Fixers Without Titles
Fixers Without Titles
Fixers Without Titles Not every woman involved in Mafia nightlife had a title that appeared on a business card. Some simply became the person everyone called when something went wrong.…
Hostesses as Intelligence Assets
Hostesses as Intelligence Assets
Hostesses as Intelligence Assets The hostess occupied one of the most underestimated positions in nightlife. She was expected to be attractive, charming, attentive, and socially graceful. Her job was supposedly…
Women on the Lease
The Woman on the Lease
The Woman on the LeaseA woman’s name on a nightclub lease could look harmless. That was precisely the point. While investigators learned to watch gangsters, bookmakers, labor racketeers, and known…
JFK Airport Cargo Mafia
The JFK Airport Cargo Facilities Investigations and the Corruption Hidden Beneath the Runways
The JFK Airport Cargo Facilities Investigations and the Corruption Hidden Beneath the Runways Article 1 in series: “How Mafia-Controlled Construction Turned Safety into a Negotiable Expense” The Corruption Hidden Beneath…
Cocktails Crime
Cocktails Born in Crime: The Drinks That Survived Prohibition
Cocktails Born in Crime: The Drinks That Survived Prohibition The Ones That Lived Most Prohibition-era drinks died with the law. They were crude, forgettable things—over-sugared disguises for bad liquor, invented…
Prohibition Cocktails
Why These Three Prohibition Cocktails Endured
Why These Three Prohibition Cocktails Endured There was no official committee deciding which Prohibition cocktails deserved a future. Survival was decided by repetition. A drink had to be ordered again.…
The Southside cocktail
The Southside: Order in Chaos
The Southside — Order in Chaos The most useful Prohibition cocktail wasn't necessarily the most sophisticated. Sometimes it was simply the one a bartender could make correctly at two in…
French 75
The French 75: Celebration with Protection
The French 75 — Celebration with Protection The French 75 carried something many Prohibition cocktails lacked: status. A glass of Champagne immediately changed the atmosphere. It suggested money, sophistication, and…
Bee's Knees cocktail
The Bee’s Knees — Honeyed Survival
The Bee’s Knees — Honeyed SurvivalThe Bee’s Knees was more than a sweet gin cocktail. In the hands of a desperate bartender, it was a little piece of alchemy.During Prohibition,…
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo: The Butcher of Brooklyn
Roy Albert DeMeo: The Butcher of BrooklynSome gangsters made their money through gambling. Others built empires through labor racketeering, political corruption, or narcotics trafficking. Roy Albert DeMeo built his reputation…
