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

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.