Kingpins

Today’s quote comes from Karen Gravano, daughter of gangster Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. Gravano was an underboss in the Gambino crime family, helping John Gotti consolidate power in mid-1980s New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greed and ambition would end up getting the better of both George Jung and Carlos Lehder Rivas, turning them from brothers into enemies. Despite their perceived invincibility, it was this rivalry that would ultimately bring them down in 1987. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote comes from Salvatore Profaci, an influential captain in the famous Colombo crime family, based in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from union organizer Jimmy Hoffa. When mafia hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran was looking for work, an associate arranged a phone call with the infamous union man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from notorious bank robber John Dillinger. Dillinger had no illusions of righteousness. He knew that robbing banks was not only a crime, but a very public one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero. Ruggiero was a notorious thug, and is thought to have murdered 26 people during his 30 years working for the New York Mafia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote comes from Charles “Lucky” Luciano, the father of the American Mafia. After Prohibition, and a bloody gang war that turned New York City into the Wild West, Luciano seized control of the underworld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we’re remembering the words of Italian judge Giovanni Falcone. He spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the dangerous Sicilian Mafia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1987, Carlos Lehder Rivas and George Jung had scraped together a cocaine smuggling empire fit for kings. Yet as profits grew, the two partners found themselves at odds—diverging away from each other to fulfill their own desires for power and prosperity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from hitman Jhon Jairo “Popeye” Velásquez, of the Medellín drug cartel. Velásquez was Pablo Escobar’s right hand man throughout the ‘80s, until his arrest in 1989. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from Sam Giancana, the mafia boss who controlled the Chicago Outfit from the 1940s to the 1960s. As one of the most powerful mafiosos in the nation, Giancana was a prime target of Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s crusade against organized crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from Meyer Lansky, otherwise known as the “Mafia’s Banker.” An associate of famed mobster Lucky Luciano, Lansky established a sprawling gambling empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from American businessman and gangster, Al Capone. During prohibition in the 1920s and ‘30s, Capone was more than just a criminal—he was a celebrity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote comes from one of the most influential gangsters ever: Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein. A notorious gambler who allegedly fixed the 1919 World Series and helped build a bootlegging empire at the dawn of Prohibition, Rothstein wasn’t known to kill men to get ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s quote is from Carlo Gambino, the leader of the Gambino crime family. Though he was deeply involved with the mob for more than five decades, Gambino only faced a total of 22 months in prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices