He coupled legal scholarship with courtroom wit to decimate the prosecution’s cases against Mafia bosses. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Organized Crime”
Where Is Pete Panto?
By Gotham Rex on July 9, 2022
A union leader on the Brooklyn docks disappeared 81 years ago, presumably murdered by the mob. Source: New York Times
Book Review: ‘The Gotti Wars,’ by John Gleeson
By Gotham Rex on April 29, 2022
John Gleeson’s “The Gotti Wars” is a memoir about what it took to jail America’s star gangster. Source: New York Times
Dominic Taddeo, Escaped Mob Hit Man, Is Recaptured in Florida
By Gotham Rex on April 5, 2022
The apprehension of Dominic Taddeo, a notorious hit man from New York, came a week after he failed to return from a medical appointment to his halfway house in Florida. Source: New York Times
New York Mob Hit Man Escapes Federal Custody, Officials Say
By Gotham Rex on April 1, 2022
With less than a year before he would likely be released, Dominic Taddeo did not return to a halfway house in Florida earlier this week, officials said. Source: New York Times
Supreme Court Stops New Jersey From Dissolving Watchdog Agency
By Gotham Rex on March 24, 2022
New York officials object to their neighbor’s move to eliminate an agency that was created to keep organized crime off the local docks. Source: New York Times
He’s Been a Killer and a Mob Associate. Is He a Hit Man?
By Gotham Rex on March 24, 2022
George Bratsenis appears in a New Jersey court today to enter a plea in a murder-for-hire case. Source: New York Times
Future of Agency Created to Keep Mob Off Docks Now Up to Supreme Court
By Gotham Rex on March 14, 2022
New Jersey wants to dissolve a product of the “On the Waterfront” era. New York wants the country’s highest court to keep the bistate commission alive. Source: New York Times
With ‘The Godfather,’ Art Imitated Mafia Life. And Vice Versa.
By Gotham Rex on March 9, 2022
Federal wiretaps and Mob insiders suggest that many real-life wiseguys turned to the 1972 film for inspiration, validation and cues on how to speak and act and dress. Source: New York Times
A New Search for Jimmy Hoffa
By Gotham Rex on November 22, 2021
A deathbed statement by a man who claimed to have buried Hoffa’s body, repeated years later by his son, sent the F.B.I. to Jersey City for a “site survey.” Source: New York Times
Search for Jimmy Hoffa Leads the F.B.I. to Jersey City Landfill
By Gotham Rex on November 18, 2021
A deathbed statement by a man who claimed to bury the Teamster boss’ body in a steel drum brought agents to the site for an inspection. Source: New York Times
He Was a Boxer and Married to the Mob. He Wasn’t Prepared for Guardianship.
By Gotham Rex on November 17, 2021
Marvin Stein lived an eventful and prosperous life. But a battle among his family over his fortune broke out in his 88th year, and he suddenly found himself powerless to fight for himself. Source: New York Times
Colombo Family Crime Boss and 12 Others Are Arrested, Prosecutors Say
By Gotham Rex on September 14, 2021
An indictment unsealed on Tuesday accuses the organization of orchestrating a two-decade scheme to extort a labor union. Source: New York Times
R. Kelly Trial: Decades of Accusations in the Making
By Gotham Rex on August 17, 2021
The R&B artist was acquitted 13 years ago. But the culture around allegations of sexual misconduct has shifted dramatically since then, and he faces more formidable charges this time. Source: New York Times
James Kallstrom Dies at 78; Led F.B.I. Review of T.W.A. Crash
By Gotham Rex on July 8, 2021
As the F.B.I. chief in New York, he spent 16 months investigating why Flight 800 crashed 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 people on board. Source: New York Times