Netflix's latest true-crime docuseries, Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia, delivered in just three parts, has been lauded for being one of the few shows about the mafia that doesn't glorify the dangerous and corrupt organization. It details how the FBI managed to take down five mob families in New York in the 80s when the Italian mob ruled just about every industry and business in the state.
While the series didn't really reveal anything ground-breaking that wasn't already public knowledge, it did provide some pretty shocking facts for viewers who weren't intimately familiar with the story. Here are some of the most jaw-dropping.
10 A Mob Member Unknowingly Helped Plant a Bug In The TV
The FBI agent who went undercover to wiretap the home of one of the big mob bosses told of how he did it. First, they used legitimate issues with phone service to pose as a phone repairman to plant the bug.
But this was not the most shocking detail that was revealed. When they purposely caused interference with the TV, the same agent posed as a TV repairman. He even asked a mob member to hold the flashlight for him while he planted the bug, pretending to fix the problem. Clearly, the man didn't know anything about technology and had no idea that's what the cop was doing. But it was a purely brazen move that could have backfired and led to deadly consequences.
9 The Mobs Controlled The Unions
The mobs didn't just go into small local businesses and demand a cut of profits in exchange for protection, as is often depicted in mob movies. They also controlled major organizations and unions in the city.
From sanitation to construction, the mob had control of every industry and those who made the calls about which companies got the big contracts. Naturally, the mob made sure that everything always worked out in its favor.
8 The Existence Of The Commission
The biggest break in the case was when the FBI realized that the mafia wasn't like gangs that rival one another and fight for territory. They all had their place like their own form of government and never stepped on one another's toes. In fact, they actually worked together.
The FBI discovered the existence of something called The Commission, a sort of Board that consisted of the heads of the five main mob families: the Gambinos, Colombos, Bonannos, Luccheses, and Genoveses.
7 John Gotti Shot Paul Castellano
John Gotti, one of the most well-known gangsters of the period, was the boss of the Gambino crime family for some time. He was one of the mafia's top earners and a protégé. However, it is known in the mob that if you are caught running drugs, you will be killed.
In an effort to take down the big boss before he could take him down, Gotti reportedly killed Gambino family boss Paul Castellano as he was walking out of the courthouse on bail after his arrest.
6 FBI Wiretapped Them Right Under Their Noses
The FBI showed how they installed many of the wiretaps, which weren't as simple to do or monitor as they are today. In addition to the television installation noted above, there was also one instance where a wire was installed in a car.
The first time, it was installed when the mob member parked far away from a meeting in the rain and the FBI was able to get in and out quickly with a key provided by the manufacturer. The second time, they used a van to block the mob member's view of his car while he was sitting in a restaurant so they could put the wire back - the first one accidentally killed the car's battery!
5 Rudy Giuliani Was Heavily Involved In The Case
Rudy Giuliani was heavily involved in the case, as he was serving as District Attorney for New York at the time, and he was interviewed quite extensively for the docuseries.
Giuliani was integral to the success of the case under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and felt a personal connection given that, as an Italian growing up in New York, he could very well have gone the other way in life.
4 Paul Castellano Was Ready To Chat With TV Shows
Right after walking out of the courthouse, being released on bail after his much-publicized arrest, Castellano, the head of the Gambino family, was surrounded by reporters. One offered him the chance to come on camera to tell his side of the story.
Castellano, ever the charmer and businessman, accepted the offer and suggested he would be happy to do so. However, he was shot not long after.
3 Construction Workers Were Falling To Their Deaths
While the mafia ruled the roost in New York City, there was a construction boom where several high rise buildings were being erected all over town, and the mafia ensured that the profits went into their pockets. If companies and foremen did not comply with their demands, the consequences were deadly - literally.
The docuseries showed old news broadcasts of reports of construction workers, foremen, and others, falling to their deaths while on the job. Did they really fall? That's up for debate.
2 The Recorded Conversations
The evidence the FBI managed to acquire from the various wiretaps was damning. They had conversations with mafia members delivering obvious threats or talking about doing so. They were boasting about how they were in charge of various unions and about their latest dealings.
It was through these recordings that they also discovered the existence of the Commission by hearing it referenced many times and figuring out what, and who, it involved.
1 The Mafia Still Exists
While the FBI take-down depicted in the series happened way back in the 80s and was, for all intents and purposes, successful, the five organized crime families that make up the Italian American Mafia are still very much alive and well today. Most recently, Frank Cali, a one-time acting leader of the Mangano/Gambino family, was murdered in March 2019.
The idea of the Five Families has been used, with different names, in everything from video games, like Grand Theft Auto IV, to movies, like The Godfather.
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