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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
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The mafia first surfaced in the United States in the late 19th century when Italian immigrants began relocating to America. Evolved from the Sicilian Mafia, the U.S. offshoot was known as La Cosa Nostra and became increasingly more powerful during prohibition. The American Mafia reached its height by the 1950s and was the top crime syndicate in the nation. But not every mobster was as well-known as others. Top mob bosses who made a name for themselves became the legendary American mobsters who ruled the underworld.
As the United States industrialized and city populations grew, tensions rose among the many immigrant groups who were all targeted by gangs from within their own communities, that had formed ostensibly to protect them. Job opportunities were slim for new arrivals, and poverty was high. Gangs took control of criminal activities like prostitution, narcotics, gambling, bootlegging, extortion, and labor racketeering. Few police forces were powerful enough to manage the chaos, and many law enforcement officers were easily paid off with the profits generated by the illegal activities.
To compile a list of legendary American mobsters who ruled the underworld, 24/7 Tempo consulted various sources including the Mob Museum, Crime Library, American Mafia History, the FBI website, and more. We based our selection on the power and influence each gangster wielded, and their cultural and historical impact on American society. Although organized crime is not as prevalent as it once was, it still poses a serious threat to U.S. society. The FBI reports that there are currently 33,000 violent gangs active across the country. (Here are the most notorious cases in FBI's history.)
Here are Legendary American Mobsters Who Ruled the Underworld:
Monk Eastman
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Larceny, prostitution, gambling, narcotics, extortion
- Period of criminal activity: 1890s-1920
- Fate of mobster(s): Killed by a crooked Prohibition law enforcement officer
Joe Masseria
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, racketeering, extortion
- Period of criminal activity: 1902-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly executed by associates of Lucky Luciano
Johnny Torrio
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Bookmaking, loan sharking, hijacking, prostitution, and opium trafficking
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1925
- Fate of mobster(s): Retired and died in 1957 from a heart attack
Arnold Rothstein
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Gambling, narcotics, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1928
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly killed by gambling partner
Owney Madden
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Hot Springs, Ark.
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, rigging boxing matches, extortion
- Period of criminal activity: 1903-1965
- Fate of mobster(s): Died at home
Frank Costello
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Robbery, assault, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution
- Period of criminal activity: 1908-1957
- Fate of mobster(s): Retired from crime life after assassination attempt, died in 1973
Dean O'Banion
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, newspaper wars, robbery, assault
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1924
- Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in his flower shop
Frankie Yale
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Chicago
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, murder, prostitution, extortion, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: 1912-1928
- Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in Brooklyn
Al Capone
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago/New York City
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, gambling, murder, prostitution, extortion, bootlegging, tax evasion
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted of tax evasion, died from syphilis in 1947
Louis Buchalter
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Labor racketeering, bootlegging, murder
- Period of criminal activity: 1915-1944
- Fate of mobster(s): Became only organized-crime figure to die by execution in 1944
Jack "Legs" Diamond
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, hijacking
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Shot in his bed in 1931
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Las Vegas
- Criminal activity: Gambling, narcotics, prostitution
- Period of criminal activity: 1918-1947
- Fate of mobster(s): Shot to death at his home in Hollywood
Dutch Schultz
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, kidnapping, gambling
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1935
- Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in Newark, N.J., restaurant
Salvatore Maranzano
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Sicily
- Criminal activity: Prostitution, drug smuggling, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: 1919-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly executed by associates of Lucky Luciano
Bugs Moran
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, racketeering, extortion
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1946
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in prison in 1957
Meyer Lansky
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, extortion, murder, hijacking, and gambling
- Period of criminal activity: 1918-1970
- Fate of mobster(s): Died of lung cancer in 1983
Frank Nitti
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, prostitution, racketeering, gambling, extortion
- Period of criminal activity: 1920-1943
- Fate of mobster(s): Committed suicide
Alvin Karpis
- Area(s) of operation: Midwest
- Criminal activity: Kidnapping, robbery, burglary, murder
- Period of criminal activity: 1934-1936
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted and paroled in 1960s, died in Spain in 1979
Fred and Arthur Barker
- Area(s) of operation: Midwest
- Criminal activity: Kidnapping, robbery, burglary, murder
- Period of criminal activity: 1934-1936
- Fate of mobster(s): Fred killed, Arthur arrested
Tony Accardo
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Narcotics smuggling, gambling, casinos, prostitution
- Period of criminal activity: 1920s-1960s
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1992 from natural causes
Vito Genovese
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, murder, robbery, assault, theft
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1959
- Fate of mobster(s): Sentenced to 15 years in federal prison
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, murder, prostitution, gambling, extortion, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1962
- Fate of mobster(s): Died of heart attack in 1962 in Italy
Carlo Gambino
- Area(s) of operation: New York City, New England, New Jersey, New Orleans, Florida, Chicago, California, Pennsylvania and Detroit
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, labor racketeering, truck hijacking, white-collar crime
- Period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1976
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1976
Sam Giancana
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Murder, car theft, burglary, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: 1920s-1967
- Fate of mobster(s): Executed at his home in Oak Park, Illinois in 1975
Angelo Bruno
- Area(s) of operation: Philadelphia/South Jersey
- Criminal activity: Gambling, racketeering, bootlegging
- Period of criminal activity: 1920s-1980
- Fate of mobster(s): Murdered in 1980
The Genna Brothers
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, murder, robbery, assault
- Period of criminal activity: 1921-1925
- Fate of mobster(s): 3 brothers killed, 3 others fled Chicago
Mickey Cohen
- Area(s) of operation: Los Angeles
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, gambling, bookmaking, extortion, tax evasion
- Period of criminal activity: 1922-1961
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1976 after release from jail
Raymond Patriarca
- Area(s) of operation: New England
- Criminal activity: Breaking and entering, prostitution, murder, bootlegging, pornography, truck hijacking
- Period of criminal activity: 1925-1984
- Fate of mobster(s): Died at home in 1984
James Burke
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Murder, racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, armed robbery, loansharking
- Period of criminal activity: 1940s-1982
- Fate of mobster(s): Sentenced to 20 years in jail, died in 1996
Santo Trafficante Jr.
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Criminal activity: Numbers rackets, bribery, murder, gambling
- Period of criminal activity: 1940s-1987
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in Houston in 1987
Frank Lucas
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Drug distribution
- Period of criminal activity: 1960s-1980s
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 2019 at age 88
James Coonan
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, loansharking, gambling, drug distribution
- Period of criminal activity: 1960s-1988
- Fate of mobster(s): Serving 60-year sentence in prison
John Gotti
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Criminal activity: Truck hijackings, murder, illegal gambling, loansharking
- Period of criminal activity: 1950s-1992
- Fate of mobster(s): Died from cancer while in prison
Whitey Bulger
- Area(s) of operation: Boston
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, money-laundering, bribing law enforcement, extortion, murder
- Period of criminal activity: 1943-1995
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted in 2013 and died in 2018
Nicky Scarfo
- Area(s) of operation: Philadelphia/South Jersey
- Criminal activity: Murder, racketeering, extortion, loansharking, bookmaking, drug dealing
- Period of criminal activity: 1950s-2017
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 2017 in prison