LIFE Explores: The Mob: Inside the brutal world of the mafia

102 Pages·2019·107.238 MB·English

by  Life Magazine

E X P L O R E S
THE MOB
INSIDE THE BRUTAL WORLD OF THE MAFIA
PLUS: “THE IRISHMAN” AND JIMMY HOFFA

E X P L O R E S
THE MOB
INSIDE THE BRUTAL WORLD OF THE MAFIA
AL CAPONE’S bulletproof Cadillac was made special for the Chicago mobster in 1928 and was painted
black and green so as to appear identical to the police cars in his hometown.
CONTENTS
4 THE MOB IN PHOTOS
18 THE CRIME WORLD
The origins of La Cosa Nostra, its bloody
internal wars and FBI face-offs
1900–1931
20 | Blood at the Roots
28 | Five Families
1932–1957
30 | The New Management
38 | Secrets of the Cosa Nostra
1957–1970
40 | Forced into the Spotlight
1970–2001
48 | The Death of Omertà
56 | The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa
58 A ROGUES’ GALLERY
From trigger-happy thugs to scheming
political mavens, here’s who’s who
82 WHY WE LOVE
THE MOB
The Godfather
Even long before , movies
have embraced the gangster life
92 THE MODERN
MOBSTER
The reign of Gotti led to a succession of
“me first” Mafiosi in the digital age
96 Snapshot
The Irishman
2
THE MOB
RUMRUNNERS COOL THEIR
heels in a Chicago lineup in 1930
after the Chicago Prohibition
Bureau targeted organized crime.
Bootlegging proved so profitable,
it was estimated that the city had
10,000 speakeasies.
3
N
I

B
S
O
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M
T

O
E
HH
TP
1
SIDEWALK SLAUGHTER
Police and citizens gather
around a murder victim in New
York’s Little Italy in the 1930s.
The image was taken by Arthur
Fellig, a.k.a. Weegee, who made
a career out of shooting lurid
images of the city’s underworld.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Al Capone, flanked by lawyers
Michael Ahern, left, and Albert
Fink, attends a grand jury hearing
in 1931. After a jury convicted
Capone, the judge sentenced
him to 11 years and charged
him $215,000 in back taxes.

POLICE SCENE
At the Adonis Club Massacre, a
deadly 1925 Christmas Day clash
ensued between Al Capone’s and
Richard “Peg Leg” Lonergan’s
gangs. Capone was released on
bail, but some believe he fired the
fatal shot at Lonergan.