River Hills In keeping with last months subject about a team of cops running surveillance and catching somebody during a caper, this bonus episode Gary will tell about his first successful surveillance. As they used to say in Dragnet, I was assigned to the day watch out of Central Patrol, The Field Investigations Unit. Along with my partner, John Fraise, we responded to Police Headquarters to interview a larceny suspect. When we checked him out of Central Detention, we found our man wearing a se...
Jan 31, 2019
Larry “Lurch” Newman The FBI waits outside Bertha’s Gifts and Furnishings for the Hole in the Wall Gang In this third and final installment in my report on Tony Spilotro and his Hole in the Wall gang, the reader will learn how the gang plan a big burglary at Bertha’s Gifts and Furnishings. The only problem is they took in a government informant before the score. As they plan a huge score in the burglary of Bertha’s Gifts and Furnishings, Sal Romano reported every move to his FBI control. By 1981...
Jan 28, 2019
I am adding a new method of supporting the podcast. If you have the venmo app, how about donating an average of fifty cents an episode or just hit me up for a buck every time you think of it. In this second installment, I will talk about the activities of the Hole in the Wall gang as they stole, drank, gambled and ate pizza in Las Vegas. Remember during this time the Chicago outfit and 3 other Midwestern families had manipulated the Teamsters Union pension fund to loan money to a man named Allen...
Jan 21, 2019
The making of the Hole in the Wall Series I am adding a new method of supporting the podcast. If you have the venmo app, how about donating an average of fifty cents an episode or just hit me up for a buck every time you think of it. Now on with the show. This is the first of a 3 part series telling the story of the Chicago Outfit member Tony Spilotro Hole in the Wall Gang. In this first episode, your hosts tell about the early beginnings and the Las Vegas background that allowed such a gang to ...
Jan 14, 2019
Hole in the Wall Gang Frank Cullotta Frank Cullotta committed many crimes and had long been part of a burglary gang in Chicago. Gangland Wire is releasing a 3 part series on Tony Spilotro and his Hole in the Wall Gang burglary gang Our main source of interviews comes from Frank Cullotta, a former gang leader. Frank emerged from the Witness Protection program to author several books with well known true crime author Denny Griffin, act and work as a mob film technical adviser and currently operate...
Jan 09, 2019
Robert Cooley testifies In this 4th and final episode chronicling the life and times of feared Chicago outfit enforcer Harry “The Hook” Aleman, Gary, and David Byrne of the Facebook page The Chicago Outfit Old and Current news and articles, discuss the witness Robert Cooley who will testify that the judge in Aleman’s first trial took a bribe. This revelation destroys Aleman’s double jeopardy protection and how the government was able to force Aleman to stand trial a second time after being found...
Dec 24, 2018
Lou Almeida This is the third of a four-part series on one of the most feared enforcers in the history if the Chicago Outfit. In this episode the Gary discusses how Lou Almeida and Harry Aleman murder Billy Logan hit with Chicago Outfit – Old and Current News and Articles Facebook page administrator and Outfit expert Mike Byrne. In 1975, a state trooper arrested Lou Almeida in Ohio en route to a murder “some guy” in Pittsburgh. I could not find any more about this guy he was supposed to kill but...
Dec 17, 2018
Harry Aleman and Butch Petrocelli Harry Aleman matured into a full-fledged member of the Chicago Outfit. It was like he was born to fill the purpose of stealing, intimidating, and serving Chicago Outfit bosses in many ways. Although he was slightly built, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 145 pounds, Aleman became so feared in underworld circles in the 1970s that small-time hoodlums trying to collect gambling debts simply invoked his name to collect. Two Chicago loan sharks were convicted of extortion an...
Dec 10, 2018
Harry Aleman – the early years We talk with Mike Byrne, Administrator of the popular Facebook group The Chicago Outfit – Old and Current News Articles. Harry “The Hook” Aleman was born Harry Peralt Alemen on January 19, 1939 in Chicago. He has been accused of as many as 18 murders by the Chicago Crime Commission and most folks believe that number is way low. He was an important tool in the Outfit’s enforcement of street tax on bookmakers and other gray area businesses like porn shops and the bar...
Dec 07, 2018
Carlo Morelli was born in the Italian section of Chicago known as the Patch. While we often tell negative stories about young men who came out of the Patch, this episode and the next episode will tell about a talented young man of Italian descent who overcame the negative influences of the culture and how he overcame and grew up to have a long and successful career in fashion design, the hospitality business and finally as a chef and television host. In this and the next episode, Mr. Morelli rec...
Dec 07, 2018
In this podcast, Aaron and I interview our friend who is a former prison guard at the maximum security federal prison at Marion, Illinois. He will talk about the procedures in handling high profile prisoners and special circumstances like dealing with former informants inside the system. Breaking news, a known Springfield, Massachusetts area mob member and others entered the cell of Boston gangster and former FBI Top Echelon informant James “Whitey” Bulger and beat him to death with padlocks dep...
Nov 02, 2018
Aaron and Gary go into the real story behind the French Connection, a popular film staring Gene Hackman. The French Connection film followed Robin Moore’s true crime book that documented the exploits of famous New York Police narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso. In this episode Gary and Arron examine the real story behind how these two detectives exposed the largest heroin ring in New York City. Don’t forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show. To go to the our store click h...
Oct 22, 2018
Retired FBI agent Bill Ouseley discusses the history of heroin use and trafficking in the Untied States. During the mid-1800s, Chinese immigrants arriving in California introduced opium smoking to America and soon organized gangs were smuggling and distributing opium throughout the region. Opium dens and the habit of getting high on this drug spread across the United States. The Harrison Act of 1914 made the use of these heroin and other opiates illegal except for medical purposes. By 1925, a bl...
Oct 08, 2018
In Part 2, David, Aaron and Gary discuss Sam Momo Giacana and his rise in the ranks and how that leads to his downfall. Momo Giancana would rise to the top of the Chicago Outfit duing the 1960s and 1970s. He will become a high profile gangster who draws the attention of the press and the FBI. Agent Bill Rohmer and other Chicago agents will commence Operation Lockstep and follow Momo everywhere he went in a very aggressive manner. Momo Giancana will go to court and get an order requiring the agen...
Sep 24, 2018
Kenny “Kenji” Gallo was born to a well to do Japanese-American family in ritzy suburban Orange County, California. Kenji started his criminal career as a quiet but hyperactive kid who entered into the drug trafficking world of the cocaine fueled 1980s in Southern California. He became a gun-toting international drug trafficker who owned a nightclub, produced porn movies, and was arrested for the murder of his own best friend. He married a porn star and became a jet-setting playboy thug. Kenji wo...
Sep 10, 2018
When Aaron and I were at the MobWorld Summit 2018, we had the opportunity to interview Ron Fino. I met him at the previous Las Vegas Mob Con when we were co-presenters in 2104. Ron Fino was born into a Buffalo mob family, the son of a Mafia Capo, Joe Fino. As an adult, Ron would see how the mob boss Stefano Magaddino, corrupted unions and government officials. Ron joined the corrupt Laborers’ Local 210, controlled by Magaddino. he stood up for his union members and was elected business manager o...
Aug 20, 2018
For our media on Monday, the Kansas City Mob is the subject of your interview of a retired Kansas City Star reporter who covered the Kansas City Mob extensively in their 1970s heyday. Harry Jones developed sources deep within the mob and federal and state law enforcement. He even shared one professional informant used by the media, the FBI and the Kansas City police Intelligence Unit. Don’t forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show. To go to the our store click here To rent Gangland Wir...
Aug 06, 2018
Movie coupleMichael Pitt Nina AriandaReal CoupleTommy Uva, Rosemarie DeToma Tommy Uva thought he was smart In the movie, Tommy Uva made the mob guys strip to their underwear and lay on top of each other and act like they were humping the bottom guy. I found nothing to substantiate that but I did find that Tommy Uva did make them drop their pants as he made his escape to the waiting Rosemarie. They did use the exact same Mercury Topaz and never changed the license plate as best I can tell. The FB...
Jul 23, 2018
Rob the Mob Movie In this first of a 2-part series, Gary and Aaron reveal that John Gotti inspired the Bonnie and Clyde couple made famous for robbing New York City mafia social clubs. The story was made into a crime film in 2014. Rob the Mob was directed by Raymond De Felitta and written by Jonathan Fernandez. The film stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy García, Ray Romano, Aida Turturro, Frank Whaley, Michael Rispoli, and Joseph R. Gannascoli and is based on a true story. It was released on...
Jul 16, 2018
Peter Gotti and Michael DiLeonardo New York Mafia expert Ed Scarpo tells about his relationship with Michael DiLeonardo, aka Mikey Scars, since he went into the witness protection program. DiLeonardo gives very few interviews but he did give this one Ed Scarpo of www.cosanostranews.com. After the incarceration of John Gotti, the Commission allowed his older brother Peter Gotti to be acting as the Gambino Family boss of the Gambinos. Ed tells us that after Michael DiLeonardo was indicted for labo...
Jul 03, 2018
In this second of a two part interview with former Las Vegas newsman and current Mob Museum blogger Larry Henry we talk Vegas and the mob and about the famous muckraking reporter Ned Day. Larry was the political editor at the Las Vegas Sun during those days. Back when “the mob ran the town.” Currently, Larry is an official blogger for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas and as as his own blog titled The Mafia Chronicles. Yes he is. Last week, Larry told us about Day’s colorful exploits began in his mobb...
Jun 11, 2018
In this first of a two part interview with former Las Vegas newsman and current Mob Museum blogger Larry Henry we talk Vegas and the mob and about the famous muckraking reporter Ned Day. Ned Day Since we could not interview the late Ned Day, we opted for a man who knew him and the organized crime beat Day covered in 1970s Las Vegas. Larry was the political editor at the Las Vegas Sun during those days in Sin City when some would say “the mob ran the town.” He left Vegas for the slower paced life...
Jun 04, 2018
Our friend from the federal prison at Marion, former guard David, continues in this episode telling about his experiences with New York City crime boss, John Gotti. We learn that when Gotti arrived at the Reception and Diagnostic Unit, he was greeted like royalty by other prisoners. David tells about the day-to-day life of the famous mob boss was like inside the walls of Marion. Learn more about his relationship with the feared prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood. David was the second guard to ar...
May 07, 2018
If you have not listened to the 7 part interview with the parachuting skyjacker Martin J. McNally, please stop and go back to listen to those episodes. In this episode, David, a retired Marion prison guard, recounts stories from his life as a guard in the maximum security prison at Marion Illinois. During his time at the facility, he was assigned to the cell block where Martin J. McNally resided. David came to the prison after McNally’s dramatic escape attempts with another well known skyjacker,...
Apr 30, 2018
We interview noted mob historian and author Scott Deitche about his latest book, Garden State Gangland and the listener learns about the New Jersey crime families. As a bonus, Scott also tells the Wiretappers about Santos Trafficante Jr. and the development of the Tampa crime family. Scott has written six books on organized crime, including Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey, Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld, The Silent Don: The World of Santo Tr...
Apr 23, 2018
Jose Miguel Battle David Shanks spent most of his law enforcement career working on Jose Miguel Battle and his mafia organization known as The Corporation. Jose Miguel Battle started his life as a corrupt police sergeant taking bribes from american mobsters like Meyer Lansky and passing them along to corrupt Cuban officials in the Batista government. Battle joined the CIA backed anti-Castro revolutionaries and was captured at the Bay of Pigs. Jose Miguel Battle became known as the “Hero of the B...
Apr 16, 2018
Jose Miguel Battle David Shanks spent most of his law enforcement career working on Jose Miguel Battle and his mafia organization known as The Corporation. Jose Miguel Battle started his life as a corrupt police sergeant taking bribes from american mobsters like Meyer Lansky and passing them along to corrupt Cuban officials in the Batista government. Battle joined the CIA backed anti-Castro revolutionaries and was captured at the Bay of Pigs. Jose Miguel Battle became known as the “Hero of the B...
Apr 09, 2018
Bill Norton covered the Kansas City mob boss Nick Civella and the crime beat for the Kansas City Star newspaper from his first day as a reporter. In the 1970s, the KC Police Department furnished a bare bones office with one desk and a telephone for the crime reporter. Bill did not report to the Star offices but rather went to work each day at police headquarters. He developed police sources as well as many criminal sources during his tenure. Bill gradually was able to leave the reporting of day ...
Apr 02, 2018
Support Gangland Wire Scott Bernstein was one of my first contacts in the true crime mob world. I found his website and blog Gangster Report and realized this guy was a serious student of organized crime. another thing I notices was he also had developed his own sources within the criminal organizations as well as law enforcement. He does a podcast with his co-host Al Profit, Click here to go to the feed. Scott comes from the infamous Bernstein family who created Detroit’s Purple Gang. Abe Berns...
Mar 05, 2018
Support Gangland Wire The famous and controversial F.B.I. agent Melvin Purvis was most famous for his fanatical pursuit of the Midwest bank robbing gangs led by John Dillinger and George “Baby Face” Nelson. We like to find those other lesser known stories about well known criminals and the men who investigate them. We found a first hand account of the Battle of Little Bohemia in a 1937 newspaper article written by Melvin Purvis. After Escaping the Crown Point Jail on January 24, 1934, (click her...
Feb 19, 2018
