The most notorious power struggles in the history of organized crime as Vito Genovese and Frank Costello—two of the most powerful mafia bosses in America—battle for control of New York's underground. Starting with Frank Costello's glamorous rise as a “gentleman gangster” who transformed the Luciano family into a multi-million-dollar empire, this story takes a dark turn as his old ally Vito Genovese returns from exile with ruthless ambitions of his own.

The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the Dragna crime family, the Southern California crime family or the L.A. Mafia, and dubbed "the Mickey Mouse Mafia" by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Los Angeles, California as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia.

The modern Italian American mafia began in 1931 in the aftermath of the destructive Castellammarese War. While the official fighting began in 1931, the events leading up to it were a forty year process.

Russo and his brother John were a skilled cat burglar team during their youth, which is how he earned his nickname "Little Pussy", short for "Little Pussycat".

On May 29, 1984, the crime boss of the Milwaukee crime family from 1961 to 1993, Frank "Frankie Bal" Balistrieri was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment after being convicted of extortion under the Hobbs Act based on the testimony of an FBI undercover agent.

Teriaca was no one to trifle with. But Sinatra was in a fighting mood. When Ben Novack put Sinatra together with Patsy Erra, the gangland leader said he'd be willing to have Teriaca meet the singer, but he'd get his ass kicked. “If Terry threw you out, you had it coming,”

The day after the Cutolo murder, DeRoss unsuccessfully ransacked Cutolo's home office in Staten Island for Cutolo's loansharking records and a $1.5 million cash stash (hidden in a stove vent).