Welcome to Mafia, a look into America’s criminal underworld. In the debut episode, Fleet Cooper tells the story of one of the most powerful, flamboyant and dangerous mafia bosses of all time, Sam Giancana.

Sam Giancana was utterly ruthless and willing to do anything in his pursuit of power. But unlike most mobsters, he didn’t live his life in the shadows. He had a beautiful showbiz girlfriend. He was even pals with singer Frank Sinatra. Sam Giancana’s influence reached the highest echelons of American politics from helping John F. Kennedy to defeat Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election to assisting in the CIA’s darkest operations in Cuba. Under his reign, the mob and politics were combined with deadly results. This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron and Empty Frames.