Viewing NYC Articles Categorized Under Crime

[WATCH] Inside The Mafia's Billion-Dollar New York Drug Ring

2026-05-11T12:00:00-04:00

This animated documentary delves into the infamous Pizza Connection trial, which uncovered how the Sicilian Mafia ran a multi-billion-dollar heroin operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Heroin, refined in clandestine labs in rural Sicily, was shipped to New York, often hidden in crates marked as olive oil or cheese. Once in the city, the drug was distributed through seemingly ordinary pizza parlors, which also served as fronts for money laundering, dealing mostly in cash to avoid a paper trail. The operation was eventually infiltrated by FBI agent Joe Pistone, also known as Donnie Brasco, who spent six years undercover. His meticulous work and recordings, along with international law enforcement cooperation spurred by new legislation like the RICO Act, led to a global crackdown. The investigation culminated in the Pizza Connection trial in 1985, which saw 18 defendants convicted for narcotics trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering, effectively dismantling a vast criminal enterprise.

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[VIDEO] Inside Rikers Island’s Jail Kitchen

2026-05-02T12:00:00-04:00

This video offers a rare glimpse inside the Gary A. Spitzer Central Kitchen at Rikers Island, New York City's notorious jail complex. Chefs like Mr. Ageda and Mr. Kirby work 24/7 to prepare thousands of meals daily for staff and people in custody. Strict security measures are in place, with knives chained to heavy machinery and all utensils meticulously accounted for by correction officers, including Officer Lync and Officer Stoute. Detainees, referred to as people in custody (PICs), assist with tasks like washing dishes and moving food wagons, but are not permitted to handle the food itself. Detainees, such as Nadine Leach, who was a chef before her incarceration, are paid $1.45 an hour, significantly below New York City's minimum wage. The video highlights several challenges, including a ban on salt in Rikers food (a policy introduced by former mayor Michael Bloomberg) and the high prices of items at the commissary, as criminal justice reporter Reuven Blau explains. Historically, Rikers operated as a penal farm, but transitioned to bulk food production in the 1930s. Food quality has been a long-standing issue, prompting various reforms over the decades. With New York City's plan to close Rikers by 2027 and open smaller borough-based jails in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, a new, healthier plant-based menu is being developed with the help of nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen. The city's plan, endorsed by officials like State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, aims to improve conditions for those incarcerated.

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[WATCH] How the Mafia Turned New York’s Trash Into a Billion-Dollar Goldmine

2026-05-01T12:00:00-04:00

This video delves into the shadowy history of how the Mafia quietly seized control of New York City's trash industry, transforming mundane waste into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Starting in the 1930s, post-Prohibition, mobsters like Vincent Squilante, through the Greater New York Cartmen's Association, systematically intimidated independent haulers and forced businesses to pay inflated prices for garbage collection in territories carved out across the city. This lucrative racket, overseen by figures like Carlo Gambino, expanded from commercial waste to municipal contracts and eventually into waste disposal, including landfills in Staten Island, New Jersey, and Upstate New York. The mob's involvement led to environmental disasters like toxic dumping and elevated cancer rates in communities. Despite federal investigations and a high-profile raid in Apalachin, New York, the mob's control remained largely intact for decades due to a pervasive culture of silence, political corruption, and law enforcement focusing on other crimes. Key figures like Squilante and his successor, James Failla, remained largely untouchable, living lavish lives funded by illicit trash money. It wasn't until the 1990s, with new RICO statutes and the establishment of the New York City Trade Waste Commission, that the Mafia's stranglehold on the industry was finally broken, allowing legitimate companies to bring transparency and competitive pricing to the collection and disposal of the city's 15,000 tons of daily waste.

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[WATCH] New York City in the 1970s

2026-04-27T12:00:00-04:00

The video documents New York City's struggles in the 1970s, a decade marked by economic collapse, rising crime, and widespread urban decay. Factories closed, jobs vanished, and a phenomenon known as "white flight" saw the middle class depart for the suburbs, leaving behind struggling communities. Public services deteriorated, leading to piled garbage, crumbling infrastructure, and graffiti-covered subways that commuters feared. The city faced near-bankruptcy, famously rejected by President Gerald Ford, and the 1977 blackout plunged NYC into darkness, sparking widespread looting and fires, especially in areas like The Bronx. Despite these immense challenges, New Yorkers displayed incredible resilience, fostering new cultures like hip hop and punk rock, and slowly rebuilding their communities from the ashes.

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[WATCH] Inside NYC’s Dark Mafia History

2026-03-02T12:00:00-05:00

Explore the fascinating and often dark history of the mafia in New York City, particularly in Manhattan's Little Italy. This video delves into how the mafia rose to power, from the early days of the Black Hand to the establishment of the Five Families, and how they dominated various industries, including garbage carting, trucking, and construction, literally helping to build New York City. It also uncovers the mafia's deep ties to corruption, its influence in politics, and surprising ventures like running gay bars, before tracing its eventual decline due to cultural shifts and increased societal acceptance of Italian-Americans.

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[WATCH] LATIN KINGS vs MS-13: New York City Gang History

2025-06-27T12:00:00-04:00

In this video from YouTube channel Swamp Storiez, learn the history of the rivalry between the New York City gangs Latin Kings and MS-13.

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[WATCH] The NYC Mafia Waged a War Over a Pizza Recipe

2025-06-19T12:00:00-04:00

Brooklyn's L&B Spumoni Gardens & Pizzeria had built a successful family business, but when the family's secret recipe got stolen the mafia stepped in.

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[WATCH] How The East Coast Bloods Actually Work (New York Street Gangs)

2025-05-05T12:00:00-04:00

Shanduke McPhatter led the Gangsta Killer Bloods, also known as G-Shine, in Brooklyn, New York, for over 10 years. In 1994, the United Blood Nation recruited him to the Nine Trey Gangsters faction at the Rikers Island jail complex, and he became one of the first East Coast Blood gang members.
He speaks with Business Insider about New York City gang culture, including the formation of new gangs like the Woos and Choos, which emerged as collaborations between Bloods, Crips, and Gangster Disciples sets in New York. He also examines the entertainment industry's role in promoting gang violence, particularly through drill music, and its global impact on spreading gang culture and contributing to homicides. Additionally, he discusses recent Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, cases against New York gangsters, including Tekashi 6ix9ine and the Treyway music label. He discusses his involvement in drug dealing, gang activities, and prison violence.

McPhatter is the founder of G-MACC, or Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes, an organization dedicated to violence prevention and intervention. He is the author of "Two Way Mirror: Trife Gangsta vs Shanduke McPhatter."

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[VIDEO] How the NYPD Took Down a Massive International ATM Card Skimming Operation

2025-03-10T12:00:00-04:00

In 2017, detectives from the New York City Police Department’s Financial Crimes Task Force took down an international ATM skimming ring. The thieves had stolen money from hundreds of bank account holders across Brooklyn and Queens. The investigators put together a case with the Queens District Attorney's Office that ultimately sent the three thieves to jail.

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[WATCH] Inside the FBI's Battle Against New York City's Powerful Drug Lords in the 80s

2025-03-07T12:00:00-05:00

The FBI struggles to quell the violence that continues when gang members firebomb the home of a man who called the police to report local drug-pushers. American docudrama that takes a look behind the scenes of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime laboratory.

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