Material presented on this website was gathered through decades of research into the history of American organized crime. My childhood interest in the subject blossomed into a full-time obsession in the late 1990s, when I began to organize data that had been gathered on notebook pages and index cards. That effort gave rise to this website in September 2002.
The website is more of a process than it is a document. Very often new historical data becomes available and causes old assumptions to be revised or abandoned. Over the past few years, many underworld legends appearing on these pages have given way to more defensible statements. And other revisions are sure to be made in the months and years ahead.
It is a pleasure to be able to share my interest with you. I welcome your emailed comments, questions, criticisms. I hope that the site is useful to you and that you check in from time to time to see what is new.
The website is organized into several major sections:
- Chronology - A collection of significant events in the development of the American Mafia from 1282 (in Sicily) through the 1980s. As my main interest in organized crime lies in its formative years, much of the chronology focuses on events before 1931. Recent major events are covered. However, I have tried not to spend too much time on already well-known aspects of Mafia history. A collection of organized crime current events is provided to bring the chronology up to the present.
- Who Was Who - An alphabetical listing of the major characters in organized crime with biographical information. I have defined "major character" as one who influenced in a substantial way the evolution of the American Mafia. Because law enforcement has certainly influenced the Mafia, I created a separate Who Was Who for distinguished crimefighters.
- Locations - Maps of some important cities and descriptions of the events that happened in them. The "where" of an organized crime event is an often-neglected historical detail. But location played a critical role in many underworld occurrences. Mafia boss succession is also approached in a geographical way within the Crime Bosses section.
- Articles - These are intended to put the small, individual pieces together into more complete pictures of the American Mafia. While it is important to know everything we can about individual trees, we mustn't forget the forest. This section also includes a glossary of underworld slang and a Question and Answer page.
- Sources - The Bibliography section shows virtually every source that has influenced my thinking on the American Mafia. (Since I am a voracious reader on crime topics, the bibliography tends to slip out of date quickly.) The section also includes the text of government documents relating to organized crime and a number of categorized websites.
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