Nearly every country struggles with the pervasive impact of organized crime syndicates. However, few nations have experienced criminal enterprises burgeoning among immigrant populations to the extent seen in the United States. This distinct boom produced some of history’s most infamous mob bosses and underworld figures.
To assemble a list of the most famous mobsters in U.S. history, 24/7 Tempo consulted various sources such as the Crime Museum, the Mob Museum, Crime Library, American Mafia History, the website for the FBI. We created our list based on the power and influence a given gangster wielded and the historical and cultural impact the criminal had on American society.
As the United States industrialized and urban populations grew, tensions emerged among immigrant groups competing for territory and influence. Successive waves of ethnic communities – Irish, Chinese, Italians, Albanians, Greeks, Hispanics – were targeted by criminal gangs that initially posed as protectors. The African American community faced similar threats from organized syndicates seeking to control cities wracked by poverty and institutional bias in housing and jobs.
Gang influence tends to recede as each ethnic group becomes part of mainstream America. Even so, organized crime still remains a threat to U.S. society. According to the FBI, there are 33,000 violent gangs operating in the U.S. today. (Click here for the most notorious cases in FBI’s history.)
Here are the most famous mobsters in US history.
Monk Eastman
- Criminal activity: Larceny, prostitution, gambling, narcotics, extortion
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1890s-1920
- Fate of mobster(s): Killed by a crooked Prohibition law enforcement officer
Joe Masseria
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, racketeering, extortion
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1902-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly executed by associates of Lucky Luciano
Johnny Torrio
- Criminal activity: Bookmaking, loan sharking, hijacking, prostitution, and opium trafficking
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1925
- Fate of mobster(s): Retired and died in 1957 from a heart attack
Arnold Rothstein
- Criminal activity: Gambling, narcotics, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1928
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly killed by gambling partner
Owney Madden
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, rigging boxing matches, extortion
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Hot Springs, Ark.
- Time period of criminal activity: 1903-1965
- Fate of mobster(s): Died at home
Frank Costello
- Criminal activity: Robbery, assault, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1908-1957
- Fate of mobster(s): Retired from crime life after assassination attempt, died in 1973
Dean O’Banion
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, newspaper wars, robbery, assault
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1924
- Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in his flower shop
Frankie Yale
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, murder, prostitution, extortion, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: 1912-1928
- Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in Brooklyn
Al Capone
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, gambling, murder, prostitution, extortion, bootlegging, tax evasion
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago/New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted of tax evasion, died from syphilis in 1947
Louis Buchalter
- Criminal activity: Labor racketeering, bootlegging, murder
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1915-1944
- Fate of mobster(s): Became only organized-crime figure to die by execution in 1944
Jack “Legs” Diamond
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, hijacking
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Shot in his bed in 1931
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
- Criminal activity: Gambling, narcotics, prostitution
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Las Vegas
- Time period of criminal activity: 1918-1947
- Fate of mobster(s): Shot to death at his home in Hollywood
Dutch Schultz
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, kidnapping, gambling
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1935
> Fate of mobster(s): Gunned down in Newark, N.J., restaurant
Salvatore Maranzano
- Criminal activity: Prostitution, drug smuggling, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: New York City/Sicily
- Time period of criminal activity: 1919-1931
- Fate of mobster(s): Allegedly executed by associates of Lucky Luciano
Bugs Moran
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, racketeering, extortion
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1946
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in prison in 1957
Meyer Lansky
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, extortion, murder, hijacking, and gambling
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1918-1970
- Fate of mobster(s): Died of lung cancer in 1983
Frank Nitti
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, prostitution, racketeering, gambling, extortion
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: 1920-1943
- Fate of mobster(s): Committed suicide
Alvin Karpis
- Criminal activity: Kidnapping, robbery, burglary, murder
- Area(s) of operation: Midwest
- Time period of criminal activity: 1934-1936
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted and paroled in 1960s, died in Spain in 1979
Fred and Arthur Barker
- Criminal activity: Kidnapping, robbery, burglary, murder
- Area(s) of operation: Midwest
- Time period of criminal activity: 1934-1936
- Fate of mobster(s): Fred killed, Arthur arrested
Tony Accardo
- Criminal activity: Narcotics smuggling, gambling, casinos, prostitution
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: 1920s-1960s
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1992 from natural causes
Vito Genovese
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, murder, robbery, assault, theft
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1959
- Fate of mobster(s): Sentenced to 15 years in federal prison
Charles “Lucky” Luciano
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, murder, prostitution, gambling, extortion, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1962
- Fate of mobster(s): Died of heart attack in 1962 in Italy
Carlo Gambino
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, labor racketeering, truck hijacking, white-collar crime
- Area(s) of operation: New York City, New England, New Jersey, New Orleans, Florida, Chicago, California, Pennsylvania and Detroit
- Time period of criminal activity: Early 1900s-1976
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1976
Sam Giancana
- Criminal activity: Murder, car theft, burglary, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1920s-1967
- Fate of mobster(s): Executed at his home in Oak Park, Illinois in 1975
Angelo Bruno
- Criminal activity: Gambling, racketeering, bootlegging
- Area(s) of operation: Philadelphia/South Jersey
- Time period of criminal activity: 1920s-1980
- Fate of mobster(s): Murdered in 1980
The Genna Brothers
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, murder, robbery, assault
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: 1921-1925
- Fate of mobster(s): 3 brothers killed, 3 others fled Chicago
Mickey Cohen
- Criminal activity: Bootlegging, gambling, bookmaking, extortion, tax evasion
- Area(s) of operation: Los Angeles
- Time period of criminal activity: 1922-1961
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 1976 after release from jail
Raymond Patriarca
- Criminal activity: Breaking and entering, prostitution, murder, bootlegging, pornography, truck hijacking
- Area(s) of operation: New England
- Time period of criminal activity: 1925-1984
- Fate of mobster(s): Died at home in 1984
James Burke
- Criminal activity: Murder, racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, armed robbery, loansharking
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1940s-1982
- Fate of mobster(s): Sentenced to 20 years in jail, died in 1996
Santo Trafficante Jr.
- Criminal activity: Numbers rackets, bribery, murder, gambling
- Area(s) of operation: Chicago
- Time period of criminal activity: 1940s-1987
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in Houston in 1987
Frank Lucas
- Criminal activity: Drug distribution
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1960s-1980s
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 2019 at age 88
James Coonan
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, loansharking, gambling, drug distribution
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1960s-1988
- Fate of mobster(s): Serving 60-year sentence in prison
John Gotti
- Criminal activity: Truck hijackings, murder, illegal gambling, loansharking
- Area(s) of operation: New York City
- Time period of criminal activity: 1950s-1992
- Fate of mobster(s): Died from cancer while in prison
Whitey Bulger
- Criminal activity: Racketeering, money-laundering, bribing law enforcement, extortion, murder
- Area(s) of operation: Boston
- Time period of criminal activity: 1943-1995
- Fate of mobster(s): Convicted in 2013 and died in 2018
Nicky Scarfo
- Criminal activity: Murder, racketeering, extortion, loansharking, bookmaking, drug dealing
- Area(s) of operation: Philadelphia/South Jersey
- Time period of criminal activity: 1950s-2017
- Fate of mobster(s): Died in 2017 in prison