r/Mafia Feb 16 '23

r/Mafia info thread - new users MUST read (updated 2.16.2023)

102 Upvotes

Posts from accounts with less than 50 comment karma will be deleted by auto-mod.


Welcome to r/Mafia.

This sub-reddit features stories, interviews, documentary and news articles about organized crime around the world with a main focus on Italian Organized Crime. This thread will be used for various functions, The book lists and Ask A Question threads will be rolled into this one. I will also be using it as a FAQ and will begin removing threads which ask questions already here. If you have any questions that should be added to the FAQ, or books that should be added to the list please respond to this thread.

If you wish to contact me directly, please do not send me a chat, I don't see them. Send a message to modmail, DM me directly, or even tag me on our discord (see below).

last edited: 3/30/24

r/Mafia Rules

  • Please only share organized crime related content.

  • Keep self-promotional posts to a minimum. If you are a very active contributor to the subreddit, you are allowed to occasionally submit the best content from your site. If you're not sure if you qualify, please message the mods. Violation can result in a permanent ban of your username and website domain.

  • Vote manipulation on submissions will result in a permanent ban.

  • Be Respectful. Abusive comments will be subject to removal. Continued abuse will result in permanent ban. Remember to follow reddiquette.

  • Picture submissions should NOT include family or random unconnected people. Photos including such individuals should have them censored in some way, leaving only the organized crime subject visible. Exceptions: Long deceased persons, those famous for their relationships with gangsters, and those who have involved themselves via articles, interviews, documentaries and books, i.e. Victoria and Angel Gotti.

  • NSFW submissions (i.e. crime scene photos/videos) MUST use the NSFW option when posted.

  • New Reddit Accounts: Posts from accounts with less than 50 comment karma will be deleted by auto-mod.

  • Sopranos quotes will be removed. Offenders will be banned.

  • Submissions that are links MUST use the "post a new link" option not "Submit new text post".

  • Please report any submissions that violate our rules.


r/Mafia Discord

  • Join our discord server here

  • modded by community members Il Norte and 00NizarSoccer and sub moderator slumpadoochous

  • Don't forget to visit our meme/shitposting subreddit r/OCcirclejerk


r/Mafia FAQ

see:Common Mafia myths debunked


r/Mafia Top Book Recommendations

  • The Five Families : Selwynn Raab
  • Murder Machine : Gene Mustain & Jerry Capeci
  • The Sicilian Mafia: Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia : John Dickie
  • The Sixth Family : Adrian Humphreys & Lee Lamothe
  • The Good Fellas Tapes : George Anastasia
  • Underboss : Peter Maas
  • Paddywhacked : TJ English
  • Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia : Joseph Pistone & Richard Woodley
  • History of The Mafia : Salvatore Lupo
  • Blood & Honour : George Anastasia
  • Supermob : Gus Russo
  • Family Affair : Sam Giancana & Scott Burnstein
  • The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob : Frank Hayde
  • The Milwaukee Mafia : Gavin Schmitt
  • The Life and Times of Frank Balisteri : Wayne Clingman
  • The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino : Matt Birkbeck
  • Mob Over Miami : Michelle McPhee
  • Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano : Howie Carr
  • The Sinatra Club : Sal Polisi & Steve Dougherty
  • Man of Honour : Joseph Bonanno
  • The Valachi Papers : Peter Maas
  • The Westies: TJ English
  • Mafia Prince : Phil Leonetti, Scott Burnstein & Christopher Graziano
  • Black Mass : Dick Lehr
  • The Black Hand : Chris Blatchford (Mexican Mafia)
  • Garden City Gangland : Scott Deitch

Previous threads: 1 | 2


Mafia news and research resources:


Youtube Channels & Podcasts


Youtube Full Length Documentaries

Please report any broken links

last edited 2.16.2023


r/Mafia Nov 01 '25

r/Mafia Book Recommendations 2025

53 Upvotes

r/Mafia Top Book Recommendations

  • The Five Families : Selwynn Raab
  • Murder Machine : Gene Mustain & Jerry Capeci
  • The Sicilian Mafia: Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia : John Dickie
  • The Sixth Family : Adrian Humphreys & Lee Lamothe
  • The Good Fellas Tapes : George Anastasia
  • Underboss : Peter Maas
  • Paddywhacked : TJ English
  • Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia : Joseph Pistone & Richard Woodley
  • History of The Mafia : Salvatore Lupo
  • Blood & Honour : George Anastasia
  • Supermob : Gus Russo
  • Family Affair : Sam Giancana & Scott Burnstein
  • The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob : Frank Hayde
  • The Milwaukee Mafia : Gavin Schmitt
  • The Life and Times of Frank Balisteri : Wayne Clingman
  • The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino : Matt Birkbeck
  • Mob Over Miami : Michelle McPhee
  • Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano : Howie Carr
  • The Sinatra Club : Sal Polisi & Steve Dougherty
  • Man of Honour : Joseph Bonanno
  • The Valachi Papers : Peter Maas
  • The Westies: TJ English
  • Mafia Prince : Phil Leonetti, Scott Burnstein & Christopher Graziano
  • Black Mass : Dick Lehr
  • The Black Hand : Chris Blatchford (Mexican Mafia)
  • Garden City Gangland : Scott Deitch

Previous threads: 1 | 2

Add your recommendations below. A new updated thread will be added in the new year.


r/Mafia 7h ago

Former Bonanno consigliere (shelved) John Zancocchio at his birthday party. Looks like he's worried the cake was gifted by Michael Mancuso

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58 Upvotes

r/Mafia 3h ago

Where did the FBI draw the line with Gregory Scarpa?

24 Upvotes

The FBI using Scarpa during investigations into KKK violence in Mississippi is still one of the crazier parts of his story. It’s also why By Any Means caught my attention. The movie takes that history and builds a thriller around the FBI turning to a mob informant when the normal approach isn’t getting results.That raises the part I’m most curious about. How far could the FBI let someone like Scarpa go before using him became worse than the problem they were trying to solve?

Do you think the FBI crossed that line with Scarpa?


r/Mafia 7h ago

Former Corleonesi boss Salvatore “Toto” Riina

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37 Upvotes

r/Mafia 10h ago

I wonder why no one considered making a movie on William Wildbill Cutolo? He had such an interesting life. Not just in the Mafia. Being a family man, philanthropy, involvement with labor unions, his shenanigans in prison and the Colombo war and perhaps more. Frank Vincent would have been so perfect

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50 Upvotes

r/Mafia 10h ago

Chicago: Profile of Anthony ‘Little Tony’ Zizzo, a reputed Outfit figure who disappeared 20 years ago this week (from The Gangster Report)

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51 Upvotes

r/Mafia 8h ago

Can you even see out of those glasses?

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34 Upvotes

r/Mafia 12h ago

Gotti (1996) is a good movie

64 Upvotes

I watched it because Michael Franzese recommended it. I really liked it a lot. I was also very surprised that half the cast of The Sopranos appeared in this movie. For those of you who’ve seen the movie and know it better: Was Sammy the Bull portrayed well in the movie? I didn’t know Sammy was supposed to have been such a big earner.


r/Mafia 13h ago

Joey Merlino - "I ain't scared of jail. I shoulda been dead 30 years ago, so I'm on borrowed time. I die in jail, I die in jail."

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42 Upvotes

r/Mafia 4h ago

Article on Colorado family member Gus Salardino, based out of Cañon City

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6 Upvotes

r/Mafia 1d ago

Side by side Tony Spilatro 1986 vs Joe Pesci Casino 1995

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351 Upvotes

r/Mafia 5h ago

1930s photo of long time Trafficante member Gaetano "Tom" Diecidue 1903-1994

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6 Upvotes

r/Mafia 13h ago

British organized crime

27 Upvotes

I’ve been watching ''Mobland", which got me wondering: what does the British organized crime scene look like these days? Which groups are the most powerful? Aside from drug trafficking, what are the sources of income, and how does British organized crime differ from that in the United States?


r/Mafia 10h ago

Anyone read this?

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16 Upvotes

Any good?


r/Mafia 3m ago

Hootie "I broke bread with bosses" Russo Alleges Al Trucchio is off The Shelf and Claims Tony Moscatiello is Shelved

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Upvotes

r/Mafia 23h ago

Anthony "Nino" Gaggi

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114 Upvotes

Gambino crime family capo Anthony "Nino" Gaggi was shot in the neck by an off-duty housing police sergeant on October 1, 1979, following the double murder of fellow mobsters James Eppolito and his son, James Eppolito Jr.


r/Mafia 8h ago

Henry “Boom Boom” Grecco and the Cleveland Mob Underworld, Part Two: Three Shots on Wayside Avenue

5 Upvotes

Today I’m publishing Part Two of my three-part series on Henry “Boom Boom” Grecco and the Cleveland mob underworld. After disappearing on May 29, 1977, Grecco quickly became the focus of a murder investigation that led police from a bloodstained Toyota in Twinsburg to his remains in Hudson.

Part Two looks at the eyewitness who saw the aftermath of Grecco’s shooting, the evidence that led investigators to the culprit, and the falling out police believed had motivated the killing. By the end, however, a second and much larger explanation begins to emerge from FBI files.

Names and Places mentioned in Part Two: Henry “Boom Boom” Grecco, Nancy Spehar, John Nardi, James Paolucci, Dominick Bartone, Bob Cermak, Shorty Rivers, Andrew Vanyo, Joseph Bonarrigo, Allie Calabrese, Glenn Pauley, Kenneth Argie, Mario Durrant, Pasquale “Butchie” Cisternino, the Italian-American Citizens Club, Collinwood, and Guerino’s Restaurant.

Lastly, a warning that this post contains a black and white photo of human remains provided by the Cleveland Police Museum.

https://timgill924.substack.com/p/henry-boom-boom-grecco-and-the-cleveland-00c?r=1ixz1x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true


r/Mafia 20h ago

Mikey Lance Lancelotti - Uncle Joe Ligambi -Johnny Chang Ciancagllini : Philly

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36 Upvotes

r/Mafia 19h ago

FBI Files: May 1962 - FBI Agents conducted electronic surveillance of Meyer Lansky and his wife while they stayed at the Volney Hotel in New York City. He said to his wife that Organized Crime was bigger than U.S. Steel. (2 Pages)

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23 Upvotes

r/Mafia 1d ago

Outfit Underboss Anthony Zizzo disappeared 20 years ago today

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151 Upvotes

r/Mafia 23h ago

A Mob Comic Con?!

22 Upvotes

It’s just jokes but I suggested they should have people dress up as their favorite Mobsters and have a comic con like convention for mob fans that’d be so funny lmao! imagine a mf dressin as The Teflon Don/ Bugsy Siegel / Tony Soprano/ Don Corleone/Donnie Brasco/ Ace in Casino/ Ray Liotta as Henry Hill / Frank Lucas cuz those mob movies got some iconic suits and outfits n then those iconic Mob Actors coming into the con talking about their roles and all that stuff lol cuz man I have this idea cuz the mob lore is like comic books to me that’s how I’m indeed I am with it since last year I can’t stop living La Cosa Nostra I’m a South Sudanese American kid obsessed with this Italian Criminal Organization it’s so damn awesome the money cars the jewelry the characters it’s so much it’s like mythology


r/Mafia 23h ago

Montreal: Alleged mobster Stefano Sollecito leaves court hearing early (from the Montreal Gazette)

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20 Upvotes

r/Mafia 1d ago

The Gotti Brothers in the 1960s

23 Upvotes

L-R: John, Gene, Richard & Peter


r/Mafia 1d ago

Silly question but I’ve always loved fashion in film and I’ve lost 4 stone and I’ve gotten into suits and tailoring. Angelo Bruno in the Irishman: what sort of price range would he be wearing for a suit? Im looking at Pini Parma/Hackett London/Edward Sexton for a suit around £800 -£1000.

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31 Upvotes