To the casual observer, organized crime is viewed as a singular entity, spearheaded by a powerful mafioso or crime family. In reality, it’s a multi-faceted network built on generations of blind loyalty, spawning corruption and ruthless violence.

In this episode, we’ll follow the path from Charles “Lucky” Luciano and his merciless plot to end a brutal power struggle in New York to Joseph Valachi, whose testimony opened the vault to a world previously hidden in the shadows.

This episode is sponsored by:

Burrow

Babbel - Promo code: MAFIA

BetterHelp

Mafia's theme is "Spellbound Hell" by Damiano Baldoni. Music featured in this episode: “Smoke” by Rafael Archangel; “Fog” and “Gates” by Sergey Cheremisinov; “Difference,” “Imminence,” “Snowfall,” and “Universe in Hands” by Kai Engel; “Walking Along” and “Waltz (Tchaikovsky Op. 40)” by Kevin MacLeod.

Sound Effects from freesound.org | Additional sound effects from freesfx.co.uk. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.