The Brutal Rise & Fall of the Mafia *Marathon* | American Godfathers: The Five Families

For decades, the Mafia's Five Families controlled New York City through murder, extortion, labor racketeering, gambling, loan sharking, and political influence. Bound by the code of Omertà, organized crime bosses built an empire that seemed untouchable.

This mafia marathon explores the complete history of the American Mafia—from its origins in Sicily and the rise of Lucky Luciano's Five Families to the infamous Apalachin Meeting, the Senate hearings, Joe Valachi's historic testimony, and the bloody mob wars that shaped organized crime in America.

Discover the stories of notorious mob bosses and gangsters including Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Joe Bonanno, Albert Anastasia, Joe Colombo, Joey Gallo, Paul Castellano, John Gotti, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, Joseph Massino, Salvatore Vitale, and more.

Featuring FBI investigations, mafia informants, mob hits, racketeering trials, witness testimony, and the eventual collapse of the code of silence, this documentary traces how America's most powerful criminal organization rose to power—and how it ultimately began to fall.

Topics include:
• The Five Families of New York
• Omertà and the Mafia code of silence
• Lucky Luciano and the Commission
• The Apalachin Mafia Summit
• Joe Valachi's testimony
• Organized crime investigations
• FBI wiretaps and informants
• John Gotti and the Gambino Family
• Joseph Massino and the Bonanno Family
• Mafia murders, racketeering, and federal prosecutions
• The history of the American Mafia

#Mafia #FiveFamilies #JohnGotti #OrganizedCrime #Mobsters #AmericanHistory #CrimeDocumentary #MafiaHistory #LuckyLuciano #History

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American Godfathers: The Five Families, executive produced and narrated by Emmy Award®-winning actor Michael Imperioli is a three-part, six-hour documentary series exploring the inception, rise, and fall of New York City’s five Mafia families who over a fifty-plus-year period had a hand in every facet of organized crime in America from bootlegging and drug trafficking to extortion and gambling. Based upon Selwyn Raab’s New York Times best-seller “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires,” “American Godfathers: The Five Families” traces the extensive history of the Mafia beginning with its early ties to Sicily. The history and subsequent breakdown of the “omerta” code coupled with the ever-changing violent power struggles within each of the five families is vividly chronicled throughout each two-hour episode. Through investigative archival images, footage, audio recordings, and recreation as well as new, candid on-camera interviews with authors including Raab himself, historians, experts, law enforcement, witnesses, and former mafia affiliates, viewers will get an inside look at the inner workings of the most powerful criminal organization of the twentieth century.

HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.