26Russian mafia
The Russian mafia smuggled grain alcohol to Eastern Europe by dying it blue, labeling it s windshield-wiper fluid, cologne, mouthwash, and cleaning solvents, and once overseas removing the dye and selling the alcohol as high-end liquor.
27. Japanese Yakuza have a unique form of extortion known as sōkaiya. Instead of harassing small businesses for protection money, the yakuza harasses the stockholder meetings of large corporations.
28. William Poole a.ka. ‘Bill The Butcher’, who inspired Daniel Day-Lewis’ character in Gangs of New York was head of the Bowery Boys gang. He operated on his territory in Bowery Street in New York. His gang was mostly made up of volunteer firefighters who literally fought with other gangs to have control over putting out fires. Fights between gangs would often break out over fire hydrants and sometimes the fires were never put out.
29. A group of gangsters in a Far Easter Russian town filmed themselves doing gang activities and turned it into a 7 part documentary called “Spets”. The show’s writer, producer, director and star, Vitali Dyomochka, was a real life Russian mafia boss. All the blood shown in it is real. The show received a rating of 100%.
30. The Johnson Gang was a group of traveling criminals from Gloucestershire, United Kingdom who specialized in stealing fine art and antiques from English country manors over a period of 20 years. The goods they stole were valued at £30-£80 million. The gang was sentenced to a total of 49 years in prison in 2008.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Sam Cardinelli
In 1921, a Chicago mobster named Sam Cardinelli was to be hanged but refused to walk to the gallows. He was strapped to his chair and carried to the gallows and hanged, chair and all.
32. Famed hitman Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski earned his nickname from experimenting with freezing the bodies of his victims to obfuscate the time of their death. He learned this technique from fellow hitman Robert Pronge who was also known as “Mister Softee” because he drove an ice cream truck as his cover.
33. A man named Henrie Berry Lowrie led a gang of American Indian, White, and African-American men in 1860s North Carolina. The Lowry Gang fought the Confederates, fought the white establishment during Reconstruction, only robbed people who could afford it, and shared their profits with the poor.
34. Mock Duck was a Chinese-American gangster who became active in the Manhattan Chinatown in the early 1900s. He reportedly squatted down in the street and fired at his attackers with two handguns, all with his eyes closed.
35. Mobster “Handsome Johnny” Roselli infiltrated Hollywood in the 1920s. He rose up the ranks with Al Capone. He knew everybody, dated movie stars, played golf with studio heads, and was buds with Marilyn Monroe. In 1976, he was rubbed out by a mafia hit man and stuffed into an oil drum.
