The Hollywood Godfather Podcast

On the Hollywood Godfather Podcast, Gianni Russo, Patrick Piccirilli, and Megan host filmmaker Brett Ratner, who recalls meeting Russo as a child at Caesars Palace and later casting him in films including The Family Man, Red Dragon, and the Rush Hour movies. Ratner describes visiting the Scarface set in Miami Beach as a kid, appearing in a scene, and how watching Brian De Palma direct Al Pacino inspired him to become a director. He also shares childhood stories of befriending Meyer Lansky, including dinners with Lansky and receiving personal items and a letter to Golda Meir after his death, plus a story about Lansky’s stepson Dickie Schwartz. Ratner recounts Steve Wynn delaying the Desert Inn implosion so Ratner could film Rush Hour 2. The episode ends with listener mailbag Q&A, podcast announcements, and promotion of Piccirilli’s new book Popline.

On the 101st Hollywood Godfather Podcast, the hosts introduce a request-driven format and respond to a listener asking for an episode on New Orleans and Carlos Marcello. Patrick argues the American Mafia’s origins trace to New Orleans in the late 1880s, describing the “Sicilian Assassination League,” the 1890 killing of police superintendent David Hennessey, and the subsequent mass lynching of Italian defendants amid rivalry between the Matranga and Provenzano factions. They profile Marcello (born Calogero Minacore), his name change, gambling focus, small 12-man family with major political power, testimony before the Kefauver Committee, and later legal troubles, deportation attempts, and links with Costello and Trafficante. They discuss JFK-era claims involving Oswald, Ruby, and mob figures, mention mob lawyer Frank Ragano, explain “godfather” and initiation symbolism, run a Corleone Fine Italian Foods ad, and answer mailbag questions about Elvis, Connecticut mob history, a planned TV series (targeting fall 2022), holidays, New York’s decline, and Gianni Russo’s $3M boat purchase.

On the Hollywood Godfather Podcast, Gianni, Patrick and Meghan continue their mentor series by profiling Kirk Kerkorian, described as a self-made billionaire with no mob ties who loved gambling and reshaped Las Vegas through land deals and mega-hotels. They recount Kerkorian’s early life as a pilot ferrying planes to Scotland, his purchase and profitable sale of Trans International Airlines, his leasing land for Caesars, and building the International Hotel in 1969 with Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley as early headliners, plus later ventures including MGM, Columbia Pictures, and attempted auto-industry takeovers. Russo shares personal stories of Kerkorian’s mentorship, Vegas licensing and zoning battles, and the rapid reopening after the MGM Grand fire. A sponsor message follows, then a mailbag covers magician Jimmy Grippo, Sinatra arranging a Happy Days cast appearance, Russo’s Vatican courier work, and a brief discussion of personal sayings.

In the first 2022 episode of the Hollywood Godfather Podcast, the hosts review nine law-enforcement-investigated theories about what happened to union leader Jimmy Hoffa after his July 1975 disappearance, including claims he was killed on Tony Pro’s orders, buried under Giants Stadium, dumped from a plane into the Great Lakes, or hidden at various Michigan and New Jersey sites; they note most were unsupported, while a current theory involves a New Jersey landfill where the FBI has conducted a site survey and is analyzing data. Gianni Russo adds a separate account that Hoffa’s car was taken to a Staten Island scrapyard, crushed into a cube, and later used as a coffee table. After a sponsor message, the show shifts to a listener mailbag covering New Year resolutions, family priorities after a loss, Jayne Mansfield, Christmas music and movies, personal confidants, and holiday traditions.

On the Hollywood Godfather Podcast, hosts introduce former federal agent Joseph Occhipinti, outlining his career from Army MP and Customs to INS special agent, undercover work, and major cocaine seizures, followed by his later clemency from President George H.W. Bush (1993) and full pardon and apology from President Donald J. Trump (2020), plus his founding of the National Police Defense Foundation, Safe Cop, and Operation Kids. Occhipinti describes growing up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, missing the NYPD height requirement, joining Customs, then becoming an INS agent specializing in Dominican organized crime in Washington Heights. He recounts posing as a corrupt official in FBI-monitored stings, meeting Rudy Giuliani during a bribery approach that led to a large cocaine seizure, and creating the multi-agency Project Bodega to target bodega-based drug operations tied to an NYPD officer’s murder. He explains the task force’s consent-search tactics, major seizures, political backlash involving Mayor Dinkins, and a cartel plan to frame him with federal civil rights charges, setting up the next episode.

On the Hollywood Godfather Podcast, Gianni Russo, Patrick Piccirilli, and Megan Horan welcome actor and real estate developer Brandon Williams, cast to play Russo in Paramount+’s limited series The Offer about the making of The Godfather. After a comedic “top 10 ways to become Gianni Russo,” Williams describes growing up on the streets of Los Angeles, his love of mob films, his Italian wife and son named Gianni, his shift from acting to successful Los Angeles real estate, and how casting director John Papsidera offered him the role and quickly cast him from a self-tape. Williams says he appears in three episodes, including scenes involving James Caan and delivering a tape to producer Al Ruddy, and notes the series largely centers on Ruddy with a strong cast. After a brief book promo and event plug, the hosts answer listener emails about Sinatra Jr.’s kidnapping, Rat Pack entertainers, The Many Saints of Newark, other podcast appearances, and Joe Silvestri of Shelton Health Clubs, then close the show with contact and subscription info.

Gianni Russo opens the Hollywood Godfather podcast by promoting a new membership program at hollywoodgodfatherfamily.com, then welcomes longtime friend Larry Manetti to discuss their 50-year friendship. Manetti recounts meeting Russo at his Chicago restaurant, their move as roommates to Brentwood in Los Angeles, and the celebrity-filled lifestyle they shared. The conversation ranges through friends and figures in entertainment and organized crime, including Alan Smiley, Robert Conrad’s help getting Manetti cast on Baa Baa Black Sheep, Steven Cannell, and experiences in mob-era Las Vegas with comps, gambling stories, and characters like Gene Cimorelli and Yale Cohen. Russo also shares anecdotes involving Sidney Korshak, Teamsters loans, JFK and Marilyn Monroe allegations, and Mario Puzo. They plan to continue the stories in a second episode.

Gianni Russo, Pat Piccirilli, and Megan Horan discuss how New York City’s private carting (garbage) industry emerged around 1953 and became heavily infiltrated by the mafia, including price undercutting and shakedowns of restaurants and businesses, with the Gambino family said to dominate. They focus on Vincent Squillante, a very short made member and major earner who worked closely with Albert Anastasia and was reportedly near him during Anastasia’s 1957 barber-shop assassination; after Anastasia’s death, Squillante lost protection and vanished in 1961, with theories ranging from Gambino having him killed to a story of women stabbing him. They mention Squillante’s extortion arrest and cellmate Rudolf Abel, Giuliani-era crackdowns that hurt Angelo Ponte’s carting business, Russo’s own near-indictment, a Corleone Fine Italian Foods sponsor spot, and a mailbag covering cookbooks, Little Italy’s changes, football, recent films, and Russo’s relationships with Godfather castmates.

A Rebroadcast of episode 140

Gianni Russo, Pat Picirelli, and Megan Horan discuss a New York Post article claiming the five families worry younger mobsters are too tied to phones and social media, citing a fugitive Colombo consigliere, Ralph DiMatteo, caught after his son posted a poolside photo, and another extortionist who sent threats by text. The main topic is Vito Genovese: after the 1957 Apalachin meeting embarrassed the mafia, narcotics chief Harry Anslinger targeted Genovese for heroin trafficking. They describe an informant used to link Genovese to heroin meetings and argue he may have been framed by rivals like Costello and Gambino; Genovese’s conviction led to prison where he marked Joe Valachi for death, prompting Valachi to testify and expose La Cosa Nostra. In the mailbag, they answer questions about Russo’s delayed clothing line, Corleone Fine Italian products, Mort Downey Jr., mafia depictions, Harlem numbers king “Spanish Raymond” Marquez, Greg DePalma, top bosses, and continuing the podcast.