For those who don't know, the latest issue of Informer Journal is out. Lennert Van Ri'et, David Critchley and Steve Turner put out the most informative and detailed article on infamous Mob boss Albert Anastasia ever written; Ed Valin traces the history of the term "Cosa Nostra" for the Mafia; Tom Hunt examines the connections of Calabrian mobsters in early 20th century America; and I review Gary Krist's new book "Empire of Sin," about the New Orleans underworld in the late 1800s to early 1900s. My latest column shows how J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI and his meddling into the Black Panthers inadvertently led to the creation of the Bloods and Crips.

http://informer-journal.blogspot.com/20 ... ormer.html

Another new issue is out.

-Smothered by law enforcement surveillance and infiltration in their home territory and wary of reprisals by deposed boss Stefano Magaddino, a rebel group of Buffalo, New York, Mafiosi in 1969 explored racket opportunities in what they thought were greener pastures in Florida.
The move quickly caught the attention of the FBI. Rather than provide security for the breakaway organized crime faction, the lost time and resources in Florida led to the collapse of the Pieri-DiCarlo regime in the Buffalo underworld. In this issue, Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona tell the story of Buffalo’s attempts to establish a rackets colony in Florida
-Plenty has been written over the years about Lucky Luciano. Some accounts have been factual, some fictional, at least one fictional pretending to be factual. In C. Joseph Greaves’ latest novel, we find a fictional account built on a foundation of historical research. Greaves tells readers about his book, his approach and the cache of previously overlooked documents that provided him a fresh window into the subject
-What is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency? The little known postal inspection service, formed under Benjamin Franklin in the Colonial Era, has a claim to that designation. Author and retired postal inspector H.K. Petschel provides a brief history of “the Silent Service”
-Also in this issue:

The U.S. Postal Service delivery of the Hope Diamond.
Patrick Downey runs through the underworld’s greatest “hits” of the month of October.
Richard N. Warner reviews two recently released books, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and The Two Mafias

http://informer-journal.blogspot.com/

Great job, boys. That article about the Calabrians should be great. I can't wait to read it.

The article about the Calabrians was in the previous issue from June.

faithful1, can you give some small bits about the luciano vice trial?

It's not my article so I wouldn't feel right doing that. Anyway, for only $5 (for the pdf version) it helps keep the magazine alive. There are not that many places where you can get solid well-researched info on organized crime, but there are a lot of places with junk that keep on repeating the myths and bogus stories year after year. Consider also how much money each author spends doing the research by traveling, copying, paying fees, etc. It adds up. So if you're interested in helping to keep a place where authors can write and publish serious information, spend the equivalent of one Starbucks latte or espresso. It's worth it.

This just might be my next few "book" purchases, how long you guys been up and running?

@mickey2 - I will say this about the Luciano article: the author makes the best case that I've seen about how the prosecutor, Thomas Dewey, corrupted the law to put Lucky away.

@CabriniGreen - Informer's been around since 2008.