Original subtitles

[♪]

Gangs rule their territories through ruthless enterprises,

fear,

and a strict code.

Deviate from this code

or challenge their power,

and retribution soon follows...

especially for the calculating

and innovative Cleveland Mafia.

This disciplined outfit

builds an impressive money-making empire,

only for it to collapse into ruin.

[sirens wailing]

Here are three stories

from one of the mob's most industrious crime families.

First, the Cleveland Mafia bets big

on a risky new venture in the West.

[Schumacher] Banks did not want to invest

in Las Vegas,

so it was the mob that brought that money here.

[Narrator] Next, an unexpected death

jeopardizes their control over Cleveland.

The whole thing falls apart to this total chaos.

[Narrator] Finally, a member of the family

breaks the code of silence

and exposes the inner workings of the entire American Mafia.

[Jarroush] It doesn't matter what the deal is.

You don't snitch, you don't rat.

[Narrator] These are the stories

from the Cleveland Mafia.

This is Gangland Chronicles.

1944.

Cleveland, Ohio.

After building a fortune on bootlegging

during Prohibition,

the Cleveland Mafia expands their operation

in every direction.

[Monastra] Whether it was from extortion,

the numbers racket,

fixing races at the racetrack,

the Cleveland Mob

dealt in dealing with whatever they could

to make a buck.

[Narrator] Their numerous criminal enterprises

are overseen by Cleveland's shrewd boss,

John Scalish.

John Scalish was known

for being very careful in his business affairs.

He was focused on the money.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] The Cleveland family

tended to want to have one foot

in their organized crime activities,

and one foot in legitimate businesses.

[Narrator] But beneath

the appearance of respectability,

the Cleveland Mafia is ruthless

and cunning.

My grandfather, Frank Brancato,

his legitimate job was as a car salesman,

but he was a bank robber and a murderer.

The violence did happen when it needed to happen,

but the murders are usually very well planned

and not detected.

[Narrator] Cleveland keeps its crimes under wraps

by strict observance of Omertà,

the Mafia code of silence.

Once you started talking about the family business,

it could be your life.

[gunshot]

[Narrator] Scalish's key advisor,

or consigliere,

is Milton Rockman,

leader of the Jewish Crime Syndicate.

[Monastra] Milton Rockman had the connection

in the major cities of organized crime.

People knew who he was.

[Narrator] Through Rockman,

the Cleveland Mob adds casinos across Ohio and Kentucky

to their growing list of cash businesses.

Gambling became just a centerpiece

of the Cleveland Mob's revenue.

[bells ringing]

[Narrator] With some local casinos

pulling in as much as $300,000 a week,

almost four million today,

the Cleveland Mob is raking it in.

Now they have their eyes on an even bigger payout,

but it requires a big gamble.

1949.

Las Vegas.

Seeing unlimited potential,

Mafia outfits from coast to coast

start investing in this tiny desert town,

but the Cleveland Mob hasn't...

at least, not yet.

Milton Rockman spots an opportunity

with the Desert Inn,

a casino resort

that is the brainchild

of entrepreneur Wilbur Clark,

but there's a catch...

the resort is only half built.

[Schumacher] Wilbur Clark

did not have the capital he needed

to complete the Desert Inn.

[Narrator] Rockman pitches John Scalish on investing,

but the stakes are high.

The Desert Inn needs a big influx of cash

just to open its doors...

$1.3 million,

16.8 million today.

[Monastra] John was hesitant

about putting the money into it

because you're investing in outside business

that you can't control.

[Narrator] Other Mafia outfits

have been burned by Vegas...

perhaps none more famous

than the New York Mafia's disastrous financing

of Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo Hotel.

The Flamingo cost a lot more

than it was supposed to.

[Monastra] The New York families got upset

over what was happening there.

[Narrator] Bugsy Siegel is mysteriously murdered.

Some believe he paid the price for losing Mafia money.

Now Wilbur Clark has to make sure

he can deliver on the Desert Inn.

[Green] When you are a part of a business with the Mob,

if you cross them,

there's a pretty good chance you're in serious trouble.

[Narrator] 1950.

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Backed by money from the Cleveland Mafia,

entrepreneur Wilbur Clark completes construction

on his hotel casino,

the Desert Inn.

Will Clark be able to satisfy his investors,

or will its open flop...

[gunshot]

like Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo?

The Desert Inn opened April 24th, 1950...

[♪]

...and it was a hit right away.

[Narrator] But Wilbur Clark is not out of the woods yet.

He needs to make sure the Desert Inn pays off big

for his Mafia backers.

As long as Clark is not being a problem,

he's fine,

and that's really

how you have to deal with organized crime,

but don't cross them.

[Narrator] Wilbur Clark keeps the Cleveland Mafia happy

with a cut of the Desert Inn's cash profits,

$40,000 a month.

That's almost $5 million a year today.

What you were seeing with Las Vegas

was big money right off the bat,

and this went on for years.

[Narrator] Despite taking control

over a portion of Vegas,

unexpected events

threaten their grasp over Cleveland.

May 26, 1976.

Cleveland, Ohio.

[medical monitors beeping]

Cleveland Mafia boss John Scalish

undergoes a scheduled heart procedure.

[Monastra] Open heart surgery in '76

was a major concern,

but the doctor said it went well.

[monitor flatlining]

Unfortunately,

John died in the recovery room.

[Narrator] There's even more shocking news.

No one knows

who the next boss of the Cleveland Mafia will be.

[Schumacher] The fact that Scalish

had not named a successor,

it left a void in Cleveland

that a number of different people

wanted to fill.

[Narrator] But there's a problem.

For years,

John Scalish hasn't been making new members,

and pickings are slim.

In the running to lead the Cleveland Mafia

are veteran capo James Licavoli...

the wild card, local union brass John Nardi,

who was not recognized as a full member

of the Cleveland Mafia...

John Nardi was always angry,

always looking for a fight.

[Narrator] ...and the favorite,

Scalish's underboss,

Angelo Lonardo.

But Milton Rockman threw a bomb into the mix.

Scalish wanted James Licavoli to take over.

[Narrator] But while the rest of the Cleveland Mob

pledges loyalty to Licavoli,

John Nardi refuses.

Nardi was not going to play by the rules

of the Cleveland family.

He was going to fight

to try to get that job of the boss.

[Monastra] John Nardi needed an ally

that hated the Cleveland organization

as much as he did,

and that was Danny Greene.

[Narrator] Danny Greene is an Irish American mobster.

His ambition and love of violence

makes him the perfect partner for John Nardi.

[Schumacher] Danny Greene had great aspirations

to take over the rackets from the Italian Americans,

so from the Cleveland Mob standpoint,

he needed to be eliminated.

[Narrator] But in the battle for Cleveland,

it's John Nardi and Danny Greene who strike first.

August 22, 1976.

Police find the car

of Cleveland underboss

Leo Moceri.

The trunk is covered in blood.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] There was never any trace of a body,

but there was bragging

that Danny Greene asked Nardi to kill Leo Moceri.

[Narrator] Licavoli vows revenge,

igniting an all-out war with Nardi and Greene.

It was just a free-for-all

of who could kill who first.

[Narrator] As the body count rises on both sides,

the struggle for control of the city's underworld

puts the Cleveland Mafia's empire at risk.

[Narrator] 1976.

Cleveland, Ohio.

The deadly battle

between new Mafia boss James Licavoli

and challengers Danny Greene and John Nardi

explodes across the city.

There were 31 bombings in that timeframe.

[Schumacher] Cleveland became a chaotic violent mess

for several years

when everybody was vying for this power.

[Narrator] May 17, 1977.

After several failed attempts,

Cleveland Mob boss James Licavoli

gets another chance to take out John Nardi.

The Mafia retaliates

by getting Nardi in the quiet, small parking lot

by the Teamsters Union.

[Narrator] John Nardi's death

does nothing to stop his ally, Danny Greene.

They tried to kill him three times.

[Schumacher] Danny Greene felt like he was invincible,

like he was a cat with nine lives.

[Monastra] Licavoli was putting more and more pressure

on his underlings

to get Danny Greene.

"Where is he?

What is he doing?

We have to get to him."

They were desperate.

[Narrator] October 6, 1977,

the Cleveland Mafia takes their biggest risk yet.

Hitmen park a car filled with dynamite

next to Danny Greene's car

while he's at a dental appointment.

When they saw Danny Greene coming out,

and he got into his car,

they hit the button to detonate the bomb.

[Narrator] Danny Greene dies in the explosion,

but the public display of midday violence

leaves the Cleveland Mafia exposed.

[Monastra] They got desperate,

doing it in broad daylight.

There were other people in the area,

and they paid the price for it.

[Narrator] Eyewitness accounts

lead to the conviction of three men

for Danny Greene's murder,

but Licavoli remains untouchable.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] There was no way that anybody believed

that these three people just on their own

had come up with this idea to kill Danny Greene.

In the federal system,

we had better statutes

that we might be able to get the higher-level people.

[Narrator] 1982.

Federal prosecutors use the RICO statutes

to convict James Licavoli and other Cleveland mobsters

with conspiracy to commit the murder of Danny Greene.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] Licavoli never spoke to anyone in jail.

He followed Omertà.

[Narrator] With Licavoli out of the picture,

Angelo Lonardo becomes the mob's acting boss.

As he moves into the crosshairs of federal prosecutors,

his actions will soon seal the fate

of the Cleveland Mafia.

1982.

Federal prosecutors go after what's left

of the Cleveland Mafia,

a handful of members

led by acting boss Angelo Lonardo.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] To survive,

they made an alliance with people

who would probably never be part of a Mafia family.

They were more or less career criminals,

especially very involved in drugs,

and some of them were very involved in murders,

and that's what led to my case.

[Narrator] In 1983,

federal prosecutors convict Angelo Lonardo

on RICO charges

for overseeing a drug ring and eight murders.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] At that time,

very few bosses had been successfully prosecuted.

It was a huge thing nationally

that we had succeeded in that way.

[Narrator] Angelo Lonardo is sentenced to prison

for life.

[Monastra] Angelo Lonardo,

he was in his 70s at the time,

in 1983.

It was the pressure of

you're going to spend the rest of your life in jail,

or do you want to get out and live a peaceful life?

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] One of the FBI agents

had been visiting him and left a card,

and when he heard that his appeal was denied,

he called that agent and said,

"Are you still there?"

Just those four words.

[Narrator] What he does next

sends shockwaves throughout the American Mafia.

[Narrator] 1985.

Cleveland.

Faced with spending his final years in prison,

acting mob boss Angelo Lonardo

calls the FBI,

saying he wants to talk.

The agents immediately picked him up,

and he said, "I can tell you

about almost every Mafia boss in the country."

[Narrator] Lonardo and the government make a deal.

In exchange for his freedom,

Lonardo must testify

in any case prosecutors demand...

but in saving himself,

Lonardo turns his back

on the Mafia's most important rule.

One of the rules when you're in the mob,

when you're in the Mafia,

is this rule of Omertà.

You don't snitch, you don't rat.

It doesn't matter what the deal is.

He was one of the highest-ranking Mafia bosses

ever to violate Omertà,

and come forward and say,

"I am going to tell you everything I know

about this criminal underworld."

[Narrator] Lonardo is a witness for the prosecution

in Mafia cases in Chicago and Detroit,

and he's also a star witness

in the landmark Commission Trial

against New York's Five Families

and the American Mafia's national leadership.

[Schumacher] The decision by Angelo Lonardo to flip

put the fear into mob bosses

all over the country, really,

because Angelo Lonardo knew people

in every city in America,

and he knew what they were doing.

[Jarroush] He starts to talk about how the Cleveland Mob

had teamed up with other outfits

from places like Chicago, to Milwaukee, to Kansas City,

to not only skim this money from casinos,

but then use that money

to further invest the Mafia's interests

in the construction of Las Vegas casinos.

[Monastra] He gave the whole gamut

of what was going on with this operation,

and that helped to seal the fate

of I think it was 17 different mob guys

throughout the country.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] Every prosecution was successful,

and it's pretty much the upper echelon

of each Mafia family all across the country.

[Narrator] Finally, as the last part of his deal,

Angelo Lonardo appears before the US Senate in 1988,

publicly airing

the American Mafia's secret inner workings.

My name is Angelo Lonardo.

I am 77 years old,

and I am a member of La Cosa Nostra.

By pulling back the curtain

and sort of revealing the Mafia politics

behind how decisions are made,

the government is now seeing

that this is a multi-tiered organization

with numerous people involved.

That brought the limelight to what the Mafia was all about,

from the skimming

and the drug-smuggling aspects of it.

Angelo Lonardo gave it all,

which was something to where I think

he was cleansing his own soul for the things he did.

[Narrator] After the bloody turf war of the 1970s

and the criminal cases of the 1980s

take out the Cleveland Mob leadership,

the airing of its innermost secrets

deals a fatal blow

to this once thriving criminal organization.

[Congeni Fitzsimmons] Having the same boss for 32 years,

that was a great thing,

but it led to the whole thing falling apart,

because a successor

who really probably wasn't the most qualified

comes in,

and everything that's happening around him

leads to some bad decisions

that really bring about the fall of the entire family.

The rise and fall of the Cleveland Mafia

pretty well follows the pattern that we have seen

in other cities across America.

During the '50s, '60s, '70s,

this was really Peak Mob.

By the 1980s, and certainly the 1990s,

the traditional organized crime in America

was a shadow of its former self.