
Masseria's lieutenants,
Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello

225
00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,120
knew that if they wanted
to make real money,

226
00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,700
the power struggle
would have to end.

227
00:11:24,830 --> 00:11:26,870
So they made a move.

228
00:11:28,660 --> 00:11:33,660
April 15th, 1931. Coney island.

229
00:11:34,580 --> 00:11:40,120
Lucky Luciano and Joe the Boss
met here at Nuovo Villa Tammaro.

230
00:11:40,250 --> 00:11:44,500
Lobster, mussels,
linguini with clams

231
00:11:44,620 --> 00:11:47,040
and cards.

232
00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,500
♪

233
00:11:49,660 --> 00:11:52,660
After lunch...

234
00:11:52,870 --> 00:11:54,290
Big Joe was put on the spot.

235
00:11:54,370 --> 00:11:56,330
[gun cocks]

236
00:11:56,450 --> 00:11:58,200
[gunshot]

237
00:11:58,370 --> 00:12:00,910
Less than five months later,
at his office in Midtown...

238
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,750
[gun cocks, gunshots]

239
00:12:03,870 --> 00:12:07,040
...it's Sal Maranzano
who meets his end.

240
00:12:07,700 --> 00:12:09,620
With the old guard
out of the way

241
00:12:09,750 --> 00:12:11,830
and a clean slate
in front of them,

242
00:12:11,910 --> 00:12:14,330
a younger generation
of mafioso,

243
00:12:14,500 --> 00:12:18,080
led by Charles "Lucky" Luciano,
established a new thing.

244
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:19,330
♪

245
00:12:19,450 --> 00:12:21,540
...with new rules.

246
00:12:21,660 --> 00:12:26,120
SELWYN: So Lucky Luciano was
the Godfather of the Godfathers,

247
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,370
was the main gangster
who created

248
00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:31,500
not only the Five Families,

249
00:12:31,620 --> 00:12:35,370
but some 20 other odd Families
throughout the country.

250
00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,160
Luciano realized he needed
some sort of structure

251
00:12:39,290 --> 00:12:41,950
to enforce his new ways
of doing business.

252
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,410
He also wanted to ensure
that there would never

253
00:12:46,540 --> 00:12:48,620
be a war between the Families,

254
00:12:48,750 --> 00:12:52,080
so he created the Commission,
a ruling board

255
00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,830
consisting of the heads
of each Family.

256
00:12:55,950 --> 00:12:59,200
Luciano's First Commission
had seven voting members:

257
00:12:59,370 --> 00:13:03,160
Chicago, Buffalo
and the New York Five.

258
00:13:03,290 --> 00:13:07,040
The Commission was, in effect,
the Board of Directors,

259
00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,330
a ruling body
who wrote the constitution

260
00:13:10,450 --> 00:13:12,330
for the American mafia.

261
00:13:12,370 --> 00:13:15,910
He wanted to make sure
that the Five Families

262
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,950
in New York would be
the kingpins and they became

263
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,620
the only permanent members
of the Commission.

264
00:13:23,790 --> 00:13:27,200
So, in effect,
he made the Five Families

265
00:13:27,370 --> 00:13:31,870
the rulers
of the entire American mafia.

266
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:33,700
♪

267
00:13:33,870 --> 00:13:35,790
SAMI: The Commission
is bringing together

268
00:13:35,870 --> 00:13:37,000
all of New York's
Five Families,

269
00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,200
and you have
the five heads of those Families

270
00:13:39,370 --> 00:13:42,200
that are sort of working
in tandem with one another

271
00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:45,250
to make sure that no one
really steps on anybody's toes.

272
00:13:45,370 --> 00:13:48,330
In 1931, New York's
Five Families were headed

273
00:13:48,450 --> 00:13:52,160
by Lucky Luciano,
Joseph Profaci,

274
00:13:52,290 --> 00:13:56,040
Vincent Mangano,
Tommy Gagliano and Joe Bonanno.

275
00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,250
♪

276
00:13:58,370 --> 00:14:01,580
Each Family abided
by the same set of rules.

277
00:14:01,700 --> 00:14:04,000
Rules that would
make them powerful,

278
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,330
rules that would make them rich.

279
00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:09,830
♪

280
00:14:09,950 --> 00:14:11,540
Rules that would make them

281
00:14:11,660 --> 00:14:14,870
one of the most successful
organizations in America,

282
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,500
reputedly second in size only
to the US Government itself.

283
00:14:19,620 --> 00:14:23,120
Members were required
to have Sicilian roots.

284
00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:26,750
Each Family maintained the same
organizational structure,

285
00:14:26,870 --> 00:14:29,330
and were to obey the boss.

286
00:14:29,450 --> 00:14:32,160
They were to live
by a code of honor:

287
00:14:32,290 --> 00:14:37,540
No drugs, respect other members
and their significant others.

288
00:14:37,660 --> 00:14:40,620
It was to be
a lifetime membership

289
00:14:40,750 --> 00:14:45,000
and, most importantly,
Omertà, silence,

290
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,620
honor and absolute loyalty
to the Family.

291
00:14:48,750 --> 00:14:51,790
♪

292
00:14:51,910 --> 00:14:54,950
SAMI:
So omertà becomes probably

293
00:14:55,040 --> 00:15:00,700
the most pivotal rule
in mafioso lifestyle.

294
00:15:00,790 --> 00:15:03,950
Never rat out your friends,
never rat out your Family.

295
00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,830
Remain loyal to your Family
and you should be okay.

296
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,410
But if you talk outside
of that code of silence...

297
00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:13,000
you never know
what might happen to you.

298
00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,410
♪

299
00:15:16,540 --> 00:15:19,830
They live by these rules,
and the bosses demanded

300
00:15:19,950 --> 00:15:21,540
with a blood oath

301
00:15:21,660 --> 00:15:23,040
that even the lowest levels

302
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:25,120
of their organizations
do the same.

303
00:15:25,250 --> 00:15:26,910
♪

304
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,580
The blood oath
that a lowly soldier

305
00:15:29,750 --> 00:15:32,000
by the name
of Joseph Valachi took

306
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,290
and would one day betray.

307
00:15:34,410 --> 00:15:36,160
♪

308
00:15:40,870 --> 00:15:42,830
New York's Five Families
found success

309
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,620
in the early XX century
for myriad reasons.

310
00:15:45,750 --> 00:15:48,120
A big one was their agility.

311
00:15:48,250 --> 00:15:51,000
With every political
or economic shift,

312
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,200
be it on a city,
state or national scale,

313
00:15:54,370 --> 00:15:57,080
the Five Families
were there to capitalize.

314
00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,330
ED: In the aftermath of
the stock market crash in '29,

315
00:15:59,410 --> 00:16:01,870
the American economy
goes into a free fall.

316
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,620
By the early 1930s,
the unemployment rate

317
00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:06,250
in America is 25%.

318
00:16:06,370 --> 00:16:09,330
So economic suffering
is all across the country.

319
00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:12,250
♪

320
00:16:12,370 --> 00:16:13,750
ALEX HORTIS:
During the Great Depression,

321
00:16:13,870 --> 00:16:15,290
when the country was suffering,

322
00:16:15,370 --> 00:16:17,370
in many ways
the mob was booming.

323
00:16:17,540 --> 00:16:20,700
There's a great line
that there's two things

324
00:16:20,870 --> 00:16:22,950
that are resistant
to economic downturns.

325
00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,080
One is certain aspects
of the entertainment industry,

326
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,000
and the other
is this thing of ours,

327
00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,330
the mafia, and the reason
that it could survive,

328
00:16:32,450 --> 00:16:36,040
really, and thrive is because
people still were going out.

329
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:37,660
They wanted to be entertained.

330
00:16:37,750 --> 00:16:41,160
The Five Families
bootlegging operation thrived

331
00:16:41,330 --> 00:16:44,200
despite the economic turmoil
of the early '30s,

332
00:16:44,330 --> 00:16:46,700
but their world
changed dramatically

333
00:16:46,830 --> 00:16:50,290
when Prohibition ended in 1933.

334
00:16:50,370 --> 00:16:53,040
The end of Prohibition
on December 5th, 1933,

335
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:54,410
is a great day for America.

336
00:16:54,540 --> 00:16:56,160
It's not such a great day
for the mafia

337
00:16:56,330 --> 00:16:58,200
because this black market
that they've made

338
00:16:58,330 --> 00:17:00,910
tens and hundreds of millions
of dollars in is suddenly gone.

339
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,120
Alcohol is now legal.

340
00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:09,080
CLAIRE WHITE:
This is a period when they sort

341
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,160
of have to reevaluate.

342
00:17:11,370 --> 00:17:14,540
We start seeing the beginning
of labor racketeering,

343
00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:17,120
getting into the unions.

344
00:17:17,250 --> 00:17:18,870
ED: The Great Depression
leads to the election

345
00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:20,500
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

346
00:17:20,580 --> 00:17:25,080
and he brings to his office
this idea of the New Deal.

347
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,160
The federal government
is going to do things to pull

348
00:17:27,330 --> 00:17:30,000
America out
of the Great Depression.

349
00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,330
One of the biggest achievements
of the New Deal

350
00:17:32,410 --> 00:17:34,250
is the Wagner Act,
which is a package

351
00:17:34,370 --> 00:17:35,950
of labor laws
that essentially

352
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,330
establishes workers
have the right to join a union.

353
00:17:38,450 --> 00:17:40,200
And so the American
labor movement

354
00:17:40,330 --> 00:17:41,790
flourishes as never before.

355
00:17:41,910 --> 00:17:44,910
♪

356
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:46,620
The mafia realizes
that labor unions

357
00:17:46,750 --> 00:17:48,250
present a tremendous opportunity

358
00:17:48,370 --> 00:17:50,410
because labor unions
are big organizations.

359
00:17:50,540 --> 00:17:51,830
They pull in dues.

360
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,250
They actually have
fairly large cash flow,

361
00:17:54,370 --> 00:17:55,500
and they also are attached

362
00:17:55,660 --> 00:17:57,000
to businesses
that make a lot of money.

363
00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:59,830
What made unions
susceptible to infiltration,

364
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,700
they were run, you know,
for the most part,

365
00:18:02,870 --> 00:18:04,910
by people in the neighborhood.

366
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,950
So you could threaten people
that you knew

367
00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,040
within the labor union because
they were often their neighbors,

368
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,040
or at least
within the same borough.

369
00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,660
Another aspect
that made them vulnerable

370
00:18:16,790 --> 00:18:19,000
is that labor unions
could buy you, quote,

371
00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,370
"peace," labor peace,

372
00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:25,040
and so the incentives to cut
deals with labor union leaders

373
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,750
was just very strong
and overwhelming.

374
00:18:27,870 --> 00:18:30,580
A lot of times, these
labor unions also represented,

375
00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:33,830
you know, workers that were
quite individually weak,

376
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,290
they certainly
didn't have the ability

377
00:18:36,370 --> 00:18:39,080
to stand up to corruption.

378
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:40,620
You know, the classic
is the docks.

379
00:18:40,700 --> 00:18:43,450
♪

380
00:18:43,580 --> 00:18:46,330
These docks service
this enormous market.

381
00:18:46,450 --> 00:18:48,040
All these goods were moving
in and out of it,

382
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:49,700
but there's very limited space

383
00:18:49,870 --> 00:18:53,040
down on, you know,
the southern end of Manhattan.

384
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,370
And so, as a result,
if you control the docks,

385
00:18:55,540 --> 00:18:58,200
you control literally
the space there.

386
00:18:58,330 --> 00:19:00,750
You control commerce going
in and out of New York.

387
00:19:00,870 --> 00:19:06,410
♪

388
00:19:06,540 --> 00:19:12,120
In this one tight region is
5% of the American population.

389
00:19:12,250 --> 00:19:14,540
So if you were trying
to skim a little money from some

390
00:19:14,660 --> 00:19:17,120
kind of transaction,
where better to do it than

391
00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:19,750
where all the spending
is taking place?

392
00:19:19,870 --> 00:19:22,160
If you could skim off
a little money from the security

393
00:19:22,330 --> 00:19:26,330
apparatus, a factory inspection,
or the shipping,

394
00:19:26,450 --> 00:19:29,500
you could, of course,
make a fortune.

395
00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:31,250
And people did.

396
00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:32,910
♪

397
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,330
CLAIRE: Every period
of transition in history

398
00:19:35,410 --> 00:19:38,370
sort of creates
these new avenues for the mob,

399
00:19:38,540 --> 00:19:41,120
and that's one of the reasons
that the Italian American mafia

400
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,370
is so successful,
is their ability to be

401
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:45,540
very nimble
and sort of transition

402
00:19:45,660 --> 00:19:48,200
into new business opportunities
when it arises.

403
00:19:48,370 --> 00:19:52,040
So during World War II,
what that really means is

404
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,200
taking advantage
of the ration card system.

405
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,410
MAN: A day which will live
in infamy.

406
00:19:58,540 --> 00:20:01,700
♪

407
00:20:01,870 --> 00:20:03,750
ED: For the United States,
World War II begins

408
00:20:03,870 --> 00:20:08,250
on December, 1941, when
the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor.

409
00:20:08,370 --> 00:20:10,750
Suddenly the country
does everything it can to put

410
00:20:10,910 --> 00:20:13,250
millions of people into uniform
and into the action

411
00:20:13,370 --> 00:20:15,620
in Europe and in Asia.

412
00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:18,000
The United States
also imposes restrictions

413
00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:20,370
and rationing on all
kinds of vital supplies

414
00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:23,660
so that the military won't be
wanting for these supplies.

415
00:20:23,790 --> 00:20:25,830
All sorts of things
that Americans typically

416
00:20:25,950 --> 00:20:27,540
would have easy access to,

417
00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:30,950
tires and pantyhose
and gasoline.

418
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,290
So the mob turns the crisis
of World War II into a fantastic

419
00:20:35,410 --> 00:20:37,790
black market opportunity
and they make millions.

420
00:20:38,870 --> 00:20:42,620
The Five Families had not
only survived, but flourished

421
00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:46,450
through Prohibition,
the Depression and World War II.

422
00:20:46,580 --> 00:20:49,830
And by the early '40s, they
were tapped into revenue streams

423
00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:51,830
all over New York City.

424
00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:56,370
They'd extort local businesses,
traffic illicit goods,

425
00:20:56,450 --> 00:20:58,580
run gambling operations
in the neighborhoods

426
00:20:58,700 --> 00:21:01,700
and give loans
to business owners in a pinch.

427
00:21:01,870 --> 00:21:06,330
Their portfolio was diversified
and their lifestyle comfortable.

428
00:21:06,410 --> 00:21:09,160
These were the glory years.

429
00:21:09,290 --> 00:21:11,830
During this time,
each of the Five Families

430
00:21:11,950 --> 00:21:15,830
carved out their different
expertise and territories.

431
00:21:15,870 --> 00:21:18,450
Joe Bonanno could move
anything anywhere.

432
00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:21,330
One of the preeminent
traffickers of illicit goods

433
00:21:21,450 --> 00:21:23,000
in the Northeast.

434
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,540
Tommy Gagliano controlled
garment unions in the Bronx.

435
00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:30,330
Don Mangano
had the Brooklyn docks

436
00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:33,540
and reigned over garbage trucks
all over the city.

437
00:21:33,660 --> 00:21:36,330
His pal Joe Profaci
had a gambling ring

438
00:21:36,410 --> 00:21:39,580
in Brooklyn that brought in
$5 million a week.

439
00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:43,790
That'd be more than $100 million
a week by today's standards.

440
00:21:43,910 --> 00:21:48,370
Outside of gambling, Profaci
was known as the Olive Oil King.

441
00:21:48,540 --> 00:21:51,620
His Mamma Mia Olive Oil Company
was the biggest importer

442
00:21:51,750 --> 00:21:55,580
of olive oil and tomato paste
in the United States.

443
00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:58,870
Lucky Luciano, the guy
who invented the Commission,

444
00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,910
was convicted in 1936
for running a prostitution ring.

445
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,080
He was sent to prison
for 30 to 50 years.

446
00:22:06,250 --> 00:22:08,450
That didn't impact business.

447
00:22:08,540 --> 00:22:11,580
Next in the chain of command
was Frank Costello,

448
00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,540
and everybody knew Frank.

449
00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:15,660
♪

450
00:22:15,750 --> 00:22:17,790
Costello wasn't his real name.

451
00:22:17,910 --> 00:22:21,250
He adopted an Irish name,

452
00:22:21,370 --> 00:22:24,790
and that was part
of Costello's personality.

453
00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:27,910
That he tried
to represent himself

454
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:29,830
as a legitimate businessman.

455
00:22:29,950 --> 00:22:32,250
[indistinct chatter]

456
00:22:32,370 --> 00:22:34,120
ED: Costello is different
from a lot of the mobsters

457
00:22:34,250 --> 00:22:35,660
from his era.

458
00:22:35,790 --> 00:22:39,120
And Costello also wants
to be taken seriously,

459
00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:43,330
so he dresses very nicely,
he hobnobs with famous people.

460
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:45,580
He has great parties
at his penthouse

461
00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:49,540
where judges and politicians
and business people come,

462
00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:52,620
and he really craves
that kind of respect.

463
00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:55,660
ANTHONY: He had a certain
smoothness to himself,

464
00:22:55,790 --> 00:22:59,250
and he knew
how to handle politicians,

465
00:22:59,370 --> 00:23:02,450
how to create that aura.

466
00:23:02,580 --> 00:23:05,540
♪

467
00:23:05,660 --> 00:23:10,500
Frank Costello, for his time,
was the gangster that people

468
00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:14,870
looked up to and wanted
to emulate and were envious of.

469
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,790
ED: Costello liked
the nightlife in New York,

470
00:23:16,910 --> 00:23:19,000
and so he was often seen
out at nightclubs,

471
00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,500
including a club that he owned
a share in, the Copacabana.

472
00:23:21,620 --> 00:23:23,750
Frank Costello was known

473
00:23:23,830 --> 00:23:26,250
as the Prime Minister
Of the underworld.

474
00:23:26,410 --> 00:23:30,290
Another name he acquired
was King of Slots.

475
00:23:30,410 --> 00:23:34,330
He had illegal casinos
across the United States.

476
00:23:34,500 --> 00:23:36,500
He also invested
in legal casinos

477
00:23:36,620 --> 00:23:39,750
in Las Vegas as well as in Cuba.

478
00:23:39,870 --> 00:23:42,700
ANTHONY: Frank purchased
a country home, so to speak,

479
00:23:42,870 --> 00:23:44,950
out on Long Island
in Sands Point.

480
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,450
Wanted to be part
of the North Shore community,

481
00:23:48,580 --> 00:23:52,370
which had a certain
good reputation.

482
00:23:52,540 --> 00:23:55,500
SELWYN:
He believed he was important,

483
00:23:55,620 --> 00:23:59,830
and he tried to, in effect,
say, "I'm a gambler

484
00:23:59,910 --> 00:24:03,620
and I'm a businessman
but I'm not really a gangster."

485
00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:05,200
♪

486
00:24:05,330 --> 00:24:06,580
[birds chirping]

487
00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:08,540
♪

488
00:24:08,660 --> 00:24:11,750
Costello hid behind
an aura of legitimacy

489
00:24:11,830 --> 00:24:14,950
and professionalism, and
for a while that worked for him,

490
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,750
but when the US Senate
launched an investigation

491
00:24:17,870 --> 00:24:22,370
into gambling in 1950,
Costello was under fire.

492
00:24:22,540 --> 00:24:24,660
SAMI: So we have a first term
senator from the state

493
00:24:24,790 --> 00:24:27,080
of Tennessee
by the name of Estes Kefauver.

494
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,450
Kefauver is someone
that organizes and puts together

495
00:24:30,580 --> 00:24:33,500
a committee that wants
to look at...

496
00:24:33,660 --> 00:24:36,540
what is seen as the lifeblood
of organized crime

497
00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:38,790
at the time,
which was interstate gambling.

498
00:24:39,870 --> 00:24:42,000
CLAIRE: The Kefauver committee
was really looking

499
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,700
at these things
that broke interstate laws,

500
00:24:45,870 --> 00:24:48,830
that broke federal laws
and transporting

501
00:24:48,950 --> 00:24:50,830
of slot machines
and other coin-out machines

502
00:24:50,950 --> 00:24:53,540
is definitely a big thing
that they were looking into,

503
00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:56,750
not just with Costello, but,
you know, a lot of the mobsters

504
00:24:56,870 --> 00:24:59,660
who were called to testify
for Kefauver

505
00:24:59,830 --> 00:25:02,250
were in some way connected
to illegal gambling.

506
00:25:02,370 --> 00:25:03,910
♪

507
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,950
Once the public hearings
began in 1951,

508
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,290
an estimated 30 million
Americans tuned

509
00:25:10,370 --> 00:25:12,870
into their televisions to watch.

510
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,120
SAMI: Now, this is
incredibly exciting

511
00:25:15,620 --> 00:25:16,450
for the American public
for a couple of reasons.

512
00:25:16,620 --> 00:25:18,250
First off, it's the 1950s.

513
00:25:18,370 --> 00:25:21,660
And by the 1950s, we're looking
at the burgeoning era

514
00:25:21,830 --> 00:25:24,620
of a new medium
known as television.

515
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,750
MAN: The hearing
will please be in order.

516
00:25:29,870 --> 00:25:32,750
So when Estes Kefauver decides
that these are hearings

517
00:25:32,870 --> 00:25:35,660
that need to be televised,
this is a huge opportunity

518
00:25:35,830 --> 00:25:38,660
for the American public to watch
these hearings and to also

519
00:25:38,790 --> 00:25:41,750
sort of see who are
these nefarious characters

520
00:25:41,870 --> 00:25:44,040
that Kefauver is specifically
trying to target and go after.

521
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:45,950
[tapping sounds]

522
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,950
ANTHONY: Costello appeared
very evasive, a bit combative,

523
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,540
and he became across
as somebody that was shady.

524
00:26:27,370 --> 00:26:31,290
Costello was so sure
of himself that he could pass

525
00:26:31,410 --> 00:26:33,910
as a legitimate businessman,

526
00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,000
that, unlike all
the other bosses, he went

527
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,410
before the committee and thought
he could handle himself.

528
00:26:39,540 --> 00:26:40,540
And it ruined him.

529
00:26:59,750 --> 00:27:01,660
They found holes
in his testimony.

530
00:27:01,790 --> 00:27:05,290
So, in effect,
it led to IRS investigations

531
00:27:05,370 --> 00:27:06,830
and led to his imprisonment.

532
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,500
♪

533
00:27:09,580 --> 00:27:12,500
In 1954, Frank Costello
was sentenced

534
00:27:12,580 --> 00:27:15,000
to five years in prison
for tax evasion.

535
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,660
But by 1957,
he was back out on the street

536
00:27:18,870 --> 00:27:21,700
with much bigger problems
on his hands.

537
00:27:21,830 --> 00:27:24,830
SELWYN: One of Costello's
problems was

538
00:27:24,950 --> 00:27:28,790
that when he inherited
Lucky Luciano's Family,

539
00:27:28,870 --> 00:27:32,620
the real underboss
at the time was Vito Genovese.

540
00:27:32,750 --> 00:27:35,750
He was a very romantic guy,

541
00:27:35,830 --> 00:27:38,000
and he was in pursuit
of a woman.

542
00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:41,000
He killed another rival
and he had to flee.

543
00:27:41,870 --> 00:27:46,950
Genovese had to leave
the country in the late 1930s.

544
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,830
But Genovese finally
came back to the States

545
00:27:50,910 --> 00:27:53,160
and he wanted
to take over the Family.

546
00:27:53,290 --> 00:27:54,830
He believed it was his.

547
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,950
And he would stop at nothing.

548
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,330
No rule, no code could keep
Vito Genovese

549
00:28:00,450 --> 00:28:03,750
from going after what he
believed was rightfully his.

550
00:28:03,870 --> 00:28:06,910
♪

551
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,660
In 1957, the Five Families
were nearing

552
00:28:14,750 --> 00:28:17,750
30 years of existence
in New York City.

553
00:28:17,870 --> 00:28:20,500
30 years of success,

554
00:28:20,620 --> 00:28:23,580
largely because there
had been 30 years

555
00:28:23,700 --> 00:28:26,040
of relative peace
since the murders

556
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,910
of Joe Masseria
and Sal Maranzano.

557
00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,290
No bloody turf wars,
no public slayings.

558
00:28:32,410 --> 00:28:35,580
Conflict was dealt with
in the shadows,

559
00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:37,700
and members had,
for the most part,

560
00:28:37,830 --> 00:28:41,500
upheld their oath
and stuck to the rules.

561
00:28:41,620 --> 00:28:43,950
But that was about to change.

562
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,830
♪

563
00:28:46,950 --> 00:28:49,750
Frank Costello had
been boss of his Family

564
00:28:49,870 --> 00:28:52,910
since 1937,
much to the displeasure

565
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,700
of the Family's underboss,
Vito Genovese.

566
00:28:55,830 --> 00:28:58,660
Genovese thought
the seat should be his,

567
00:28:58,790 --> 00:29:01,700
and the tension began to boil.

568
00:29:01,870 --> 00:29:05,660
ANTHONY: Genovese and Costello
were working together.

569
00:29:05,790 --> 00:29:08,700
They probably
respected each other.

570
00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:10,500
I don't think
they liked each other.

571
00:29:10,620 --> 00:29:13,620
SAMI: Frank Costello brings
more of a businessman air

572
00:29:13,700 --> 00:29:15,250
to the role.

573
00:29:15,370 --> 00:29:19,040
Dapper suits, nice looking guy,
well quaffed hair.

574
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,870
Knows how to deal
with people in high places,

575
00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:23,950
knows how to deal
with politicians.

576
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,450
Genovese is a bit
more rough around the edges.

577
00:29:26,580 --> 00:29:30,040
He's a bit more shoot now,
ask questions later kind of guy.

578
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,870
ANTHONY: Genovese, he tried
his hand at a number

579
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,450
of legitimate businesses
but, unlike Costello,

580
00:29:35,620 --> 00:29:36,790
didn't do very well.

581
00:29:36,870 --> 00:29:38,660
He had a poultry business,

582
00:29:38,830 --> 00:29:42,000
a liquor business,
a gambling boat venture.

583
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,330
They all failed.
But he had control.

584
00:29:45,410 --> 00:29:49,080
He was a vicious guy,
more vicious than Costello,

585
00:29:49,250 --> 00:29:52,500
and people, you know,
gave him the deference.

586
00:29:53,870 --> 00:29:56,950
SAMI: So when Genovese sees
Frank Costello sitting

587
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,000
in the seat of power, he's like,
"Well, that's not fair.

588
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:01,160
"That's supposed to be my role.

589
00:30:01,250 --> 00:30:03,330
"I was the guy
that was under Lucky Luciano.

590
00:30:03,450 --> 00:30:05,540
How dare you sit in my spot?"

591
00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:09,540
So there was this envy,
I would say hate,

592
00:30:09,700 --> 00:30:12,040
but it was just
maybe good business sense

593
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,160
on Genovese's part
to try to get rid of Costello.

594
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,000
[heart beating]

595
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,950
Frank Costello was
having a dinner and coffee

596
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,250
at some Upper East Side
restaurants,

597
00:30:26,370 --> 00:30:29,500
not far from his home
on Central Park West.

598
00:30:29,660 --> 00:30:31,660
And he had to go back home.

599
00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:35,410
He got into the door
of the apartment building.

600
00:30:35,540 --> 00:30:39,660
And heard the famously,
"Frank, this is for you."

601
00:30:39,790 --> 00:30:41,250
Frank turned his head.

602
00:30:45,450 --> 00:30:47,660
Instead of hitting straight on,

603
00:30:47,750 --> 00:30:50,500
sort of grazed
Frank's turning head.

604
00:30:50,580 --> 00:30:52,750
♪

605
00:30:52,870 --> 00:30:55,120
And the shooter fled.

606
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,370
♪

607
00:30:59,540 --> 00:31:02,950
Costello survived
the attempt on his life.

608
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:05,200
When questioned by police after,

609
00:31:05,370 --> 00:31:07,700
he claimed he never got
a good look at the shooter.

610
00:31:07,830 --> 00:31:10,330
But even if he had,
it wouldn't matter.

611
00:31:10,410 --> 00:31:15,120
The Commission rules
still held... Omertà.

612
00:31:15,290 --> 00:31:19,250
The Majestic's doorman, however,
did not live by the same code.

613
00:31:19,370 --> 00:31:22,250
He got a good look,
and when presented

614
00:31:22,370 --> 00:31:27,950
with photos by investigators,
he identified Vincent Gigante.

615
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,790
PAUL W. WILLIAMS: Gigante was,
according to our information,

616
00:31:30,870 --> 00:31:32,540
a protégé of Genovese.

617
00:31:32,700 --> 00:31:34,790
He was the bright boy.

618
00:31:34,910 --> 00:31:38,620
He was the rising star
of the underworld.

619
00:31:40,660 --> 00:31:42,870
My name is Rita Gigante.

620
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,910
I am the daughter
of Vincent Gigante.

621
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,160
Someone came to Vito
and said, you know,

622
00:31:48,290 --> 00:31:50,540
"Look at this kid, he's..."
you know, "He's promising."

623
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:52,040
♪

624
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:56,290
He knew he had to do
something to prove himself.

625
00:31:56,410 --> 00:31:59,450
But he liked Frank
and he missed.

626
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,750
I don't think he really,
in a sense, wanted to do that.

627
00:32:05,660 --> 00:32:09,250
ANTHONY: Frank Costello would
later testify that he didn't

628
00:32:09,330 --> 00:32:11,910
have a good view
of who the shooter was.

629
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,160
The story I heard
was that as Costello was leaving

630
00:32:15,290 --> 00:32:18,700
the witness box,
Gigante supposedly said,

631
00:32:18,870 --> 00:32:19,910
"Thanks, Frank."

632
00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:24,040
After that,
they actually became friends.

633
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,790
Costello had Gigante over
for dinner

634
00:32:26,910 --> 00:32:28,870
and drinks at his apartment.

635
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,200
The hatchet,
so to speak, was buried.

636
00:32:31,370 --> 00:32:35,330
But this all sort of created
the thought in Costello's mind

637
00:32:35,450 --> 00:32:38,950
that, "Hey, maybe
I should step back

638
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,040
and, if I want to survive,
sort of retire."

639
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:43,250
♪

640
00:32:43,370 --> 00:32:46,160
Frank Costello would relinquish
control of his Family

641
00:32:46,290 --> 00:32:49,330
to Vito Genovese
and fall into the background.

642
00:32:49,410 --> 00:32:51,000
He would not seek revenge
in the streets

643
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:52,830
or on the witness stand.

644
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,500
He'd uphold his end
of the deal,

645
00:32:55,580 --> 00:32:58,370
put the Family first
and follow the code,

646
00:32:58,540 --> 00:33:01,500
but Genovese's brazen act
did not go unnoticed

647
00:33:01,620 --> 00:33:03,080
by the other bosses.

648
00:33:04,580 --> 00:33:06,160
Albert Anastasia lobbied
the Commission to approve

649
00:33:06,290 --> 00:33:09,370
a hit on Genovese,
and tension got high.

650
00:33:09,500 --> 00:33:12,120
On the brink
of an all-out war, Joe Bonanno,

651
00:33:12,250 --> 00:33:14,040
the secure leader
of his own Family,

652
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:16,370
mediated a peace agreement

653
00:33:16,540 --> 00:33:18,660
and successfully
settled the ship.

654
00:33:18,750 --> 00:33:21,160
♪

655
00:33:21,290 --> 00:33:24,080
In the aftermath
of the intervention, Bonanno

656
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,080
declared himself
the capo consigliere,

657
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,080
chief counselor
of the Commission.

658
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,000
It was a made up title,
but enough for Bonanno

659
00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:34,500
to believe he was
above the law

660
00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:37,370
and above the rules...

661
00:33:39,370 --> 00:33:42,160
especially when it came
to drugs.

662
00:33:44,370 --> 00:33:46,750
The rule was they didn't deal
in narcotics, but the other rule

663
00:33:46,870 --> 00:33:49,200
was, "We make as much money
as we can, any way we can."

664
00:33:49,370 --> 00:33:51,700
So in the late 1950s,
America has a heroin market,

665
00:33:51,870 --> 00:33:53,000
but it's very small.

666
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,540
Heroin was made illegal in 1924.

667
00:33:55,660 --> 00:33:58,910
So there's a black market
opportunity here.

668
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,830
CLAIRE: Joe Bonanno is
definitely looking

669
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:03,410
to increase his power

670
00:34:03,540 --> 00:34:07,200
and increase his financial
stake in the Commission.

671
00:34:07,370 --> 00:34:10,040
For him,
the 1950s is a good period

672
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:11,540
for that,
for a couple of reasons.

673
00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:15,540
He does seize this opening
in the heroin trade,

674
00:34:15,660 --> 00:34:19,410
and I think he really
does use this transfer

675
00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:23,080
of power as an opportunity
to elevate himself.

676
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,830
Looking to capitalize
on his improved stature

677
00:34:26,950 --> 00:34:28,330
within the Commission,

678
00:34:28,540 --> 00:34:30,700
Bonanno arranged
a meeting back in Sicily.

679
00:34:35,700 --> 00:34:38,120
ANNA SERGI: So the meeting
was really an occasion

680
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:42,830
for Joe Bonanno to show off
his so-called leadership.

681
00:34:42,910 --> 00:34:47,370
Joe Bonanno wanted to portray
himself as a spokesperson

682
00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:50,410
for all of the Americans,
the most important boss,

683
00:34:50,540 --> 00:34:53,330
the boss who could change
everyone else's mind.

684
00:34:54,830 --> 00:34:58,500
So we do know that a lot
of Americans were at the meeting

685
00:34:58,660 --> 00:35:01,330
in an attempt
to set up an international

686
00:35:01,450 --> 00:35:04,160
intercontinental business
for drugs.

687
00:35:04,290 --> 00:35:06,290
ED: And the big question
on the table is,

688
00:35:06,410 --> 00:35:09,160
"How can we create
an organization and a system

689
00:35:09,290 --> 00:35:11,040
"by which we can import heroin

690
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,160
from Europe
into the United States?"

691
00:35:14,330 --> 00:35:16,830
ALEX STILLE: And they basically
divide up the world,

692
00:35:16,910 --> 00:35:19,500
so to speak,
and come to an agreement

693
00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:23,040
about division of labor
between Sicilian

694
00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:24,500
and American organized crime.

695
00:35:24,580 --> 00:35:28,830
♪

696
00:35:28,910 --> 00:35:31,500
Bonanno and the bosses
in Sicily

697
00:35:31,660 --> 00:35:33,200
came up with this idea.

698
00:35:33,330 --> 00:35:36,500
The Sicilians
would bring the heroin

699
00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:40,330
into the States, and
the Americans would tell them

700
00:35:40,450 --> 00:35:42,410
where there were good markets.

701
00:35:42,540 --> 00:35:44,410
♪

702
00:35:44,540 --> 00:35:47,250
So this was territory
that the Sicilians

703
00:35:47,370 --> 00:35:51,000
had no knowledge.
They needed guidance.

704
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,580
And they brought it in.
They brought it in.

705
00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:57,830
They packaged it very cheap,
$5 and $10 bags.

706
00:35:58,370 --> 00:36:01,000
And the Americans,
especially Bonanno,

707
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:02,660
believed this was a good way

708
00:36:02,750 --> 00:36:04,870
of earning a buck
without doing anything.

709
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:08,500
The mafia got a commission.
They didn't have to do anything.

710
00:36:08,620 --> 00:36:11,370
The Sicilians were happy
'cause they had a big market.

711
00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:14,160
CLAIRE: Meeting in Palermo,

712
00:36:14,290 --> 00:36:15,370
being able to make
these connections

713
00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:17,410
with the Sicilian mafia

714
00:36:17,540 --> 00:36:20,950
and solidify
these transportation routes

715
00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,330
to get heroin
into the United States

716
00:36:23,450 --> 00:36:26,370
is what he sees
as his ticket forward.

717
00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:29,370
The drug trade
in the '50s and '60s

718
00:36:29,500 --> 00:36:35,790
is interesting because the mafia
doesn't ever want to admit,

719
00:36:35,870 --> 00:36:39,540
even to themselves, that they're
that involved in the drug trade.

720
00:36:39,660 --> 00:36:43,580
The 1950s, '60s,
90% of heroin

721
00:36:43,660 --> 00:36:45,870
is coming
into the United States

722
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:47,410
through the Italian-American
mafia.

723
00:36:48,750 --> 00:36:50,620
Joe Bonanno
and the Five Families'

724
00:36:50,700 --> 00:36:53,450
investment in the drug trade
over the next several decades

725
00:36:53,540 --> 00:36:56,330
would ultimately become
a tremendous burden.

726
00:36:56,450 --> 00:36:58,580
Members would choose
to overlook the threat

727
00:36:58,700 --> 00:37:02,250
of law enforcement
in favor of increased profits,

728
00:37:02,370 --> 00:37:04,290
a decision that would kill
their organization

729
00:37:04,410 --> 00:37:07,040
from inside out,
while devastating cities

730
00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:09,410
throughout the United States.

731
00:37:09,540 --> 00:37:12,410
ED: With this new flow of heroin
onto the streets of America,

732
00:37:12,540 --> 00:37:15,830
Americans are going
to take up heroin in a big way.

733
00:37:16,870 --> 00:37:20,830
SELWYIN: The most grievous sin
that the mafia in America

734
00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:24,120
committed is the damage
that it did to the big cities.

735
00:37:24,290 --> 00:37:27,160
There was no heroin in Harlem.

736
00:37:27,290 --> 00:37:29,660
There was no heroin
in the Lower East Side

737
00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:31,500
or in Brooklyn.

738
00:37:31,540 --> 00:37:35,620
And what it did was
it destroyed the inner cities.

739
00:37:35,700 --> 00:37:38,500
And it's a sin
that's still with us today.

740
00:37:38,580 --> 00:37:41,200
♪

741
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:49,330
♪

742
00:37:49,500 --> 00:37:53,250
New York City, late 1957.

743
00:37:53,370 --> 00:37:55,330
While Joe Bonanno
and other Family leaders

744
00:37:55,410 --> 00:37:58,620
worked to design
a new drug operation,

745
00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:02,870
Vito Genovese had officially
dethroned Frank Costello and was

746
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,250
now one of the most powerful
gangsters in New York City.

747
00:38:06,370 --> 00:38:09,500
Next in his sights
was Albert Anastasia.

748
00:38:09,620 --> 00:38:13,540
Anastasia became boss
of the Mangano Family in 1951,

749
00:38:13,620 --> 00:38:16,580
and had campaigned to have
Vito Genovese whacked

750
00:38:16,660 --> 00:38:20,000
after Vito orchestrated
the shooting of Frank Costello.

751
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:23,250
Now, Anastasia wasn't someone
to mess around with.

752
00:38:23,370 --> 00:38:26,000
He had come up as a member
of Murder Inc.,

753
00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:29,500
a band of contract killers
from New York's Lower East Side.

754
00:38:29,580 --> 00:38:32,450
He was known
as Lord High Executioner.

755
00:38:32,540 --> 00:38:35,250
That probably says enough.
Guy was a killer.

756
00:38:35,370 --> 00:38:38,370
So, sensing a potential threat,

757
00:38:38,500 --> 00:38:41,160
Vito Genovese
decided to act first.

758
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:44,160
♪

759
00:38:44,330 --> 00:38:46,950
While Albert Anastasia
enjoyed a fresh trim

760
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,200
at Grasso's barbershop
in the Park Sheraton Hotel,

761
00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:53,160
a hit squad from Brooklyn walked
right through the front door.

762
00:38:53,290 --> 00:38:54,540
[cocks gun]

763
00:38:56,870 --> 00:38:59,660
REPORTER: Inside the barbershop,
on the floor,

764
00:38:59,750 --> 00:39:03,200
riddled with five bullets,
the body of Al Anastasia.

765
00:39:03,330 --> 00:39:05,620
REPORTER: They walked up inside,
shot him on the head.

766
00:39:05,750 --> 00:39:08,500
He fell from the chair.
They fired again.

767
00:39:08,580 --> 00:39:11,330
REPORTER: Chief, do you have
any leads at all?

768
00:39:11,450 --> 00:39:14,370
I got a dead body,
haven't I?

769
00:39:14,540 --> 00:39:15,830
REPORTER: Although it seemed
like yesterday,

770
00:39:15,950 --> 00:39:17,450
it was another era,

771
00:39:17,660 --> 00:39:20,700
an era of the flamboyant mobster
and the Hollywood type rub-out.

772
00:39:22,620 --> 00:39:25,330
ANTHONY: Officially, the murder
of Albert Anastasia

773
00:39:25,540 --> 00:39:28,500
has not been solved,
which is not unusual

774
00:39:28,660 --> 00:39:31,790
for a lot of mob killings
from that period.

775
00:39:31,870 --> 00:39:34,500
But the perception is
that Genovese saw him

776
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:39,000
as a threat because he was
an ally of Frank Costello.

777
00:39:39,660 --> 00:39:42,450
No one had pulled off
a gangland style slaying

778
00:39:42,540 --> 00:39:44,000
like this since the killings

779
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,910
of Joe Masseria
and Sal Maranzano in 1931.

780
00:39:48,290 --> 00:39:50,660
It was the work
of an up-and-coming crew

781
00:39:50,830 --> 00:39:54,120
led by Crazy Joe Gallo,
a guy from South Brooklyn

782
00:39:54,250 --> 00:39:56,160
with his own ideas about rules.

783
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,410
With the death
of Albert Anastasia,

784
00:39:59,540 --> 00:40:02,160
Vito Genovese
seized even more power.

785
00:40:02,330 --> 00:40:04,410
And, at the same time,

786
00:40:04,580 --> 00:40:07,200
like Joe Bonanno
and his Sicilian allies,

787
00:40:07,330 --> 00:40:09,500
Vito Genovese
was growing his stake

788
00:40:09,620 --> 00:40:11,330
in the emerging heroin market.

789
00:40:11,870 --> 00:40:14,660
ED: Part of Vito Genovese's plan
in 1957

790
00:40:14,750 --> 00:40:16,700
is to present himself
effectively

791
00:40:16,790 --> 00:40:20,660
as the boss of the bosses,
the top mafia guy in America.

792
00:40:20,750 --> 00:40:23,660
And so they come up with
this plan to hold this summit

793
00:40:23,830 --> 00:40:27,040
in a very remote area
in Apalachin, New York.

794
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,200
♪

795
00:40:30,370 --> 00:40:34,330
November 14, 1957.
Apalachin, New York.

796
00:40:34,500 --> 00:40:37,620
Population: 277.

797
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,790
182 miles from New York City.

798
00:40:40,870 --> 00:40:44,580
A local here,
named Joseph Barbara, sold soda,

799
00:40:44,700 --> 00:40:46,620
but he used to be a bootlegger.

800
00:40:46,750 --> 00:40:49,000
And anyone who knew
anything up here knew

801
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,200
that Joe The Barber
was still in the game.

802
00:40:52,620 --> 00:40:55,000
State Police Sergeant
Edgar D. Croswell

803
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,000
was well aware
of Barbara's underworld ties.

804
00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:01,660
So when he got wind
that some visitors were in town

805
00:41:01,830 --> 00:41:05,000
and 20 pounds of veal
were headed to Barbara's house,

806
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,040
he decided to do a drive-by.

807
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:13,540
Lo and behold, a secret society,
La Cosa Nostra, in plain sight.

808
00:41:13,660 --> 00:41:15,450
SAMI: The problem
with this meeting

809
00:41:15,540 --> 00:41:18,910
is that when you have
numerous vehicles

810
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,080
sitting outside of a home...
It's not in the city.

811
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:23,500
It's in New York State,

812
00:41:23,620 --> 00:41:25,540
out in the rural areas
of New York.

813
00:41:25,660 --> 00:41:27,620
People might get
a bit suspicious.

814
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:29,870
SGT. EDGAR D. CROSWELL: These
fellows just did not fit in.

815
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:32,660
They were all
extremely well dressed.

816
00:41:32,790 --> 00:41:35,000
Most of them
had Italian accents.

817
00:41:36,450 --> 00:41:38,500
Some... Two or three told us

818
00:41:38,660 --> 00:41:41,040
they couldn't speak English
at all.

819
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:43,080
They were standouts.

820
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:47,330
Sergeant Croswell quickly
called in reinforcements.

821
00:41:47,450 --> 00:41:50,410
Agents from federal, state,
and county law enforcement

822
00:41:50,540 --> 00:41:52,660
reported for backup.

823
00:41:52,830 --> 00:41:54,660
With roads blocked
and the house surrounded,

824
00:41:54,830 --> 00:41:57,000
the agents captured 58

825
00:41:57,120 --> 00:42:01,250
of approximately
100 mafia leaders in attendance.

826
00:42:01,370 --> 00:42:05,080
ED: So this secret summit that's
going to elevate Vito Genovese

827
00:42:05,200 --> 00:42:09,080
as this genius new boss turns,
out to be a total disaster.

828
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:11,330
And so a lot of these people
are arrested, and eventually

829
00:42:11,540 --> 00:42:12,750
all the charges are overturned,

830
00:42:12,870 --> 00:42:15,160
but it's
a massive embarrassment,

831
00:42:15,290 --> 00:42:17,200
black eye for Vito Genovese.

832
00:42:17,370 --> 00:42:19,500
♪

833
00:42:19,580 --> 00:42:22,200
ANTHONY:
Some theorize that Costello

834
00:42:22,330 --> 00:42:26,660
may have set up Genovese,
tipping off on the meeting.

835
00:42:26,790 --> 00:42:28,830
It's been unproven.

836
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,540
Their names became
all over the newspapers.

837
00:42:31,660 --> 00:42:32,950
Their affairs
were being looked into,

838
00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:34,160
their Families
were being looked into.

839
00:42:35,870 --> 00:42:37,870
ALEX HORTIS: To a lot of people,
it clearly established

840
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,330
that there certainly
was a mafia that,

841
00:42:40,450 --> 00:42:43,410
if not rule nationwide,

842
00:42:43,540 --> 00:42:46,410
it had connections
across state lines.

843
00:42:46,540 --> 00:42:49,750
And that, of course,
starts to put pressure

844
00:42:49,870 --> 00:42:51,700
then on federal agencies.

845
00:42:53,620 --> 00:42:55,500
ANTHONY:
If this was a secret society,

846
00:42:55,620 --> 00:42:58,040
you're not living
in a secret society anymore.

847
00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:02,290
You're all over the place, and
everybody was being identified.

848
00:43:02,370 --> 00:43:07,790
And it really lowered the esteem
of Vito Genovese in the mafia.

849
00:43:07,870 --> 00:43:09,040
♪

850
00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:11,580
SELWYN:
So it led to a lot of problems.

851
00:43:11,660 --> 00:43:14,660
It led to problems for Genovese,
for everybody else.

852
00:43:14,790 --> 00:43:18,620
He was blamed for all
this publicity he brought upon

853
00:43:18,750 --> 00:43:22,500
by having the same place
and the desire for a meeting

854
00:43:22,620 --> 00:43:24,160
that nobody else wanted.

855
00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,830
JACOB GRUMET: So far,
as our fight on organized crime

856
00:43:26,950 --> 00:43:29,000
is concerned, we're going
to continue our efforts

857
00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:31,950
unabated, and I hope
that someday we'll get a break

858
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,450
and finally determine
just what did happen

859
00:43:34,620 --> 00:43:38,000
at that now notorious meeting
at Apalachin.

860
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:39,700
[indistinct chatter]

861
00:43:39,870 --> 00:43:42,000
Are you going to have
anything to say, Mr. Genovese?

862
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:44,950
Are you going to cooperate
with the Commission?

863
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:47,910
ANTHONY: Organized crime,
certainly after Apalachin,

864
00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:51,080
became a ground zero
for law enforcement,

865
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,080
because a lot of them
were rousted by the police,

866
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:57,000
and they faced all sorts
of federal problems.

867
00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:02,160
And then you had a lot
of investigations spawned

868
00:44:02,290 --> 00:44:05,000
off of that trouble,

869
00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:07,200
which created
nothing but problems

870
00:44:07,370 --> 00:44:09,040
for the organized crime bosses.

871
00:44:09,450 --> 00:44:11,830
1957 was quite a year.

872
00:44:11,950 --> 00:44:14,580
Bonanno bet big
on the drug trade.

873
00:44:14,700 --> 00:44:17,000
Frank was forced
into retirement.

874
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:21,540
Al Anastasia had his last shave,
and then Apalachin.

875
00:44:21,700 --> 00:44:24,830
The mafia was now
public enemy number one.

876
00:44:24,910 --> 00:44:27,410
The Families had strayed
from the rules

877
00:44:27,540 --> 00:44:29,540
and would pay the price for it.

878
00:44:29,620 --> 00:44:32,750
As chairman of the Committee,
do you want a lawyer present

879
00:44:32,870 --> 00:44:34,700
to represent you
while you testify?

880
00:44:34,870 --> 00:44:38,080
In 1957, Congress formed
a new committee

881
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:41,000
aimed at investigating
organized crime.

882
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:43,870
The Senate Select Committee
on Improper Activities

883
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:46,120
in the Labor
or Management Field

884
00:44:46,250 --> 00:44:49,790
was chaired by Senator
John L. McClellan,

885
00:44:49,910 --> 00:44:51,870
a Democrat from Arkansas.

886
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,500
This new McClellan Committee
would call gangsters

887
00:44:54,660 --> 00:44:56,870
to the stand
into the next decade

888
00:44:57,040 --> 00:44:59,830
and serve as the venue
for the most revelatory look

889
00:44:59,910 --> 00:45:02,620
inside the mob
in the organization's history.

890
00:45:02,750 --> 00:45:04,200
CLAIRE:
The Senate McClellan Hearings

891
00:45:04,370 --> 00:45:08,160
starts out primarily focused
on the Teamsters Union.

892
00:45:08,290 --> 00:45:11,910
But in November,
after the Apalachin bust,

893
00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:14,000
they really start
to shift focus.

894
00:45:38,660 --> 00:45:40,080
♪

895
00:45:44,450 --> 00:45:48,660
In late 1957,
roughly 100 mobsters visited

896
00:45:48,790 --> 00:45:51,450
the home of Joseph Barbara
in the sleepy town

897
00:45:51,580 --> 00:45:53,830
of Apalachin, New York.

898
00:45:53,910 --> 00:45:56,160
Law enforcement's
fortuitous raid of the meeting

899
00:45:56,250 --> 00:45:59,910
resulted in the booking
of 58 mafia chieftains.

900
00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,160
Investigators concluded
that 22 of them were

901
00:46:03,250 --> 00:46:08,830
officially employed by unions
or held labor relations jobs.

902
00:46:08,910 --> 00:46:11,950
So later that year,
mafia bosses from New York City

903
00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:14,910
and around the country
were subpoenaed to testify

904
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,120
in front
of the Senate Select Committee

905
00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:20,910
on Improper Activities in
the Labor or Management Field.

906
00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:23,700
It was led by Senator
John L. McClellan

907
00:46:23,830 --> 00:46:25,200
and Robert F. Kennedy.

908
00:46:25,370 --> 00:46:27,080
MAN:
The McClellan Rackets Committee.

909
00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:30,250
In an effort to prove Teamster
ties with the underworld,

910
00:46:30,370 --> 00:46:33,830
the Senators question
many witnesses.

911
00:46:33,950 --> 00:46:36,910
ED: The McClellan
Committee hearings' focus

912
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:42,500
is on the connection
between unions and the mob,

913
00:46:42,620 --> 00:46:44,500
and they're determined
to figure out,

914
00:46:44,660 --> 00:46:46,700
"What can we do
to root out this problem

915
00:46:46,870 --> 00:46:49,290
of criminality and corruption
in American unions?"

916
00:46:51,830 --> 00:46:54,120
CLAIRE: One of the people
who testifies in front

917
00:46:54,250 --> 00:46:57,410
of the Rackets Committee
was Crazy Joey Gallo.

918
00:46:57,540 --> 00:47:03,450
♪

919
00:47:06,290 --> 00:47:09,080
Joey Gallo and his brothers
Larry and Albert

920
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:12,040
were from Brooklyn,
up-and-comers

921
00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:13,910
and members
of Joseph Profaci's Family.

922
00:47:15,620 --> 00:47:17,580
Joey Gallo is one
of these old school,

923
00:47:17,700 --> 00:47:19,000
larger than life gangsters.

924
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,000
♪

925
00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,410
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Joey was out of his mind,

926
00:47:24,540 --> 00:47:26,120
wanted to kill everybody,

927
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,080
beat everybody up,
and didn't trust anybody.

928
00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:30,410
♪

929
00:47:30,540 --> 00:47:32,290
TOM FOLSOM: He's erratic
and he's sort of terrifying.

930
00:47:32,410 --> 00:47:35,700
But he also has these ideas
about the future

931
00:47:35,830 --> 00:47:39,580
of organized crime that are
really going against the grain

932
00:47:39,700 --> 00:47:42,200
of what the traditional
mob culture was at the time.

933
00:47:42,370 --> 00:47:43,910
♪

934
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:45,580
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Larry was always the boss.

935
00:47:45,700 --> 00:47:47,950
He's the brains of the crew.

936
00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:53,330
My father was Larry's bodyguard
from '61 to the day he died.

937
00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:54,910
♪

938
00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:56,830
TOM: And then we have
Albert "Kid Blast,"

939
00:47:56,950 --> 00:47:58,540
the youngest one.

940
00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:02,080
The Gallos performed
probably the most spectacular

941
00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:04,330
mob killing of the XX century,

942
00:48:04,450 --> 00:48:05,910
the Albert Anastasia hit.

943
00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:09,410
♪

944
00:48:09,540 --> 00:48:11,910
Joey Gallo and his brother Larry

945
00:48:12,080 --> 00:48:15,200
were credited as being
the masterminds of that killing.

946
00:48:15,330 --> 00:48:17,660
And so it's said
that that's how they became

947
00:48:17,830 --> 00:48:20,120
made men of the Profaci Family.

948
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:23,160
The killing of Albert Anastasia

949
00:48:23,330 --> 00:48:26,000
put the Gallo brothers
on the map.

950
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:28,830
When they were initiated
into the Profaci Family

951
00:48:28,950 --> 00:48:30,950
shortly after,
or straightened out,

952
00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:33,830
as they'd say, insiders knew
they must have been

953
00:48:33,870 --> 00:48:35,330
the ones behind the hit.

954
00:48:35,500 --> 00:48:38,580
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Albert Anastasia got killed.

955
00:48:38,660 --> 00:48:43,580
Right after that, Joey Gallo,
Larry Gallo got made

956
00:48:43,700 --> 00:48:45,250
in the Profaci Family.

957
00:48:45,370 --> 00:48:49,330
In this world, if you know,
there's no other reason for it,

958
00:48:49,450 --> 00:48:51,500
you don't straighten out
somebody unless they earned it.

959
00:48:52,450 --> 00:48:55,500
After the Anastasia killing,
the Gallos would forever

960
00:48:55,620 --> 00:48:57,160
be known as guns for hire.

961
00:48:57,250 --> 00:48:58,950
But they made their real money

962
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:01,910
in South Brooklyn,
in Red Hook.

963
00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:05,000
They worked for Local 19,
a Teamsters union

964
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:08,660
that repaired jukeboxes
and extorted local businesses.

965
00:49:08,790 --> 00:49:10,500
Word got around.

966
00:49:10,620 --> 00:49:15,620
On February 17th, 1959,
Joey and Larry Gallo were called

967
00:49:15,700 --> 00:49:18,660
to testify in front of
Senator McClellan's Committee.

968
00:49:18,830 --> 00:49:20,410
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Everybody gets called.

969
00:49:20,540 --> 00:49:22,500
Joey and Larry get called.

970
00:49:22,580 --> 00:49:24,830
MAN: ...shall be the truth,
the whole truth,

971
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:27,290
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God.

972
00:49:28,290 --> 00:49:30,160
Joey gets famous on TV for that,
for his glasses,

973
00:49:30,250 --> 00:49:32,330
his Ray-Bans and his smoking.

974
00:49:32,500 --> 00:49:36,160
♪

975
00:49:36,330 --> 00:49:40,120
Joey had no fear. He would plead
the Fifth 150 times.

976
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,700
MAN: Are you also known
as a racketeer and gangster?

977
00:49:43,830 --> 00:49:47,040
I respectfully decline to answer
because I honestly believe

978
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:49,160
my answer might tend
to incriminate me.

979
00:49:49,290 --> 00:49:52,330
TOM: He's got slick back hair,
the shades,

980
00:49:52,540 --> 00:49:56,830
black suit jacket, no tie,
just chain smoking.

981
00:49:56,910 --> 00:49:58,660
The Senator's getting furious.

982
00:49:58,750 --> 00:50:01,250
Have you a father and mother?

983
00:50:01,410 --> 00:50:05,160
I respectfully decline to answer
because I honestly believe

984
00:50:05,250 --> 00:50:06,540
my answer might tend to--

985
00:50:06,700 --> 00:50:10,660
Are you what's known
as a thug or a hoodlum?

986
00:50:10,790 --> 00:50:13,330
I respectfully decline to answer
because I honestly believe

987
00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:15,370
my answer might
tend to incriminate me.

988
00:50:15,450 --> 00:50:17,540
SEAN McWEENEY:
So he was a personality,

989
00:50:17,660 --> 00:50:20,120
a beacon for publicity.

990
00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:22,040
If he was interviewed,

991
00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:24,040
someone stopped him
on the street, the newspaper,

992
00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:25,500
he would talk to the papers.

993
00:50:27,250 --> 00:50:28,700
Joey, what about these stories
that some of your friends are

994
00:50:28,830 --> 00:50:31,660
unhappy they can't get
out of jail because of you?

995
00:50:31,790 --> 00:50:34,830
When I left them, they were
having a party over there,

996
00:50:34,910 --> 00:50:37,700
and they really... were really
having a good time over there.

997
00:50:37,790 --> 00:50:39,620
Yeah, that civil jail is
more like a hotel than a jail.

998
00:50:39,750 --> 00:50:42,000
It's a big hotel, one big hotel.

999
00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:43,660
- Do you miss the place?
- No, no.

1000
00:50:43,830 --> 00:50:46,830
[laughter]

1001
00:50:46,950 --> 00:50:49,120
Joey Gallo,
he's got the cameras rolling.

1002
00:50:49,250 --> 00:50:51,040
He's on national television.

1003
00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:54,160
It just scares the pants off
of mom and pop in Omaha,

1004
00:50:54,330 --> 00:50:56,200
you know, watching these things.

1005
00:50:57,370 --> 00:50:59,790
ED: And the 1950s is a period
in which almost every

1006
00:50:59,950 --> 00:51:01,160
American family,
by the end of the decade,

1007
00:51:01,290 --> 00:51:03,290
has acquired a television.

1008
00:51:03,370 --> 00:51:05,870
And so they are able
to watch these hearings

1009
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,750
and see these characters
and hear the accusations

1010
00:51:08,870 --> 00:51:11,330
about misappropriation of funds
and intimidation,

1011
00:51:11,450 --> 00:51:14,500
union election fixing,
and it's throwing the light

1012
00:51:14,660 --> 00:51:18,160
on these shady dealings between
big time unions and the mob.

1013
00:51:18,330 --> 00:51:21,000
♪

1014
00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:23,910
ALEX HORTIS:
It was great TV.

1015
00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:26,250
It was probably...
its most significant

1016
00:51:26,370 --> 00:51:29,330
impression
on the American public.

1017
00:51:29,410 --> 00:51:32,450
And it did sort of made
people more afraid,

1018
00:51:32,540 --> 00:51:34,160
had more reasons
to not like New York

1019
00:51:34,290 --> 00:51:36,160
or some of the other
big cities like,

1020
00:51:36,290 --> 00:51:37,120
"Oh, that's where all
the gangsters

1021
00:51:37,250 --> 00:51:39,500
and racketeers are."

1022
00:51:39,660 --> 00:51:42,160
CLAIRE: The 1950s
and moving into the 1960s

1023
00:51:42,250 --> 00:51:44,290
are some big decades for Gallo.

1024
00:51:44,370 --> 00:51:46,410
A lot happens for him.

1025
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:52,660
He's in an organization
where the power dynamics

1026
00:51:52,790 --> 00:51:55,790
and the power struggles
are challenging for him.

1027
00:51:55,870 --> 00:51:58,120
♪

1028
00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:00,160
TOM: Where do the Gallo brothers
stand in this trajectory

1029
00:52:00,290 --> 00:52:02,250
of Five Families of New York?

1030
00:52:02,370 --> 00:52:04,500
♪

1031
00:52:04,620 --> 00:52:06,410
They're the first ones
who decided,

1032
00:52:06,540 --> 00:52:08,620
"I don't care
about your Sicilian codes,

1033
00:52:08,700 --> 00:52:12,000
"and I don't care
about other codes Lucky Luciano

1034
00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:13,700
"put in place
when he built the Commission.

1035
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:16,450
"We're going to do it our way,

1036
00:52:16,580 --> 00:52:18,700
and you're going
to have to deal with this."

1037
00:52:20,370 --> 00:52:22,040
Once you get
the next generation,

1038
00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:23,660
especially in the 1950s,

1039
00:52:23,830 --> 00:52:27,250
the kids on jukeboxes,
they're not coming back.

1040
00:52:27,370 --> 00:52:30,870
The ideas of omertà
are inevitably gonna get lost

1041
00:52:31,040 --> 00:52:33,000
in the American
cultural landscape.

1042
00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:35,120
♪

1043
00:52:38,830 --> 00:52:40,410
♪

1044
00:52:40,540 --> 00:52:43,120
Joey and Larry Gallo's testimony

1045
00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:44,700
in front
of the McClellan Committee

1046
00:52:44,830 --> 00:52:48,750
in February 1959
put them on a national stage

1047
00:52:48,870 --> 00:52:52,580
and on the radar of every
mafia member in New York City.

1048
00:52:52,700 --> 00:52:56,000
They kept their mouths shut,
honored omertà,

1049
00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:58,700
but still made
a mockery of the hearings

1050
00:52:58,830 --> 00:53:02,000
and made a name
for themselves in the process.

1051
00:53:02,160 --> 00:53:04,370
Having any sort
of public persona

1052
00:53:04,500 --> 00:53:07,450
is never a good thing
for those in a secret society,

1053
00:53:07,580 --> 00:53:09,410
and back in South Brooklyn,

1054
00:53:09,540 --> 00:53:11,910
the Gallos were starting
to get a reputation.

1055
00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:14,200
TOM: The Gallo brothers
were folk heroes

1056
00:53:14,370 --> 00:53:16,330
of Red Hook, Brooklyn,
the sort of king

1057
00:53:16,500 --> 00:53:18,370
of the neighborhood,
king of the streets.

1058
00:53:18,500 --> 00:53:21,910
♪

1059
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:24,830
What you have to remember about
the neighborhood of Red Hook

1060
00:53:24,950 --> 00:53:27,910
is that it used to be
the Little Italy of Brooklyn.

1061
00:53:28,040 --> 00:53:31,330
♪

1062
00:53:31,500 --> 00:53:33,830
The highway czar of New York,
Robert Moses,

1063
00:53:33,950 --> 00:53:35,660
decides it's a slum.

1064
00:53:35,790 --> 00:53:38,660
He decides he's going
to lop off Red Hook

1065
00:53:38,750 --> 00:53:44,290
by the Brooklyn waterfront with
the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

1066
00:53:44,370 --> 00:53:47,540
It's basically cut off
from the main part of Brooklyn.

1067
00:53:47,700 --> 00:53:50,330
And so it loses its status
as The Little Italy.

1068
00:53:50,500 --> 00:53:52,080
It starts to become
more decrepit,

1069
00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:53,660
starts to become ignored.

1070
00:53:53,750 --> 00:53:58,410
And so that fosters a lot
of anti-establishment feeling.

1071
00:53:58,540 --> 00:54:01,330
And the Gallo brothers
fit right into that.

1072
00:54:01,500 --> 00:54:04,040
They're the heroes
of the neighborhood.

1073
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:06,370
SEAN: They hung out
on President Street.

1074
00:54:06,540 --> 00:54:10,160
It was called the Dormitory,
three story building.

1075
00:54:10,330 --> 00:54:13,000
They had a social club
at the bottom.

1076
00:54:13,160 --> 00:54:15,330
A lot of people used to pass by,

1077
00:54:15,450 --> 00:54:17,660
and just to see him
hanging out there.

1078
00:54:17,790 --> 00:54:21,330
They allegedly had
a mountain lion in the basement.

1079
00:54:21,500 --> 00:54:25,910
♪

1080
00:54:26,040 --> 00:54:28,910
FRANK DiMATTEO: We had a lion
in the early '60s.

1081
00:54:29,040 --> 00:54:30,370
Some guy from New York.

1082
00:54:30,450 --> 00:54:32,040
I think his name Tony,
I think his name was.

1083
00:54:32,160 --> 00:54:34,370
He had at an exotic store
in Manhattan.

1084
00:54:34,500 --> 00:54:39,790
And he called up and said
that he had a lion, a cub.

1085
00:54:39,870 --> 00:54:41,000
So Joey and Larry said,

1086
00:54:41,160 --> 00:54:43,200
"Man, yeah,
that's what we want."

1087
00:54:43,870 --> 00:54:46,330
So they went to New York,
they picked him up.

1088
00:54:46,450 --> 00:54:47,910
They drove him
to President Street.

1089
00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:49,830
♪

1090
00:54:49,910 --> 00:54:52,040
In a short time, he got big.

1091
00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:54,160
♪

1092
00:54:54,250 --> 00:54:56,370
Someone was always...
wasn't paying something.

1093
00:54:56,500 --> 00:54:58,620
Always a problem
with people gambling

1094
00:54:58,750 --> 00:55:01,500
or lending money to degenerates,
didn't want to pay.

1095
00:55:01,580 --> 00:55:02,870
You gotta collect your money.

1096
00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:05,660
So Joey got the idea
of scaring people with the lion.

1097
00:55:05,830 --> 00:55:08,000
♪

1098
00:55:08,080 --> 00:55:11,700
Chain used to rattle
lion used to run up the stairs,

1099
00:55:11,830 --> 00:55:14,370
and these people used
to get scared right away.

1100
00:55:14,500 --> 00:55:17,290
These guys used to [bleep]
their pants.

1101
00:55:17,370 --> 00:55:18,910
TOM:
The lion's name was Cleo.

1102
00:55:19,040 --> 00:55:21,660
When the idea is that you got
a guy owes us a bit of money,

1103
00:55:21,750 --> 00:55:23,000
"What are we going to do
with this deadbeat?"

1104
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:25,200
Well, you know,
you bring him down

1105
00:55:25,370 --> 00:55:26,790
to the basement
and introduce him to Cleo

1106
00:55:26,870 --> 00:55:29,660
and all of a sudden, you know,
he empties out his pockets.

1107
00:55:29,750 --> 00:55:33,370
This kind of became part
of the Gallo-lore,

1108
00:55:33,540 --> 00:55:36,830
turning these pretty hardened
hoods into bit of a carnival.

1109
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:38,830
[growls]

1110
00:55:38,950 --> 00:55:40,870
"Don't mess with those Gallos.
They're crazy.

1111
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:42,830
That crew's crazy.
Don't mess with them." You know?

1112
00:55:44,250 --> 00:55:47,500
The Gallos liked to march
to the beat of their own drum.

1113
00:55:47,620 --> 00:55:50,660
But they were still a part
of a larger organization.

1114
00:55:50,790 --> 00:55:53,830
They had a boss,
just like everyone else.

1115
00:55:53,950 --> 00:55:56,500
And in the late '50s
and early '60s,

1116
00:55:56,620 --> 00:55:59,540
their boss controlled
all of South Brooklyn.

1117
00:55:59,660 --> 00:56:02,160
From lone sharks to bookies

1118
00:56:02,330 --> 00:56:04,200
to traffickers
down on the docks,

1119
00:56:04,330 --> 00:56:07,080
everybody had to answer
to Joe Profaci.

1120
00:56:07,200 --> 00:56:09,160
♪

1121
00:56:09,290 --> 00:56:13,160
ALEX HORTIS: Joe Profaci was
an extremely long-tenured boss.

1122
00:56:13,290 --> 00:56:19,540
He is involved
in the South Brooklyn region.

1123
00:56:19,660 --> 00:56:21,750
He wasn't considered
a quote, unquote good boss.

1124
00:56:21,870 --> 00:56:23,580
He was considered
a little too isolated,

1125
00:56:23,660 --> 00:56:25,580
a little too, quote, greedy.

1126
00:56:25,700 --> 00:56:30,370
So that was
what his street reputation was.

1127
00:56:30,540 --> 00:56:32,910
I think...
Joey called him a prick.

1128
00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:35,500
♪

1129
00:56:35,620 --> 00:56:37,160
The Olive Oil King.

1130
00:56:37,290 --> 00:56:41,620
But in the small world
known as the Prick.

1131
00:56:41,750 --> 00:56:43,500
He was never very well liked.

1132
00:56:43,580 --> 00:56:44,830
Oh, yes, in his circle
they liked him

1133
00:56:44,950 --> 00:56:46,500
'cause they were making
a lot of money.

1134
00:56:48,250 --> 00:56:52,000
Gambling, lending money,
hijacking.

1135
00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:54,160
That was
their three main things.

1136
00:56:54,290 --> 00:56:57,370
Profaci was more South Brooklyn,

1137
00:56:57,540 --> 00:56:59,870
the docks,
and Joe Profaci actually had

1138
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:03,000
some legitimate industries
there as well.

1139
00:57:03,580 --> 00:57:05,660
TOM: Again, his front is
being the olive oil company.

1140
00:57:05,750 --> 00:57:08,290
But Joe Profaci,
he's a tough nut,

1141
00:57:08,410 --> 00:57:11,370
and there's a tradition
in old mafia lore,

1142
00:57:11,500 --> 00:57:13,370
which is called
"Wetting the beak."

1143
00:57:13,450 --> 00:57:16,330
It's taking a piece
of your profits where,

1144
00:57:16,500 --> 00:57:19,410
let's say you hijack,
something or another.

1145
00:57:19,540 --> 00:57:21,290
"We're going to take 20%
of that."

1146
00:57:21,370 --> 00:57:23,370
Well, Joe Profaci
likes to take

1147
00:57:23,540 --> 00:57:25,580
more than what he
should be taking.

1148
00:57:25,700 --> 00:57:28,870
For Joe, it's his way
of keeping the troops in line.

1149
00:57:29,040 --> 00:57:32,290
But this starts to foster
a lot of resentment.

1150
00:57:32,370 --> 00:57:35,540
Profaci had this great manor
in Bath Beach,

1151
00:57:35,660 --> 00:57:39,620
and gave all his spoils
to his own little children.

1152
00:57:39,700 --> 00:57:42,330
I think Tony Bennett sang
at the Don's daughter's wedding.

1153
00:57:42,410 --> 00:57:45,330
The Profacis
living in splendor

1154
00:57:45,450 --> 00:57:47,660
and the Gallos are living
in their grandmother's

1155
00:57:47,700 --> 00:57:51,160
tenement on the edge
of the waterfront in Red Hook.

1156
00:57:51,660 --> 00:57:54,000
MICHAEL FRANZESE: My dad was
in the Profaci Family.

1157
00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:56,540
Dad liked Joe Profaci
and got along with him.

1158
00:57:56,660 --> 00:57:57,910
He said he was
a little bit greedy.

1159
00:57:58,580 --> 00:58:01,450
He said greed
is what kills bosses.

1160
00:58:01,580 --> 00:58:04,160
But he didn't
talk too much about him,

1161
00:58:04,290 --> 00:58:06,500
just that he was greedy.

1162
00:58:06,620 --> 00:58:09,200
It was excessive.

1163
00:58:09,290 --> 00:58:11,000
He was a hard guy
to get along with.

1164
00:58:11,160 --> 00:58:12,830
So the Gallos said,
"No, we're not doing it."

1165
00:58:15,410 --> 00:58:17,160
TOM:
So these Sicilian traditions

1166
00:58:17,290 --> 00:58:20,700
that Joe Profaci was bringing
in from the old country,

1167
00:58:20,830 --> 00:58:22,950
this just wasn't washing
with Joe Gallo

1168
00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:26,660
and the American-born generation
that he was part of.

1169
00:58:29,910 --> 00:58:33,830
ALEX HORTIS: Profaci was very,
very conservative and quiet.

1170
00:58:33,950 --> 00:58:36,620
He doesn't get along
with the Gallos.

1171
00:58:36,700 --> 00:58:40,290
And the Gallos have
their own brother-led unit.

1172
00:58:40,410 --> 00:58:44,120
And so Profaci
outgrew the era of the time.

1173
00:58:44,250 --> 00:58:46,160
He had overstayed his welcome.

1174
00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:51,830
♪

1175
00:58:51,950 --> 00:58:54,200
FRANK DiMATTEO: So they went
to try to go to the captains

1176
00:58:54,330 --> 00:58:57,330
and to outside
to force Joe Profaci

1177
00:58:57,450 --> 00:58:59,000
to do the right thing.

1178
00:58:59,120 --> 00:59:00,250
They wanted these guys

1179
00:59:00,370 --> 00:59:02,540
to go to Profaci
and make him give them

1180
00:59:02,660 --> 00:59:05,000
what they deserve.
That's what they wanted.

1181
00:59:05,120 --> 00:59:07,290
They wanted a piece of this,
they wanted a piece of that.

1182
00:59:07,450 --> 00:59:08,250
They thought they'd get
a piece of the book.

1183
00:59:08,370 --> 00:59:09,660
He never gave it to them.

1184
00:59:09,790 --> 00:59:10,910
So that was it, man.

1185
00:59:11,040 --> 00:59:12,830
♪

1186
00:59:12,950 --> 00:59:17,040
So Joey and Larry decided
to kidnap Joe Profaci.

1187
00:59:17,200 --> 00:59:19,580
♪

1188
00:59:24,200 --> 00:59:27,370
Ask not what your country
can do for you,

1189
00:59:27,450 --> 00:59:30,160
ask what you can do
for your country.

1190
00:59:30,290 --> 00:59:33,160
[cheering]

1191
00:59:33,330 --> 00:59:37,790
In February, 1961,
as Americans looked forward,

1192
00:59:37,910 --> 00:59:40,790
optimistically,
with a new president in office,

1193
00:59:40,910 --> 00:59:44,000
members of the mafia,
namely Profaci Family soldiers

1194
00:59:44,120 --> 00:59:45,910
Joey and Larry Gallo,

1195
00:59:46,040 --> 00:59:49,000
were becoming disillusioned
with the life they'd chosen

1196
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:51,450
and the organization
they'd been a part of.

1197
00:59:51,580 --> 00:59:54,330
They wanted more money
and more autonomy.

1198
00:59:54,410 --> 00:59:56,660
And if their boss,
Joseph Profaci,

1199
00:59:56,750 --> 00:59:58,910
wasn't going to give it to them,

1200
00:59:59,040 --> 01:00:00,830
well, then they were going
to take it.

1201
01:00:02,580 --> 01:00:04,580
TOM: There's already a lot
of underlying resentment

1202
01:00:04,700 --> 01:00:07,200
among this younger generation
of mafia hoods

1203
01:00:07,330 --> 01:00:10,330
and the Profaci Family
and the Gallos boldly decide

1204
01:00:10,410 --> 01:00:14,330
that they're going to take
the Don and his men hostage,

1205
01:00:14,500 --> 01:00:16,080
make them submit
to their demands,

1206
01:00:16,200 --> 01:00:18,660
and either be killed
or they'll release him.

1207
01:00:18,870 --> 01:00:21,580
♪

1208
01:00:21,700 --> 01:00:24,580
The Gallo brothers
put a plan together.

1209
01:00:24,700 --> 01:00:28,160
They sent six, seven guys
out to a couple clubs

1210
01:00:28,250 --> 01:00:30,830
and they kidnapped
Joe Profaci's close guys.

1211
01:00:30,910 --> 01:00:33,700
♪

1212
01:00:33,790 --> 01:00:37,290
His underboss, brother,
Joe Colombo.

1213
01:00:37,370 --> 01:00:39,080
But they missed Joe Profaci.

1214
01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:42,250
The whole idea was to get
Profaci, but Profaci wind up

1215
01:00:42,370 --> 01:00:44,700
getting wind of this,

1216
01:00:44,870 --> 01:00:47,000
and went to Florida and checked
himself into the hospital.

1217
01:00:47,160 --> 01:00:50,330
♪

1218
01:00:50,450 --> 01:00:51,910
So they missed the Don.

1219
01:00:52,040 --> 01:00:53,160
The Don was
nowhere to be found.

1220
01:00:53,290 --> 01:00:54,330
They got all the Don's men,

1221
01:00:54,450 --> 01:00:56,120
but then
the Don himself escaped.

1222
01:00:59,540 --> 01:01:01,040
So the Gallos find themselves

1223
01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:03,000
with a total disaster
on their hands.

1224
01:01:03,080 --> 01:01:07,370
♪

1225
01:01:07,500 --> 01:01:12,910
So when the Gallo brothers take
Don Profaci's top men hostage,

1226
01:01:13,040 --> 01:01:15,080
there's an argument
between Larry and Joey.

1227
01:01:15,250 --> 01:01:18,700
The boys got
in this major shouting match.

1228
01:01:18,790 --> 01:01:21,660
Larry wants to negotiate
through the mafia Commission.

1229
01:01:21,700 --> 01:01:23,250
It's funny,
in the mafia Commission,

1230
01:01:23,370 --> 01:01:25,120
you were talking
about an establishment here.

1231
01:01:25,200 --> 01:01:27,500
This is the ruling body
of not just the Five Families,

1232
01:01:27,580 --> 01:01:31,000
but the national mafia.
There's rules.

1233
01:01:31,120 --> 01:01:33,700
CLAIRE: Joey Gallo
and his faction attempting

1234
01:01:33,870 --> 01:01:38,160
to kidnap his own boss
is a clear breach of etiquette.

1235
01:01:38,200 --> 01:01:41,040
The thing is, though,
with the mafia, you know,

1236
01:01:41,120 --> 01:01:42,750
there's always
breaches of etiquette,

1237
01:01:42,870 --> 01:01:44,950
and that's sometimes
the only way

1238
01:01:45,040 --> 01:01:47,040
that these Families
move forward.

1239
01:01:47,200 --> 01:01:48,290
♪

1240
01:01:48,410 --> 01:01:50,330
TOM:
Larry wants to abide

1241
01:01:50,450 --> 01:01:53,620
by the mafia Commission's
rules behind a coup.

1242
01:01:53,700 --> 01:01:56,080
He's like,
"If we get permission

1243
01:01:56,200 --> 01:01:58,160
"from the Commission about
what we're going to do next

1244
01:01:58,330 --> 01:02:00,250
and we work through them,
then they're gonna help us out."

1245
01:02:00,370 --> 01:02:02,580
And there's talk
from the top men

1246
01:02:02,700 --> 01:02:03,950
in the Commission,
there's murmurings like,

1247
01:02:04,080 --> 01:02:05,830
"Yeah, we'll help you boys out,
but just let them go."

1248
01:02:05,910 --> 01:02:07,500
♪

1249
01:02:07,620 --> 01:02:09,250
NARRATOR:
At the time of the kidnapping,

1250
01:02:09,370 --> 01:02:11,830
the five New York bosses
on the Commission

1251
01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:14,870
were Vito Genovese, Joe Profaci,

1252
01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:19,370
Carlo Gambino,
Tommy Lucchese and Joe Bonanno.

1253
01:02:19,500 --> 01:02:21,500
To have their coup approved,

1254
01:02:21,660 --> 01:02:25,410
the Gallos would need support
from at least two of these men.

1255
01:02:25,580 --> 01:02:27,660
But Profaci had tenure.

1256
01:02:27,830 --> 01:02:29,830
He was one of only
two remaining original bosses

1257
01:02:29,910 --> 01:02:31,500
on the Commission.

1258
01:02:31,620 --> 01:02:34,910
The other, his close friend
and ally, Joe Bonanno.

1259
01:02:35,040 --> 01:02:39,830
Bonanno's son had married
Profaci's niece back in 1956.

1260
01:02:39,950 --> 01:02:41,870
Bosses on the Commission
could entertain

1261
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:44,500
the Gallo's request
all they wanted,

1262
01:02:44,580 --> 01:02:46,580
but no boss
in their right mind

1263
01:02:46,660 --> 01:02:48,830
would side against
Joe Profaci.

1264
01:02:49,040 --> 01:02:51,540
And Joey Gallo was well aware.

1265
01:02:52,370 --> 01:02:54,000
Joey, on the other hand,
is like, "Forget it, Larry.

1266
01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:55,330
We're going to kill him
right now."

1267
01:02:55,450 --> 01:02:56,330
He wants to kill them all.

1268
01:02:56,450 --> 01:02:57,500
Blood in the streets.

1269
01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:01,160
FRANK DiMATTEO: Somebody came
back with a package from Profaci

1270
01:03:01,330 --> 01:03:04,950
that, if he lets them go,
then he'll negotiate with them,

1271
01:03:05,080 --> 01:03:07,040
give them some territory
and stuff like that.

1272
01:03:07,200 --> 01:03:08,790
Joey didn't want
to let the guys go

1273
01:03:08,870 --> 01:03:11,830
because Joey didn't believe
Joe Profaci.

1274
01:03:13,200 --> 01:03:15,120
That's why he said,
"Let's just go kill them,

1275
01:03:15,250 --> 01:03:17,160
"and then they'll know for real,
we're going to go to war.

1276
01:03:17,330 --> 01:03:18,120
Let's go to war."

1277
01:03:18,250 --> 01:03:22,000
♪

1278
01:03:22,120 --> 01:03:25,160
Larry grabbed Joey in passion
and said, "We can't do this.

1279
01:03:25,290 --> 01:03:27,620
Listen to us.
Can't kill these guys."

1280
01:03:27,750 --> 01:03:30,160
A high pressure situation.

1281
01:03:30,290 --> 01:03:31,830
In this world that you're not
supposed to kill made guys,

1282
01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:33,120
and there was a lot
of trouble here.

1283
01:03:33,200 --> 01:03:37,160
♪

1284
01:03:37,290 --> 01:03:41,330
Joey's actions shocked even
the boldest underworld figures.

1285
01:03:41,410 --> 01:03:44,410
But Crazy Joe
wasn't one for the rules.

1286
01:03:44,540 --> 01:03:47,000
He kidnapped the higher-ups
without permission,

1287
01:03:47,120 --> 01:03:50,290
and if given the chance,
would kill without approval.

1288
01:03:50,410 --> 01:03:53,750
CHRIS COLOMBO: There's a story
that during the conflict

1289
01:03:53,870 --> 01:03:56,580
that was going on
within Brooklyn,

1290
01:03:56,700 --> 01:03:58,250
they had taken
my father hostage.

1291
01:03:59,120 --> 01:04:01,790
I guess he was
going to be executed.

1292
01:04:01,870 --> 01:04:03,750
And Larry spoke
like a gentleman.

1293
01:04:03,870 --> 01:04:05,500
He said, "He's not an enemy,
he's a friend,

1294
01:04:05,660 --> 01:04:06,950
"and he agrees with us,

1295
01:04:07,080 --> 01:04:08,580
but doesn't agree
with our tactics."

1296
01:04:11,000 --> 01:04:12,330
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Larry won the argument

1297
01:04:12,450 --> 01:04:14,750
because Larry was the boss.

1298
01:04:14,870 --> 01:04:18,290
He was more level-headed
and explained why he thought

1299
01:04:18,410 --> 01:04:20,500
it wasn't a good idea
to kill them.

1300
01:04:20,620 --> 01:04:23,290
My father said that Joey,
they call him crazy.

1301
01:04:23,410 --> 01:04:26,160
They call him this,
they call him that.

1302
01:04:26,250 --> 01:04:29,000
TOM: So the Gallo Brothers
let Joe Profaci's men go.

1303
01:04:29,080 --> 01:04:31,000
Commission says,
"Okay, you boys just be patient.

1304
01:04:31,120 --> 01:04:32,160
"We'll get you what's due.

1305
01:04:32,290 --> 01:04:34,000
"We're going to talk
to Profaci,

1306
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:35,250
"and we'll make sure that...

1307
01:04:35,370 --> 01:04:38,660
you guys did good
for releasing them."

1308
01:04:38,830 --> 01:04:40,160
This goes on for months,

1309
01:04:40,250 --> 01:04:43,000
and the Gallos aren't really
hearing anything.

1310
01:04:43,080 --> 01:04:46,160
And, all of a sudden,
it's too quiet.

1311
01:04:46,330 --> 01:04:47,870
♪

1312
01:04:48,000 --> 01:04:50,200
And this is
when the Don strikes again.

1313
01:04:50,330 --> 01:04:54,450
♪

1314
01:04:54,580 --> 01:04:56,660
FRANK DiMATTEO: At the time,
no one knew that Joe Profaci

1315
01:04:56,790 --> 01:04:59,160
was full of [bleep].

1316
01:04:59,330 --> 01:05:01,000
No one knew that.
We know that now.

1317
01:05:01,120 --> 01:05:03,950
As soon as they released
the captains,

1318
01:05:04,080 --> 01:05:06,790
he put a hit on all of them,
the whole Gallo crew.

1319
01:05:06,910 --> 01:05:09,040
With his top men
kidnapped and threatened,

1320
01:05:09,120 --> 01:05:11,500
Joe Profaci felt he had
no other option

1321
01:05:11,660 --> 01:05:14,250
than to kill off the rogue
faction in his own Family.

1322
01:05:14,370 --> 01:05:16,330
But the Gallos
wouldn't go down easy.

1323
01:05:17,080 --> 01:05:20,000
What ensued was one
of the longest and bloodiest

1324
01:05:20,120 --> 01:05:22,950
sagas ever to be seen
on the streets of Brooklyn,

1325
01:05:23,040 --> 01:05:25,450
The Gallo-Profaci War.

1326
01:05:25,540 --> 01:05:27,040
MICHAEL: People that are not
in the know think

1327
01:05:27,160 --> 01:05:29,370
that Families
war against each other.

1328
01:05:29,540 --> 01:05:31,620
That doesn't happen.
That stopped in the '40s.

1329
01:05:31,700 --> 01:05:34,540
It's always a civil war.
War over a power struggle.

1330
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:39,370
Well, my dad was
on Profaci's side.

1331
01:05:39,500 --> 01:05:41,580
We had been out in Long Island
at my grandmother's house.

1332
01:05:41,700 --> 01:05:43,370
My dad moved us out there.

1333
01:05:43,500 --> 01:05:46,660
He was gone for several days.
I didn't know why.

1334
01:05:46,870 --> 01:05:49,040
But I remember one day
he came home.

1335
01:05:49,160 --> 01:05:51,410
It was fairly early
in the morning,

1336
01:05:51,540 --> 01:05:55,000
and he walked
into my grandmother's house.

1337
01:05:55,120 --> 01:05:58,000
He had a full beard.
He hadn't shaved in a while.

1338
01:05:58,040 --> 01:06:01,660
And his right-hand guy,
Joey Brancato, was also

1339
01:06:01,750 --> 01:06:05,830
a made guy, was out on the porch
kind of watching guard.

1340
01:06:05,950 --> 01:06:08,620
And I'm sitting on the steps
as my dad came in.

1341
01:06:08,700 --> 01:06:09,950
He grabbed my mom.

1342
01:06:10,040 --> 01:06:12,660
He hugged her,
and then he came over to me

1343
01:06:12,700 --> 01:06:14,500
on the steps and hugged me.

1344
01:06:14,620 --> 01:06:17,250
How was I doing and all of that.

1345
01:06:17,370 --> 01:06:19,790
He was only there for a short
time, and then he left.

1346
01:06:19,870 --> 01:06:22,200
And that was during
the Gallo-Profaci war.

1347
01:06:23,700 --> 01:06:25,250
And it was serious.

1348
01:06:25,330 --> 01:06:28,540
Quite a few people
got killed during that time.

1349
01:06:28,660 --> 01:06:31,500
One of the horrors of that life,
you make a mistake,

1350
01:06:31,620 --> 01:06:32,830
your best friend walks you
into a room,

1351
01:06:32,950 --> 01:06:34,540
you don't walk out again.

1352
01:06:34,700 --> 01:06:36,500
[gunshots]

1353
01:06:43,950 --> 01:06:48,660
♪

1354
01:06:48,750 --> 01:06:53,410
[gunshots]

1355
01:06:53,540 --> 01:06:57,000
TOM: The Gallo-Profaci war
is like a crazy crime thriller.

1356
01:06:57,200 --> 01:07:00,040
The Gallo brothers, they're
holed up on President Street,

1357
01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:03,250
in their grandmother's tenement
by the Red Hook waterfront.

1358
01:07:03,330 --> 01:07:05,000
They've got that block.

1359
01:07:05,160 --> 01:07:07,410
The Profaci Family
has all of Brooklyn.

1360
01:07:07,540 --> 01:07:09,290
So, you basically
have all of Brooklyn

1361
01:07:09,370 --> 01:07:12,410
versus that one little strip
on President Street.

1362
01:07:12,540 --> 01:07:14,160
It's a siege mentality.

1363
01:07:14,250 --> 01:07:19,660
♪

1364
01:07:20,830 --> 01:07:23,080
FRANK DiMATTEO: Everybody went
on to the clubs on the block,

1365
01:07:23,200 --> 01:07:26,830
and you would just get together,
get all your stuff together,

1366
01:07:26,870 --> 01:07:29,540
stock up food,
and everybody pretty much

1367
01:07:29,660 --> 01:07:31,250
ate, drank, and slept there.

1368
01:07:31,410 --> 01:07:33,200
You threw mattresses on the
floor 'cause there was no...

1369
01:07:33,330 --> 01:07:34,660
Everybody didn't have a bed.

1370
01:07:34,790 --> 01:07:37,000
Joey, when shooting started,

1371
01:07:37,120 --> 01:07:38,620
told everybody,
"You gotta come in

1372
01:07:38,750 --> 01:07:40,080
and you hit the mattress."

1373
01:07:40,200 --> 01:07:42,000
They started the expression,
"Hit the mattress."

1374
01:07:42,160 --> 01:07:43,660
That's the first time
I heard of it.

1375
01:07:44,250 --> 01:07:46,660
That's how they lived
for that year.

1376
01:07:46,790 --> 01:07:48,200
Get money and food
and that's it.

1377
01:07:48,370 --> 01:07:50,160
Hang out until the guys
who were in the street

1378
01:07:50,250 --> 01:07:51,540
would do what they had to do.

1379
01:07:51,660 --> 01:07:57,500
♪

1380
01:07:59,080 --> 01:08:01,000
TOM: The Gallos top bodyguard,

1381
01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:04,250
he was a feared hitman
named Joe Jelly.

1382
01:08:04,410 --> 01:08:06,040
He was the Gallos' muscle.

1383
01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:08,370
And before the Profacis
wanted to strike

1384
01:08:08,540 --> 01:08:11,500
the Gallos, the idea was like,
"We gotta get rid of Joe Jelly,

1385
01:08:11,620 --> 01:08:14,290
"because if Joe Jelly's still
alive and we go after Larry,

1386
01:08:14,410 --> 01:08:15,830
"it's going to be over for us.

1387
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:19,540
This guy's a one man force.
How do we get rid of him?"

1388
01:08:20,250 --> 01:08:21,950
FRANK DiMATTEO:
Joe Jelly was a bad dude.

1389
01:08:22,120 --> 01:08:24,120
Very loyal to Larry and Joey.

1390
01:08:24,200 --> 01:08:25,910
Very loyal.

1391
01:08:26,080 --> 01:08:28,450
Joe Jelly went
on a fishing trip.

1392
01:08:28,580 --> 01:08:30,540
♪

1393
01:08:30,660 --> 01:08:34,080
They wound up killing him,
taking his jacket and his ring.

1394
01:08:36,370 --> 01:08:40,870
TOM: That night, a car goes
past the Gallo family diner.

1395
01:08:41,040 --> 01:08:43,410
A package is thrown out.

1396
01:08:43,580 --> 01:08:47,910
Into the package is the last
suit that Joe Jelly wore,

1397
01:08:48,040 --> 01:08:52,620
and inside that suit, dead fish.

1398
01:08:52,750 --> 01:08:56,700
And that's how they know
Joe Jelly slept with the fish.

1399
01:09:01,540 --> 01:09:03,330
Right after that is
when they went after Larry.

1400
01:09:05,000 --> 01:09:08,250
TOM: Larry Gallo,
he goes to a bar.

1401
01:09:08,370 --> 01:09:10,450
Larry's at the bar,
and he's taking a shot...

1402
01:09:10,540 --> 01:09:16,250
♪

1403
01:09:16,370 --> 01:09:18,290
...and that's when someone
comes from behind

1404
01:09:18,410 --> 01:09:19,830
and starts to strangle him.

1405
01:09:19,910 --> 01:09:26,120
♪

1406
01:09:26,660 --> 01:09:29,790
They try to kill him,
and he lived through it.

1407
01:09:31,500 --> 01:09:34,620
TOM: The cops take him
to the precinct.

1408
01:09:34,750 --> 01:09:40,160
He's got this awful looking
purple rash across his neck.

1409
01:09:40,540 --> 01:09:42,910
The cops are like,
"Who did this to you?"

1410
01:09:43,040 --> 01:09:46,120
Larry keeps quiet.
He didn't say anything.

1411
01:09:46,250 --> 01:09:49,450
The Gallos had lost
all respect for their boss,

1412
01:09:49,540 --> 01:09:53,250
the Profaci Family, and
the antiquated ways of the life.

1413
01:09:53,370 --> 01:09:57,000
So they broke rules,
but never the golden rule.

1414
01:09:57,120 --> 01:10:01,040
Larry would stay silent and not
cooperate with authorities,

1415
01:10:01,200 --> 01:10:02,830
and the shooting would continue.

1416
01:10:05,000 --> 01:10:06,200
FRANK DiMATTEO:
I was with my mother.

1417
01:10:06,330 --> 01:10:08,410
We're coming out of a house
on Union and Fourth.

1418
01:10:16,040 --> 01:10:18,330
We were coming out the door,

1419
01:10:18,450 --> 01:10:20,500
got to the corner.
My mother looked up.

1420
01:10:20,620 --> 01:10:22,790
There was two people across
the street that she recognized.

1421
01:10:22,870 --> 01:10:25,660
I looked up, and all
of a sudden you hear pop pop.

1422
01:10:25,790 --> 01:10:26,870
[gunshots]

1423
01:10:27,000 --> 01:10:28,450
Guy hit the floor. Boom.

1424
01:10:30,450 --> 01:10:32,830
With his crew under siege,

1425
01:10:33,000 --> 01:10:34,950
losing men
and strapped for cash,

1426
01:10:35,040 --> 01:10:37,870
Joey Gallo turned over
every stone in South Brooklyn

1427
01:10:38,040 --> 01:10:40,500
in the fall of 1961,

1428
01:10:40,620 --> 01:10:42,450
looking for money wherever
he could find it.

1429
01:10:46,040 --> 01:10:47,450
TOM: He sort of goes out
on his own.

1430
01:10:47,580 --> 01:10:49,330
He's like,
"I'm going to start making money

1431
01:10:49,450 --> 01:10:51,580
just the old classic way,"
which is extortion.

1432
01:10:53,410 --> 01:10:57,750
He finds this guy, and he starts
to begin to shake him down,

1433
01:10:57,830 --> 01:10:59,580
and he's like, "You're going
to give me part of your action."

1434
01:10:59,700 --> 01:11:01,910
"I don't have that much action
here at all."

1435
01:11:02,040 --> 01:11:05,040
But Joey becomes,
I think, increasingly obsessed

1436
01:11:05,160 --> 01:11:09,040
to the point where he's just got
to prove something to himself.

1437
01:11:09,160 --> 01:11:11,330
♪

1438
01:11:11,410 --> 01:11:13,870
So he sets up
a proper sit-down,

1439
01:11:14,040 --> 01:11:16,370
old Italian place
called the Luna,

1440
01:11:16,450 --> 01:11:18,830
a classic mob hangout
on Mulberry Street.

1441
01:11:19,000 --> 01:11:21,120
Joey basically tells this kid,

1442
01:11:21,200 --> 01:11:22,410
"Why don't I just put you
in the hospital?

1443
01:11:22,540 --> 01:11:24,500
Then you have a few months
to think about it."

1444
01:11:24,660 --> 01:11:27,330
And right then there's two NYPD
detectives at the next table.

1445
01:11:27,410 --> 01:11:28,790
And that's when they arrest
Joey Gallo.

1446
01:11:31,330 --> 01:11:33,160
FRANK DiMATTEO:
He got pinched for it,

1447
01:11:33,290 --> 01:11:35,080
and he really
didn't defend himself well.

1448
01:11:35,200 --> 01:11:37,160
Joey didn't want
to be represented.

1449
01:11:37,330 --> 01:11:39,830
We don't know why.
No one knows to this day why.

1450
01:11:40,700 --> 01:11:43,830
He really didn't give
100% fight in this thing.

1451
01:11:43,950 --> 01:11:46,000
And no one knows why.

1452
01:11:46,080 --> 01:11:47,370
And he winds up
getting convicted.

1453
01:11:47,540 --> 01:11:49,500
♪

1454
01:11:49,620 --> 01:11:51,450
TOM: All of a sudden,
the Gallo Revolution

1455
01:11:51,540 --> 01:11:53,450
has lost their Che Guevara.

1456
01:11:53,580 --> 01:11:55,500
Larry's lost his right hand.

1457
01:11:55,620 --> 01:11:58,500
These are dark times
for the Gallos.

1458
01:11:58,660 --> 01:12:02,000
The Gallos had failed
to overthrow Joe Profaci,

1459
01:12:02,120 --> 01:12:03,910
and when Joey Gallo went away,

1460
01:12:04,040 --> 01:12:07,660
they remained the pariahs
of the Five Families.

1461
01:12:08,290 --> 01:12:10,200
But despite
their public persona

1462
01:12:10,370 --> 01:12:12,500
and headline-grabbing antics,

1463
01:12:12,620 --> 01:12:14,290
the Gallos would never break

1464
01:12:15,870 --> 01:12:17,700
the organization's
most sacred rule: Omertà.

1465
01:12:18,950 --> 01:12:21,700
A member from a different
Family would soon handle that.

1466
01:12:31,000 --> 01:12:34,330
It had been five years of
turmoil for the Five Families.

1467
01:12:34,410 --> 01:12:38,000
Public slayings and shamings,
coups gone wrong.

1468
01:12:38,120 --> 01:12:41,950
By this time, the Families
were led by Joe Bonanno,

1469
01:12:42,120 --> 01:12:44,870
Tommy Lucchese, Carlo Gambino,

1470
01:12:45,040 --> 01:12:48,330
Joe Profaci and Vito Genovese.

1471
01:12:48,410 --> 01:12:50,580
Genovese remained
one of the most feared

1472
01:12:50,700 --> 01:12:53,000
and powerful bosses
on the Commission,

1473
01:12:53,120 --> 01:12:57,580
despite getting nabbed
on a drug charge back in 1958.

1474
01:12:57,700 --> 01:12:59,500
Those charges are fantastic
and ridiculous.

1475
01:13:04,540 --> 01:13:08,080
While in prison in Atlanta,
Vito Genovese feared

1476
01:13:08,200 --> 01:13:11,410
that a member of his own Family,
who was also serving

1477
01:13:11,540 --> 01:13:14,830
a lengthy sentence,
might be tempted to flip

1478
01:13:14,910 --> 01:13:19,660
and turn state's evidence,
to betray omertà.

1479
01:13:20,660 --> 01:13:23,750
The member's name
was Joseph Valachi.

1480
01:13:23,870 --> 01:13:27,330
SELWYN: Joe Valachi was
a two bit hood

1481
01:13:27,450 --> 01:13:29,410
in the Genovese Family,

1482
01:13:29,540 --> 01:13:32,330
and he got arrested
on a drug charge.

1483
01:13:32,450 --> 01:13:35,160
And it wound up
that he was in the same prison

1484
01:13:35,250 --> 01:13:37,080
in Atlanta with Vito Genovese.

1485
01:13:39,750 --> 01:13:41,830
And at some point
he either gets tipped off

1486
01:13:41,910 --> 01:13:44,410
or he gets the sense
that he's run afoul

1487
01:13:44,580 --> 01:13:46,830
of Genovese
and he's going to be killed.

1488
01:13:46,910 --> 01:13:49,750
ANTHONY:
The story is that Valachi

1489
01:13:49,870 --> 01:13:55,330
believes that Genovese had
fingered him for assassination.

1490
01:13:55,410 --> 01:13:59,200
♪

1491
01:13:59,330 --> 01:14:02,700
He said, "You know, sometimes...

1492
01:14:02,870 --> 01:14:05,250
"you buy a barrel of apples

1493
01:14:05,370 --> 01:14:08,790
"and one of these apples
is touched.

1494
01:14:08,950 --> 01:14:11,000
They're not all rotten,
they're a little touched."

1495
01:14:11,870 --> 01:14:15,540
He said,
"That apple has to be removed

1496
01:14:15,660 --> 01:14:18,700
or it'll touch
the rest of the apples."

1497
01:14:21,450 --> 01:14:24,540
Grabbed my hand
and he gave me a kiss.

1498
01:14:24,700 --> 01:14:26,950
This is a suspicious kiss...

1499
01:14:29,080 --> 01:14:30,830
"The kiss of death."

1500
01:14:30,910 --> 01:14:32,870
♪

1501
01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:37,160
Valachi suspected that he was
going to be set up for murder,

1502
01:14:37,370 --> 01:14:40,290
and he suspected
one guy in particular

1503
01:14:40,370 --> 01:14:41,450
was supposed to kill him.

1504
01:14:43,540 --> 01:14:45,790
I made one lap of the yard.

1505
01:14:45,910 --> 01:14:48,620
It was about,
I'd say, four block long.

1506
01:14:48,750 --> 01:14:50,830
Then I made another lap.
And then I made another one.

1507
01:14:50,950 --> 01:14:54,000
And then on my way back,
I spot Joe Beck.

1508
01:14:54,160 --> 01:14:57,410
♪

1509
01:14:57,540 --> 01:15:01,080
Well, he was
walking with another guy,

1510
01:15:01,200 --> 01:15:02,950
and right away I saw the pipe.

1511
01:15:03,040 --> 01:15:06,160
I grabbed the pipe
and I went to work on Joe Beck.

1512
01:15:09,160 --> 01:15:12,750
I... hit him on the head
with the pipe very hard.

1513
01:15:15,330 --> 01:15:17,370
And then I...

1514
01:15:17,500 --> 01:15:20,250
saw a couple of guys
running towards me.

1515
01:15:20,370 --> 01:15:23,950
They made about two attempts
before the officer come over,

1516
01:15:24,120 --> 01:15:29,330
see, all the way to
the associated warden's office.

1517
01:15:29,450 --> 01:15:32,830
He showed me a picture.
I said to him, "Who's this?"

1518
01:15:32,950 --> 01:15:36,330
He said,
"That's the guy you hit."

1519
01:15:36,450 --> 01:15:38,790
You could imagine how I felt.

1520
01:15:39,450 --> 01:15:43,410
I sank in the chair, you know.

1521
01:15:43,540 --> 01:15:45,080
I told him,
"Just locked me up."

1522
01:15:48,080 --> 01:15:51,330
ANTHONY: It turned out it was
a case of mistaken identity.

1523
01:15:51,500 --> 01:15:53,500
Killed the wrong guy.

1524
01:15:53,660 --> 01:15:57,620
The person had nothing to do
with any planned hit.

1525
01:15:59,410 --> 01:16:02,000
Commit a murder in prison,

1526
01:16:02,080 --> 01:16:04,660
you're really going
to face a lot of trouble.

1527
01:16:05,660 --> 01:16:08,250
And so he goes
to the authorities and says,

1528
01:16:08,370 --> 01:16:11,540
"In exchange for protection
and keeping myself alive,

1529
01:16:11,700 --> 01:16:13,000
I'm willing to talk."

1530
01:16:14,580 --> 01:16:16,830
And so the FBI takes him in.

1531
01:16:16,950 --> 01:16:20,620
They interview him,
and before long, he is

1532
01:16:20,790 --> 01:16:22,080
before congressional committee.

1533
01:16:22,200 --> 01:16:23,830
REPORTER:
The story of Joseph Valachi's

1534
01:16:23,950 --> 01:16:25,870
testimony today before
Senator McClellan's

1535
01:16:26,040 --> 01:16:27,830
investigating subcommittee.

1536
01:16:33,410 --> 01:16:35,950
Valachi is going to commit
the greatest sin of a mobster,

1537
01:16:36,080 --> 01:16:38,500
which is to break
the code of omertà.

1538
01:16:38,580 --> 01:16:40,700
Omertà is the code of silence.

1539
01:16:40,830 --> 01:16:43,080
"We do not talk to the law.

1540
01:16:43,200 --> 01:16:46,750
We do not talk to outsiders.
All of our business is private."

1541
01:16:46,870 --> 01:16:51,330
♪

1542
01:16:51,450 --> 01:16:54,370
REPORTER: The convicted hoodlum
whose confessions to the FBI

1543
01:16:54,500 --> 01:16:58,620
have reportedly put a price
of $100,000 on his head.

1544
01:16:59,950 --> 01:17:02,450
ED:
And Valachi breaks that code,

1545
01:17:02,540 --> 01:17:06,750
yanks the curtain back on all
the secrets of what the mob is.

1546
01:17:06,870 --> 01:17:09,790
For more than 30 years,
law enforcement

1547
01:17:09,910 --> 01:17:13,120
and the American public had
extremely limited information

1548
01:17:13,200 --> 01:17:16,040
when it came to the mafia
and how it operated.

1549
01:17:16,200 --> 01:17:19,500
Now, for the first time,
their questions

1550
01:17:19,580 --> 01:17:21,540
would be answered.

1551
01:17:21,700 --> 01:17:23,250
MAN: Do you solemnly swear
the evidence

1552
01:17:23,370 --> 01:17:25,830
you should give before
this Senate Select Committee

1553
01:17:25,910 --> 01:17:28,500
shall be the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth,

1554
01:17:28,660 --> 01:17:30,160
so help you God?

1555
01:17:30,290 --> 01:17:33,830
SELWYN: He actually disclosed
that there were

1556
01:17:33,950 --> 01:17:37,750
five Families in New York.

1557
01:17:37,870 --> 01:17:40,830
He put on the table
that the mafia

1558
01:17:40,950 --> 01:17:44,200
and Five Families existed,
and here were their names.

1559
01:17:46,250 --> 01:17:49,080
JOHN McLELLAN: Are you a member
of any such organization?

1560
01:17:49,200 --> 01:17:51,500
Yes, I am.

1561
01:17:51,660 --> 01:17:55,000
- What is the name--?
- I was.

1562
01:17:55,120 --> 01:17:57,330
JOHN McLELLAN:
What is the name of it?

1563
01:17:57,410 --> 01:18:01,750
It is Cosa Nostra in Italian.

1564
01:18:01,870 --> 01:18:04,200
JOHN McLELLAN:
Cosa Nostra in Italian.

1565
01:18:04,330 --> 01:18:09,250
"Our thing and our family,"
in English.

1566
01:18:09,370 --> 01:18:12,700
JOHN McLELLAN: "Our thing
and our family" in English.

1567
01:18:12,870 --> 01:18:14,750
We'll come back to that later,

1568
01:18:14,870 --> 01:18:17,500
but that is an organization,
is it,

1569
01:18:17,660 --> 01:18:21,160
that requires
absolute obedience?

1570
01:18:21,250 --> 01:18:25,660
- Yes.
- And conformity to its policy

1571
01:18:25,750 --> 01:18:29,120
as handed down
by those in authority?

1572
01:18:29,200 --> 01:18:31,120
Yes.

1573
01:18:31,200 --> 01:18:33,620
♪

1574
01:18:33,700 --> 01:18:36,160
JOHN McLELLAN: Why do you feel
like it should be destroyed?

1575
01:18:36,330 --> 01:18:40,330
Well, through the years,
I've, uh...

1576
01:18:40,540 --> 01:18:43,250
First of all, I want revenge.

1577
01:18:43,370 --> 01:18:48,870
Second of all, they've been
very, uh...

1578
01:18:49,000 --> 01:18:53,250
I say very bad to the soldiers,

1579
01:18:53,370 --> 01:18:54,790
and, you know, uh...

1580
01:18:54,870 --> 01:18:56,450
they've been thinking
for themselves

1581
01:18:56,540 --> 01:18:58,000
all through the years.

1582
01:18:58,160 --> 01:19:00,660
As the Senator put it before,
what did I get out of it?

1583
01:19:00,830 --> 01:19:02,750
- What'd you get out?
- Nothing but misery.

1584
01:19:02,910 --> 01:19:04,950
Misery was right.

1585
01:19:05,080 --> 01:19:07,000
And for New York's
Five Families,

1586
01:19:07,120 --> 01:19:09,500
there would be
much more of that to come.

1587
01:19:09,700 --> 01:19:11,910
♪

1588
01:19:17,870 --> 01:19:21,660
In the fall of 1963,
Joseph Valachi,

1589
01:19:21,750 --> 01:19:23,910
a soldier
in the Genovese Family

1590
01:19:24,040 --> 01:19:26,540
facing a murder charge,
cut a deal

1591
01:19:26,700 --> 01:19:28,120
with the Justice Department

1592
01:19:28,290 --> 01:19:30,580
and testified
on national television

1593
01:19:30,700 --> 01:19:34,540
before Senator John McClellan's
investigations committee.

1594
01:19:35,450 --> 01:19:36,700
ROGER MUDD:
Good afternoon.

1595
01:19:36,830 --> 01:19:39,160
What set off this latest
round of crime hearings

1596
01:19:39,250 --> 01:19:42,290
by the Senate's Permanent
Investigation Subcommittee was

1597
01:19:42,410 --> 01:19:45,330
the existence of one
Joseph Valachi, 60 years old,

1598
01:19:45,410 --> 01:19:48,250
convicted dope peddler,
convicted murderer,

1599
01:19:48,330 --> 01:19:51,080
and one time member
of the mafia, or Cosa Nostra.

1600
01:19:53,200 --> 01:19:56,000
ANTHONY:
He testified about the mafia,

1601
01:19:56,120 --> 01:19:59,080
about omertà,
about the structure, who is who,

1602
01:19:59,200 --> 01:20:01,870
about Genovese,
and about all the stories.

1603
01:20:02,000 --> 01:20:04,200
JOHN McLELLAN: Well, we might
ask you this time,

1604
01:20:04,330 --> 01:20:07,950
what are the different
positions in that organization?

1605
01:20:08,080 --> 01:20:11,080
Starting at the top,
what do you have?

1606
01:20:11,200 --> 01:20:14,830
They used to have what we call
the boss of all bosses.

1607
01:20:14,910 --> 01:20:17,290
JOHN McLELLAN:
The boss of all bosses.

1608
01:20:17,370 --> 01:20:21,700
All right. You say now,
however, there is a Commission.

1609
01:20:21,870 --> 01:20:24,700
Does it now have
a boss of all bosses?

1610
01:20:24,830 --> 01:20:26,870
No, no more boss of all bosses.

1611
01:20:27,040 --> 01:20:30,250
We have what we call...
is a Commission.

1612
01:20:30,370 --> 01:20:33,450
Charlie Luciano,
Charlie Lucky put it in effect.

1613
01:20:33,540 --> 01:20:39,410
And we had the individual bosses
of the individual Family.

1614
01:20:39,540 --> 01:20:42,000
Then we have an underboss.

1615
01:20:42,080 --> 01:20:44,540
Then we have what
we call a caporegime,

1616
01:20:44,660 --> 01:20:46,700
which is a lieutenant.

1617
01:20:46,830 --> 01:20:49,660
Then we have
what we call soldiers.

1618
01:20:49,790 --> 01:20:51,500
- Soldiers?
- Soldiers.

1619
01:20:51,620 --> 01:20:56,870
ANTHONY: Joe Valachi created
a storehouse of knowledge,

1620
01:20:57,040 --> 01:21:01,000
facts, impressions
about the structure

1621
01:21:01,160 --> 01:21:04,160
of organized crime
in the United States.

1622
01:21:04,620 --> 01:21:07,830
ALEX HORTIS: Joe Valachi's
testimony to the United States

1623
01:21:07,950 --> 01:21:11,080
was a seminal moment
because he gave

1624
01:21:11,200 --> 01:21:15,870
concrete evidence of what
these Families actually were,

1625
01:21:16,000 --> 01:21:18,290
that he actually
names names of bars

1626
01:21:18,370 --> 01:21:22,080
that the mafia owns,
and so he makes it real.

1627
01:21:22,160 --> 01:21:26,080
And he also tells, you know,
about all their secrets,

1628
01:21:26,200 --> 01:21:30,200
the initiation ceremonies,
how somebody was made a member.

1629
01:21:30,330 --> 01:21:34,540
He talks about killings.
He really does not hold back.

1630
01:21:34,700 --> 01:21:36,620
JOHN McLELLAN: Well,
this is a secret organization.

1631
01:21:36,700 --> 01:21:38,330
How do you get to know,

1632
01:21:38,410 --> 01:21:40,250
that someone is a member
of the same Family?

1633
01:21:40,370 --> 01:21:42,620
He'll introduce them to you,
for instance,

1634
01:21:42,750 --> 01:21:44,620
as a friend of ours.

1635
01:21:44,750 --> 01:21:46,370
That means a member.

1636
01:21:46,450 --> 01:21:50,410
Now, if he happens to be
with someone that isn't

1637
01:21:50,540 --> 01:21:53,080
a friend of ours,
he would just simply say,

1638
01:21:53,200 --> 01:21:55,750
"Meet a friend of mine,"
which means nothing.

1639
01:21:55,870 --> 01:21:57,830
That's the code between us.

1640
01:21:57,950 --> 01:21:59,660
So there was a code
that enabled you

1641
01:21:59,870 --> 01:22:01,200
to identify other members
of the Family?

1642
01:22:01,370 --> 01:22:03,330
Yes.

1643
01:22:03,450 --> 01:22:06,000
MAN: Did you do
anything for the Family at all

1644
01:22:06,120 --> 01:22:07,830
in this time, or did they
just do things for you?

1645
01:22:08,000 --> 01:22:10,250
Just go out, kill for them.

1646
01:22:10,410 --> 01:22:13,660
MAN: You'd go out, what?
- Kill for them.

1647
01:22:13,700 --> 01:22:17,410
ALEX HORTIS: And so,
the gangsters were, you know...

1648
01:22:17,540 --> 01:22:20,000
it's absolutely abhorrent
to them to have

1649
01:22:20,120 --> 01:22:23,620
all their secrets
spilled out into national TV.

1650
01:22:23,750 --> 01:22:25,580
♪

1651
01:22:25,700 --> 01:22:28,830
CLAIRE: Valachi really
does create this path forward

1652
01:22:29,000 --> 01:22:31,160
for any mob turncoats.

1653
01:22:31,330 --> 01:22:35,160
And what he does is shows
that there is a way

1654
01:22:35,330 --> 01:22:39,870
to become an informant
and still survive,

1655
01:22:40,040 --> 01:22:42,160
that there's a life after

1656
01:22:42,200 --> 01:22:44,330
for anyone who wants
to take that path.

1657
01:22:44,410 --> 01:22:48,040
And, you know, we'll see
that this continues to happen

1658
01:22:48,120 --> 01:22:50,620
after Valachi does it,
the, you know, floodgates

1659
01:22:50,750 --> 01:22:54,870
in a lot of ways are open
for the federal law enforcement,

1660
01:22:55,040 --> 01:22:56,120
and law enforcement in general,

1661
01:22:56,250 --> 01:22:58,750
to take advantage
of people who are willing

1662
01:22:58,870 --> 01:23:00,660
to break the code of omertà.

1663
01:23:00,750 --> 01:23:05,160
Joseph Valachi would die
in federal custody in 1971,

1664
01:23:05,250 --> 01:23:08,620
but his testimony would be
studied and scrutinized

1665
01:23:08,750 --> 01:23:11,620
by law enforcement
and journalists for decades.

1666
01:23:11,700 --> 01:23:15,250
From the outside,
Valachi's betrayal of omertà

1667
01:23:15,370 --> 01:23:17,540
provided the public
with a glimpse of what life

1668
01:23:17,660 --> 01:23:19,910
was like inside the mafia.

1669
01:23:20,040 --> 01:23:22,330
Amongst members
of the Five Families,

1670
01:23:22,450 --> 01:23:24,830
his testimony
was a grim reminder

1671
01:23:24,950 --> 01:23:28,500
of the looming existential
threat to their way of life.

1672
01:23:28,660 --> 01:23:30,620
♪

1673
01:23:30,750 --> 01:23:34,370
A life saturated in violence.

1674
01:23:34,540 --> 01:23:38,540
RITA GIGANTE: All I remember is
I'm underneath the table

1675
01:23:38,660 --> 01:23:42,120
and I remember
this guy hitting the floor

1676
01:23:42,250 --> 01:23:46,660
and his face was facing me
and he's bleeding.

1677
01:23:46,830 --> 01:23:51,370
I remember the hand coming down,
hitting him, coming up,

1678
01:23:51,500 --> 01:23:54,200
coming down,
hitting him, coming up.

1679
01:23:54,370 --> 01:23:56,000
And I knew it was my dad,

1680
01:23:56,120 --> 01:23:58,330
only because I remember
his pinky ring.

1681
01:23:58,450 --> 01:24:01,410
The last thing he did
was step on him,

1682
01:24:01,540 --> 01:24:04,000
and say, "Get him out of here.
I'm done."

1683
01:24:04,370 --> 01:24:08,160
A life far removed
from your typical 9:00 to 5:00.

1684
01:24:08,290 --> 01:24:10,790
I went on to college
for a couple of months

1685
01:24:10,910 --> 01:24:12,040
and I wound up walking away.

1686
01:24:12,160 --> 01:24:14,370
I had an argument
and I walked away.

1687
01:24:14,540 --> 01:24:16,660
And I guess you could say I took
the wrong train coming back.

1688
01:24:18,120 --> 01:24:20,370
Back when I was around
getting made,

1689
01:24:20,540 --> 01:24:22,160
you had to be part
of doing work.

1690
01:24:22,290 --> 01:24:24,080
Work meaning you had
to be part of a killing.

1691
01:24:25,200 --> 01:24:27,080
The night we killed Rick Mazzio,

1692
01:24:27,200 --> 01:24:29,120
my Uncle Al
was supposed to pick me up.

1693
01:24:29,250 --> 01:24:31,040
He was never there
to pick me up.

1694
01:24:31,160 --> 01:24:32,660
He said he got lost.

1695
01:24:32,790 --> 01:24:35,700
I got rid of the gun,

1696
01:24:35,870 --> 01:24:38,250
found my way back
over the Williamsburg Bridge.

1697
01:24:38,370 --> 01:24:41,000
Did he do it on purpose?
I don't know.

1698
01:24:41,120 --> 01:24:43,330
A life of respect.

1699
01:24:43,500 --> 01:24:47,620
A life earned through silence
and adhering to the rules.

1700
01:24:49,700 --> 01:24:51,120
Omertà.

1701
01:24:51,250 --> 01:24:53,500
For a soldier,
as you all understand,

1702
01:24:53,620 --> 01:24:54,870
once you're in, you're in.
You can't get out.

1703
01:24:55,000 --> 01:24:57,700
♪

1704
01:24:57,830 --> 01:25:00,950
On the next episode
of "American Godfathers:

1705
01:25:01,040 --> 01:25:02,370
The Five Families"...

1706
01:25:03,830 --> 01:25:05,700
TOM: Mobster Joe Columbo.
He's on the "Dick Cavett Show."

1707
01:25:05,830 --> 01:25:08,250
REPORTER: As one police mafia
expert put it,

1708
01:25:08,370 --> 01:25:10,330
a contract was fulfilled
this afternoon.

1709
01:25:10,410 --> 01:25:12,410
NARRATOR: A new generation
of mob bosses

1710
01:25:12,500 --> 01:25:14,200
come to rule New York City...

1711
01:25:14,370 --> 01:25:16,330
- Is there a mafia?
- No, there is not.

1712
01:25:16,410 --> 01:25:18,450
...with new strategies...

1713
01:25:18,540 --> 01:25:20,370
REPORTER: Joe Colombo
had organized a picket line

1714
01:25:20,500 --> 01:25:23,080
around FBI headquarters
in Manhattan.

1715
01:25:23,200 --> 01:25:25,200
NARRATOR:
...and new obstacles.

1716
01:25:25,330 --> 01:25:27,080
REPORTER: Galante was shielded
from photographers

1717
01:25:27,200 --> 01:25:28,620
by two of his daughters
as he arrived

1718
01:25:28,750 --> 01:25:31,160
at the federal courthouse
in Miami yesterday.

1719
01:25:31,250 --> 01:25:33,330
NARRATOR: The Families
continue to bend the rules

1720
01:25:33,500 --> 01:25:37,620
and evolve, as they move
through the 1960s and 1970s.

1721
01:25:37,700 --> 01:25:40,000
TOM: Joey Gallo starts to think,
"If the Black gangsters

1722
01:25:40,120 --> 01:25:42,160
"got organized,
they could team up with us.

1723
01:25:42,290 --> 01:25:44,580
We would really be
kings of the streets then."

1724
01:25:44,700 --> 01:25:46,250
Decades of change...

1725
01:25:46,370 --> 01:25:48,000
I walked 12 steps away.

1726
01:25:48,120 --> 01:25:49,660
And that's
when the shots fired out.

1727
01:25:49,790 --> 01:25:52,160
[gunshots]

1728
01:25:52,330 --> 01:25:54,200
...for law enforcement...

1729
01:25:54,330 --> 01:25:56,290
REPORTER: Eight men were taken
into custody today...

1730
01:25:56,370 --> 01:25:57,410
NARRATOR: New York City...

1731
01:25:57,540 --> 01:25:59,160
CHRISTOPHER:
New York lost almost

1732
01:25:59,290 --> 01:26:01,040
a million people in the 1970s.

1733
01:26:01,160 --> 01:26:02,450
...and the criminal underworld.

1734
01:26:02,580 --> 01:26:04,200
FRANK DIMATTEO:
Joey never acknowledged

1735
01:26:04,370 --> 01:26:05,870
that Joe Colombo
was going to be boss.

1736
01:26:06,000 --> 01:26:07,120
He refused him as boss.

1737
01:26:07,250 --> 01:26:08,500
Sort of like,
"Grease the pistols,"

1738
01:26:08,660 --> 01:26:09,870
you know, "The war is back on."