The History of the American Mafia: How the Mob Built Its Empire in the US, with Former Gambino Crime Family Associate, Louis Ferrante.

In this episode, Mark sits down with former Mob associate Louis Ferrante to discuss his book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia.

The history of the American Mafia, known as La Cosa Nostra or simply "The Mob," is well known. Prohibition in the United States during the Roaring Twenties saw the rise of characters who have since been mythologized in Hollywood: Charles "Lucky" Luciano and his close confidant Meyer Lansky, Al "Scarface" Capone, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, and Salvatore Maranzano.

What makes Borgata different is that it was written by someone who lived "The Life," providing a unique perspective. Lou discusses the formation of The Commission, an underworld ruling council that controlled the Five Families of New York (now known as the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo), The Outfit in Chicago, and the Philadelphia Mafia.

Lou talks about the rules, the use of violence, and how the US government looked to tackle the growing power of organized crime, spearheaded by the likes of prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey.

We also hear about Lou's own life in La Cosa Nostra and how he and his crew committed some of the most successful heists in US history, which ultimately landed him in prison.

In prison, he began to read everything he could get his hands on, including history, philosophy, and the great classics of literature. He never turned on his former associates, but when he left prison, he also left "The Life." Now he speaks about his experiences with the Mob and has become a successful author (Unlocked: A Journey from Prison to Proust), including his new a huge three-part history of the American Mafia.

In this episode, Mark and Lou discuss the first book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia.

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Louis Ferrante's book 'Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia' is available here: https://a.co/d/cDcxOQ2

Audible version: https://a.co/d/2VHu3Ht

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Welcome to Underworlds with Mark Shaw.

Organized Crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. The stories from this world have been mythologised by Hollywood. But the reality can be even stranger and more exciting than fiction.

From the golden age of the American mafia (La Cosa Nostra), to the modern-day cocaine empires, and from the shadowy links between organized crime and terrorism, to the twilight of the Yakuza.

In this series Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime delves into non-fiction books about organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks questions about their background and investigations, but also the challenges associated in writing about this murky world.

We end the series with a boxing match: Mayweather vs Pacquiao in May 2015 (before the assassination even happened). A fight that was billed “The Battle For Greatness” and how it was gloriously significant for South African politics, Bozwana and the case as a whole.  

In this episode we head to Mozambique and investigate how the trend of assassinations is spreading across Africa. We explore the parallels between South Africa and Mozambique, particularly on how their assassination landscapes compare. We hear from experts at The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime on the business of assassinations and what is needed for the culture to thrive.

In this episode we explore the taxi industry in South Africa more thoroughly. We examine how it is an entry point for violence and assassinations. We explore how you can take back control of a taxi organization and reduce the violence within. We examine the grip that the alleged assassin Vusi “KheKhe” Mathibela has over certain taxi organizations and if he can be stopped. 

The alleged assassin who arranged the hitmen who killed Bozwana is on trial. His name is Vusi “KheKhe” Mathibela. He was arrested after one of his co-accused identified him on a CCTV video pointing out Bozwana (while shopping at the luxurious Sandton City in Johannesburg) on the day he was killed. Vusi has built a formidable empire for himself inside the taxi industry (a place infamous for assassinations). We explore how he rose to power and what influence he is still able to wield from behind bars. 

In this episode we focus on South African politician, Supra Mahumapelo, and how he was allegedly involved with the deceased, Wandile Bozwana. There have been significant and repetitive accusations against Supra that he was the man who ordered the hit against Bozwana. What makes the accusations against Supra ordering the murder more compelling is that it was echoed by a gang member. The gang member turned state witness and filed an affidavit with the Gauteng police’s Provincial Investigations Unit. In the affidavit he claimed that Supra ordered the hit on Bozwana. Supra has vehemently denied any involvement, but we speak to an anonymous source who believes there is evidence in the police docket to the contrary.

We start our story in the business premises and home of private investigator Mike Bolhuis. He leads us into the world of assassinations in South Africa and how the industry is linked to networks of organized crime. We are introduced to Wandile Bozwana who was killed in October 2015 while stopped at a red traffic light on the N1 Garsfontein-offramp in Pretoria. He was shot nine times and a detail that stands out (that his driver Mpho Baloyi relayed in court) was that during the shooting Bozwana rolled over her to try and shield her from the fire. He tried to catch as many of the bullets with his own body as possible so Mpho wouldn’t be hurt. Despite this Mpho was shot twice but was able to drive them both to Unitas Hospital in Pretoria where she received help and Bozwana promptly died at the age of 43.

Links:

For information on Mike Bolhuis: https://mikebolhuis.co.za/ 

Courtesy of Top Billing (published on youtube on 1 August 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5UhQuZ03PU

And SABC news (published on youtube on 10 Oct 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAuCcj_PFTc 

Bozwana shielded lover from hail of bullets: 

https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/bozwana-shielded-lover-from-hail-of-bullets-10052953