Advice For The Young At Heart: Tears For Fears – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
Strange Bedfellows: The CIA and the Mob Working Together…
The CIA and the Mafia have more in common than meets the eye. Both enjoy working in the dark and a legal status which operates above the law. According to declassified documents, the CIA at one point planned to use the mob to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro for $150,000! Documents detail how the mob and “Cuban exiles” settled on a payment of $100,000 for assassinating Castro, $20,000 for his brother Raúl and $20,000 for revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, plus $2,500 for expenses.
Not sure why there’s a difference of $7,500, but I digress.
As the story goes, following a meeting with the Office of security, Richard Bissell a CIA officer, employed a go-between, Robert Maheu a businessman and lawyer,and asked him to make contact with “gangster elements”.
The Mafia Chronicles: Providence Rhode Island’s Violent Mob History Detailed in ‘Crimetown’ Podcast
Providence, Rhode Island.
Not a place some people might think to put on a short list of the most corrupt, mobbed-up cities in American Mafia history.
New York definitely would go on the list, as would Boston and Philadelphia.
Chicago would be there, and so would Detroit and Milwaukee and Kansas City. Tampa and New Orleans would make it, too, along with Las Vegas and Los Angeles — and even Hot Springs, Arkansas.
But Providence, Rhode Island?
A Closer Look At “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” Frank Costello
As everyone may know Frank Costello was known as “The Prime Minister of the Underworld”. Despite retiring from the mob, he still retained power and influence in New York’s mafia and remained prominent throughout his final years. Mob bosses and old associates such as Carlo Gambino and Meyer Lansky still held Costello in high regard during his retirement and sought after his advice on important mafia affairs.
In his lifetime, Costello became known for combining crime with politics. His ability to do such helped the mob buy and influence judges, police and politicians. In return, the mob didn’t need to worry about pressure from the law considering much of them were on their payroll. One might ask how Frank Costello became so influential and valuable to the mob? Well, I’ll tell you…
Sing My Love Song: Al Martino – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
Sara Smile (Live): Hall & Oates – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
Character Actor Don Gordon Dead at 90 – Movie News
Don Gordon, an Emmy-nominated character actor who often starred alongside his close friend Steve McQueen, died on April 24 in Los Angeles. He was 90.
His death was confirmed by his wife, Denise.
Gordon found steady work starting in the 60’s and going through to the 80’s, when his career kind of hit a slower pace.
The Mafia Chronicles: Organized Crime in Las Vegas and Beyond Mystery Endures Over Bomb Blast That Destroyed Lefty Rosenthal’s Car
All these years later, nobody knows who blew up Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal’s Cadillac, injuring him with his to-go order of ribs outside the Tony Roma’s restaurant in old mobbed-up Las Vegas.
His former lawyer, gin-swilling Oscar Goodman, who flamboyantly later served as Las Vegas mayor sometimes with showgirls at his side and a giant martini glass, said last month he doesn’t know who was responsible for the bomb blast.
Same for Bob Miller, the Clark County elected prosecutor at the time of the blast almost thirty-five years ago.
He doesn’t know.
Award Winning Journalist Larry Henry Brings The Mafia Chronicles to NewzBreaker
NewzBreaker welcomes our newest Feature Writer Larry Henry, who is an award winning journalist. Henry’s column “The Mafia Chronicles” will be exclusive to NewzBreaker and a can’t miss read for all the mafia fans out there who check out our site daily for mafia related articles. On behalf of the entire team, we welcome Larry aboard.
Two Different Worlds: Jane Morgan & Roger Williams – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
Eggar’s Top 5 Favorite Gangster Movies of All Time!
By Marla Eggar (Who else would it be by?)
I know this may only be only my opinion but gangster movies are one of the most popular and fascinating in today’s cinema. Their compelling, provocative and comical, at times. While it’s hard to combine my list to just five I went with the ones that overall kept my attention and had a interesting plot.
Here we go…
The Godfather: An Accurate Depiction of the Mafia or Hollywood Fantasy?
The Godfather for years has been regarded as one of the greatest representations of organized crime. It’s been certified as socially, historically and theatrically compelling. Currently, (to the best of my knowledge) it’s ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema. Mario Puzo’s novel about the Corleone Family gives us a glimpse into a powerful dynasty spanning from 1945 to 1955 under the patriarch Vito Corleone and in later years Michael Corleone. As you may already know, Puzo used real life characters like Frank Costello, who was the inspiration behind family patriarch Vito Corleone and Willi Moretti who inspired the Luca Brasi character. However, despite the real life characters and storyline how accurate would you say the movie is to the real life mob? Listed below are theories (I’ve heard about over the years) that insinuated The Godfather was more myth than reality.
The Sinatra File: A Reason For Admiration
It’s an unusually balmy late April night here in New Jersey, and as I let the fan in the corner beat cooler air down on me, I’m sitting in front of my record player listening to a disc of master takes from a recording session I was engaged in a few days ago. I don’t qualify as a professional musician in any sense of the word, but having released three albums independently thus far and now working towards a fourth, I’ve always been enamored by the revolution of the recording industry and the technology invented in past years that bring the medium to its current workings. In my thoughts, it reminded me briefly of a fairly forgotten Frank Sinatra album that arrived on stands at the dawn of the 1950s.
That’s My Desire: Frankie Laine – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
You Turned My World Around: Frank Sinatra – NewzBreaker Music Video of the Day
A Closer Look at the Life & Downfall of “Willie Boy” Johnson
Anyone whose heard of my second favorite gangster of all time, John Gotti, surely at some point has heard of Wilfred Johnson aka “Willie Boy” Johnson. He was born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, one of five children. His father was a Native American and his mother was Italian-American.
His family settled in Red Hook, Brooklyn where Wilfred Johnson was raised with his brothers and sisters. He was known on the streets as “Indian” or “half breed” in reference to his mixed Italian-Lenape heritage.
His father, John Johnson, was an abusive alcoholic who frequently beat his wife and children. Johnson’s father often spent his entire paycheck on alcohol. In addition, Johnson’s mother would periodically desert her husband and children but would always come back. Talk about dysfunctional!
Two Retro Games Making a Comeback
Humans have always played games. The much-loved games we played in antiquity have followed us down the ages, with relatively few changes along the way – at least until we entered the digital age and the internet came along. Here we take a closer look at baccarat and chess, two very different retro games that are garnering the support of a whole new audience, thanks to the inventive use of some very modern technologies.
The Franco-Italian War, in common with most struggles of the period, didn’t bring much to alleviate the travails of the human condition, but one positive thing it did lead to was the introduction of a new card game to the fashionable parlors of continental Europe. Weary French soldiers who had served Charles VIII in the expansionist conflict of the late 15th century brought back with them a new game, acquired in Italy and made popular in the barracks and bivouacs of the fighting forces of both sides.
Definition of a Gangster: Cesare Borgia
Contrary to popular belief my favorite gangster of all time isn’t John Gotti. It’s true, I admire him for his principal’s, demeanor and charismatic charm. However, the man I marvel at isn’t even considered a gangster at all!! Yeah you heard me!! It wasn’t a typo. Even though he isn’t a gangster his character embodies the very definition. Wait for it – Cesare Borgia!! I know some of you are scratching your heads. Who?? For those of you know who have no clue who he is. Let me make the introduction.
Cesare was the illegitimate son of Rodrigo Borgia’s and his lady love Vannozza dei Cattanei. This was during the Renaissance era. His estimated birth is sometime around 1475. Cesare was of Spanish-Italian heritage and was geared from birth to become a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church but this was not his desire it was his father’s.