Criminal Empire: Mafia Mysteries & Killers

Behind bars, mafia bosses weren’t untouchable—they were fresh meat. This episode exposes Al Capone’s syphilis-fueled prison breakdown, John Gotti’s humiliating gig as a cellblock dishwasher, and Vito Genovese’s $1 million bribes to avoid gang rapes. Hear how the Aryan Brotherhood extorted Lucky Luciano, the Black Guerrillas forced Paul Castellano into heroin smuggling, and the FBI planted undercover agents as prison wives to extract confessions. A brutal look at how the Life crumbles when the handcuffs snap.

Roy DeMeo didn’t just kill—he industrialized murder. This episode reconstructs his "Murder Machine" through gruesome NYPD autopsy photos, mobster confessions, and DeMeo’s own chilling home videos teaching his son to dismember bodies. Learn how he sold livers to corrupt surgeons, stored heads in meat lockers for Gambino capos, and turned a Brooklyn auto shop into a serial killer’s playground. Featuring an ex-hitman’s confession about DeMeo’s necrophiliac rituals, this isn’t for the faint-hearted—it’s the definitive horror story of the mafia’s most deranged killer.

Henry Hill didn’t just snitch—he sold his soul. This episode uncovers Hill’s FBI psych files, detailing his paranoia that Lorraine Bracco’s Goodfellas role was a mob hit, his $500k Vegas bender with CIA cocaine, and the mafia-sanctioned pimp who filmed Hill’s affairs to blackmail the FBI. Hear the deathbed confession of Tommy DeSimone’s widow, who claims Hill helped bury bodies after flipping, and learn why Paul Sorvino refused to speak to him for decades. A savage portrait of the man who traded the Life for witness protection—and died hated by both sides.

The Godfather didn’t just imitate life—it bought it. This episode reveals how Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, and studio bosses paid the Gambinos $2 million to "consult" on mafia films—and silence actors who asked too many questions. Discover the blood oath Brando took with Carlo Gambino, the hitman hired to scare Coppola into casting Pacino, and the real-life Santino Corleone who burned a critic alive for panning the film. With never-broadcast audio of John Gotti laughing about The Sopranos, this is the dark side of Hollywood’s mob obsession.

Donnie Brasco’s undercover mission nearly destroyed him—and the FBI. This episode cracks open declassified files revealing Brasco’s secret love letters to Lefty Ruggiero, his cocaine-fueled nights with Sonny Black, and the FBI’s order to let innocents die to protect his cover. Hear Ruggiero’s final phone call begging Brasco for help before his execution, and learn how Brasco’s wife attempted suicide after finding his hidden mob tattoos. Featuring a former Bonanno capo who claims Brasco slept with a made man’s daughter, this is the unvarnished truth Hollywood refused to show.

The FBI didn’t just hunt the mob—they infiltrated their funerals. This marathon episode exposes J. Edgar Hoover’s classified COINTELPRO-Mafia files, revealing agents who posed as priests to bug confessionals, planted microphones in mobsters’ mistresses’ apartments, and blackmailed hitmen into flipping. Hear the unedited confession of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano’s wife, wiretapped discussing body disposals, and learn how the FBI faked a mob boss’s death to trap John Gotti. With exclusive audio of agents bribing coroners to hide evidence, this is the dirtiest chapter in the Bureau’s war on organized crime.

Vito Genovese didn’t rise from New York’s slums to rule La Cosa Nostra by playing nice. This episode unearths never-before-heard FBI wiretaps of Genovese ordering hits on rivals, bribing judges with gold-filled coffins, and orchestrating the infamous "Night of the Sicilian Vespers" purge. Discover how he betrayed Frank Costello in a Broadway ambush, manipulated J. Edgar Hoover to avoid deportation, and turned his wife into a heroin mule to fund his empire. Featuring interviews with retired NYPD detectives who found bodies buried under Genovese’s favorite bakery, this is the definitive story of the mob’s most calculating boss