Top 10 Mob-Related Movies

1. The Godfather (Widescreen Edition) / The Godfather, Part II (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Francis Ford Coppola, 1972; 1974
Coppola's masterpieces are not only the greatest film and sequel of the genre, but perhaps two of the best films ever made. Boasting casts featuring huge stars (Brando, Pacino, De Niro) they focus on the Corleone family, a mafia dynasty in New York from the 1920s to the late '50s. Slickly made, beautifully shot and featuring some of the finest screen performances on record.

2. Goodfellas (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Martin Scorsese, 1990
"As far back as I can remember I've always wanted to be a gangster." Focusing on the dirty end of the mafia, this film charts the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a man of Sicilian-Irish descent who works his way up the tree of organized crime in New York during the '60s and '70s. Powerful and violent, this is one of Scorsese's finest moments. Joe Pesci earnt an Oscar playing an unpredictable and terrifying gangster: just don't call him funny.

3. Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs)
Wai Keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak, 2002
The basis for this year's Best Picture Oscar "The Departed," this is a tense and exciting thriller which hints at the strength and depth of Asian gangster movies. Steeped in nervy and fast-paced tracking shots around the underworld of Hong Kong, and embellished with two extraordinary performances from the two lead actors, Scorsese didn't need to change much to make it an Oscar-worthy picture.

4. White Heat
Raoul Walsh, 1949
"Made it Ma! Top of the world!" A true classic of the genre, starring one of the best known and loved gangster actors, James Cagney. A dangerously deranged criminal, who is obsessed with his mother and gives little thought to killing anyone who crosses him, breaks out of prison to avenge his mother's death and secure control of his gang -- but he unwittingly takes a rat into the organization. The blueprint for modern crime thrillers.

5. Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Sergio Leone, 1984
An epic feast of sumptuous sets, beautiful tracking shots and outstanding performances, especially from Robert DeNiro and James Woods. A gang of children progress from small scale crimes to become embroiled in the mafia during prohibition in the U.S. with shocking and violent results. The framework that holds the story together is a dream-like wander through New York of 1968, where DeNiro relives his past. A beautiful and sedate shell to an elaborate and fascinating gangster movie.

6. Scarface (Platinum Edition)
Brian De Palma, 1983
The archetypal and truly iconic sleazy '80s gangster movie, this is the American dream gone bad. Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, arrives in Florida as a refugee from Communist Cuba, and sets out to make his fortune as a cocaine dealer, but becomes consumed with possessive greed. The movie has two of the most striking and memorable scenes in film history: one a torture scene with a chainsaw, piling on the tension with the screaming soundtrack; the other, of course, "Say hello to my leettle friend!"

7. Angels With Dirty Faces
Michael Curtiz, 1938
Another influential Cagney movie, and perhaps the first classic of the genre. The friendship of two boys from Hell's Kitchen is rekindled as one gets out of prison to find the other is a priest. Uncovering corruption throughout the city, this is a story of sacrifice and honor that proves gangsters are people too.

8. Get Carter
Mike Hodges, 1971
Michael Caine's finest hour, as he gets tough with the '70s gangsters of northern England. Relentlessly brutal, Caine works his way through the seedy underworld, and at every unpleasant turn gives a dry quip, seduces a femme fatale or wreaks bloody violence on the murderers of his brother. An unstoppable revenge movie.

9. Sexy Beast
Jonathan Glazer, 2000
One of the most extraordinary gangster films of recent times. Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley gives one of his most remarkable turns, as a character that's the polar opposite of his most famous role, Ghandi. A misanthropic, bitter and aggressive gangster, with a penchant for colorful language, he makes this a truly unforgettable movie.

10. Cidade de Deus (City of God)
Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002
This Brazilian film shockingly paints a gangster world populated by children as brutal and heartless as any character in "Goodfellas." At once a beautiful and traumatic carnival, the movie flits between the gritty realism of life in the favelas of Rio and the dream-like existence of a child attempting to escape a world of crime.

Courtesy of The Screening Room in 2007.

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"Boxing and the Mob" will be the Topic when Author @JeffreySussman Speaks at the Rogers Memorial Library This Week

Organized crime and the world of professional boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in Boxing and the Mob, the first book to cover the mob’s involvement in the “sweet science” throughout the entire 20th century.

Join Jeffrey Sussman, at Rogers Memorial Library, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25th, for a talk about this notorious piece of American history filled with fast-paced stories of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, and the champion boxers who either caved in to the mob, or stood firm against them.

Rogers Memorial Library is at 91 Coopers Farm Lane in Southampton.

For reservations call 631-283-0774 ext. 523 or email programs@myrml.org.

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Support #SuicidePrevention at the Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk @AFSPChicago - Walkers Take to the Streets to #StopSuicide

WALKERS TAKE TO THE STREETS TO FIGHT SUICIDE

Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk

WHAT: The Out of the Darkness Chicagoland Walk is a 3-mile walk along the lakefront hosted by the Illinois Chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to raise awareness and bring hope to those affected by suicide.

WHO: Over 7,000 participants from throughout the Chicagoland area, organized by AFSP.

WHEN: Saturday, September 21, 2019.  Registration at 9:00 am, Walk at 11:00 am

WHERE: Montrose Harbor – Montrose at Simonds Drive in Chicago, IL.

WHY:  Suicide is #1 leading cause of death for people aged 10-44 in Illinois, and touches one in five American families. This walk gives people the courage to open up about their own struggle or loss, and the platform to change our culture’s approach to mental health.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

We can all help prevent suicide. 

The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

1-800-273-8255

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Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science

More than any other sport, boxing has a history of being easy to rig. There are only two athletes and one or both may be induced to accept a bribe; if not the fighters, then the judges or referee might be swayed. In such inviting circumstances, the mob moved into boxing in the 1930s and profited by corrupting a sport ripe for exploitation.

Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, Jeffrey Sussman tells the story of the coercive and criminal underside of boxing, covering nearly the entire twentieth century. He profiles some of its most infamous characters, such as Owney Madden, Frankie Carbo, and Frank Palermo, and details many of the fixed matches in boxing’s storied history. In addition, Sussman examines the influence of the mob on legendary boxers—including Primo Carnera, Sugar Ray Robinson, Max Baer, Carmen Basilio, Sonny Liston, and Jake LaMotta—and whether they caved to the mobsters’ threats or refused to throw their fights.

Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, is the first book to cover a century of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, misused boxers, and the mobsters who controlled it all. True crime and the world of boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in this notorious piece of American history.

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Steven M. D'Antuono, Newly Named Special Agent in Charge at @FBIDetroit, has Background Investigating #OrganizedCrime & #Public #Corruption

FBI Director Christopher Wray has named Steven M. D’Antuono as the special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Office. Most recently, he served as a section chief in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington.

Mr. D’Antuono joined the FBI as a forensic accountant in 1996, assigned to the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island, under the Boston Field Office. He supported criminal investigations into financial crimes, public corruption, organized crime, drugs, and counterintelligence. Mr. D’Antuono was appointed a special agent in 1998 and was assigned to the Washington Field Office, investigating white-collar crime and public corruption.

In 2004, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to supervisory special agent at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where he taught white-collar crime courses. He transferred to the Washington Field Office in 2008, where he supervised a public corruption and government fraud squad.

Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to an assistant special agent in charge at the St. Louis Field Office in 2014 overseeing the Criminal and Administrative branches. In 2017, Mr. D’Antuono was promoted to chief of the Financial Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigative Division. As section chief, Mr. D’Antuono oversaw all white-collar crime programs in the Bureau, including corporate securities and commodities fraud, economic crimes, financial institution fraud, money laundering, health care fraud, intellectual property, and forensic accountant programs.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. D’Antuono was a certified public accountant focused on auditing, forensic accounting, and taxation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Rhode Island.

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