By David Amoruso

Joseph Massino, the first New York mob boss to become a cooperating witness, feels he has earned a release from prison. This week, the New York Daily News reported that the FBI agrees and asked the judge to reduce the former Bonanno big wig’s life sentence as a reward for his unprecedented cooperation. “As the first official boss of the American Mafia to…

By David Amoruso

It’s a Mafia mystery! Italian authorities are scratching their heads at the disappearance of ‘Ndrangheta boss-turned informant Antonino Lo Giudice. Lo Giudice was supposed to testify in court, but instead left a message on Thursday recanting all his testimony and then disappeared from witness protection.

According to news group ADN…

Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger will finally stand trial this week. After going on the lam in 1994 he managed to escape the hands of justice for sixteen years until his arrest in 2011. Now, two years later, he will face a slew of RICO charges and former members of his crew who will testify against him. Boston crime reporter Dick Lehr wrote a new book about Bulger…

This is an excerpt from Ron Chepesiuk’s new biography on legendary gangster Frank Matthews. The book, titled Black Caesar: The Rise and Disappearance of America’s Biggest Kingpin, will uncover the true story of this international man of mystery who ran the American streets.

By Ron Chepesiuk

Who was Frank…

Long before Al Capone strolled into town, Chicago was teeming with gangsters and mobsters. In this piece, Puparo details the city’s criminal history starting in the early 1900s and working his way up to Al Capone and his cronies. Digging in his archives, Puparo wiped the dust off of old names, familiar places, and violent gangland executions. Any feedback and comments are…

By David Amoruso

Are Italian authorities too harsh on imprisoned Cosa Nostra boss Bernardo Provenzano? His lawyer and family say yes. In video clips aired by Michele Santoro’s Servizio pubblico, or public affairs program, on television network LA7, viewers see an old and vulnerable Provenzano, who is unable even to use the prison…

By George Hassett

As the Italian Mafia rose in power across the country, a less organized but just as powerful underworld of Irish corruption was beginning to take shape. At the top of this hierarchy of politics and payoffs was an unlikely figure – a man celebrated as the patriarch of America’s greatest political dynasty. Joe Kennedy may have led his…

By David Amoruso

Aurelio Cano Flores started out as a cop, turned into a drug lord, and now sits in an American prison where he will spend over three decades behind bars.

Yesterday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that Flores, a 40-year-old Mexican national and high ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, was sentenced to 35…

By Angelo Carmelo Gallitto

No one is untouchable. Of course, others are easier to touch than others. In Italy this is being proven each and every day as Mafiosi and corrupt politicians escape justice by abusing one of the many loopholes the law offers them.

One of the men who managed to escape justice, according to many judges, pentiti,…

Crime Beat: Issues, Controversies and Personalities from the darkside on Artist First World Radio Network is pleased to announce its forthcoming schedule for May 9, 2013, through July 11, 2013. Topics covered include the Whitey Bulger trial, Vinnie Gorgeous, FBI profiling, Hells Angels and the Oklahoma City Bombing, among others.

• May 9: Anthony Bruno…