10 American Gangsters Who Faced Justice
#10: James Joseph Bulger Jr. [aka Whitey Bulger]
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James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger was a notorious Irish-American mobster that led the organized crime scene in Boston from the 70s to 90s. While controlling Boston rackets, Bulger left a trail of bodies as a result of his violent and murderous outbursts. But justice never came for those victims because of Bulger’s corrupt role as an FBI informant. It wasn’t until 1994 that the corruption was brought to light and Bulger went dark. Though Bulger was only placed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted in 1999, he was a fugitive for 16 years, up until he was captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, California. By this point, he was no longer a Southie gangster, but an aging old man. While about to turn 84, Whitey Bulger was found guilty on 31 counts, including participation in 11 murders, and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years.
#9: Nicky Barnes [aka Mr. Untouchable]
Leroy Nicholas Barnes, or “Mr. Untouchable,” flooded Harlem and other neighborhoods in New York, Pennsylvania and even some in Canada with heroin during the 1970s. By forming The Council, a crime syndicate of Black men, Barnes dangerously rose to become one of the country’s notorious dope dealers while amassing millions. With his money hidden in several other assets, Barnes comfortably dodged arrest and even appeared to be taunting law enforcement when he posed for a New York Times feature. However, the need to crack down on substance use in the streets of New York was rising as was the demand to bring in Barnes. Unable to withstand Barnes' notoriety, then-President Jimmy Carter ordered Barnes to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In 1978, Barnes was convicted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
#8: Vito Genovese
When looking at organized crime in the 20th century, the name Vito Genovese will always make an appearance. Not only was he the right-hand man to notorious crime boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano, but Genovese was also friends with Benito Mussolini and allegedly approved the slaying of a reporter who didn’t support the dictator. Needless to say, Genovese was not a man you wanted to cross. His ruthless desire to be the “Boss of Bosses'' went as far as ordering hits on big bosses like Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello. Despite Genovese’s name being connected to several mob crimes, police were unable to hold him behind bars long. But as years went on, Genovese got sloppy and law enforcement cracked down on organized crime. In 1959, Genovese could no longer outrun his crimes and was convicted on narcotics conspiracy charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
#7: Charles Luciano [aka Lucky Luciano]
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Considered the father of modern American organized crime, Charles “Lucky” Luciano was responsible for the creation of The Commission: a governing body that supervised mafia activities across the United States. Luciano had several criminal rings that involved racketeering, sex work, bootlegging, gambling, and more. As the Luciano Family’s reputation and power grew in the world of organized crime, so did the attention from the law. Prosecutor Thomas Dewey and attorney Eunice Carter led investigations on Luciano’s connection to sex work rings. In 1936, Luciano was arrested and swiftly convicted for compulsory prostitution and sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison.
#6: Frank Costello
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The American Gangster film genre and Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” may not have been possible without the influence of real life mob boss Frank Costello. After Lucky Luciano was imprisoned and Vito Genovese fled the country, Costello was appointed as acting crime boss and took control of all Luciano’s operations – earning just as much respect and notoriety as his predecessor. It wasn’t until the Kefauver Hearings, an 1950s investigation on organized crime led by the U.S. Senate, that Costello would be caught in the legal system. The Hearings not only exposed Costello’s weakness under the scrutiny of law, but also exposed the truth of the mafia empire to the public masses. Costello lost his influence in the mafia and was convicted of contempt of the Senate, leading to an 18-month prison sentence. He was later indicted for tax evasion and sentenced to 5 years. Even after prison and his retirement from the mafia, The Prime Minister of the Underworld would continue to be tied up in legal battles up until his death in 1973.
#5: Mickey Cohen
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The City of Angels also had its fair share of mafia activities, and Mickey Cohen was one of its players. Though the New York-born Cohen spent some time in LA and Chicago in his earlier years, it was to help fellow mobster Bugsy Siegel control the rackets and develop the race wire that made Cohen settle on the West as his homebase. When Siegel was assassinated in 1947, Cohen became the mob king of LA. He had several fronts as well as real businesses throughout LA: jewelry shops, ice cream trucks, gas stations, and supper clubs. It was rumored that Cohen was also the center of prostitution and blackmail operations in Hollywood. Cohen’s celebrity gangster status dimmed in 1951 when he was convicted for tax evasion and sentenced to 4 years and then convicted again in 1961, serving his sentence at Alcatraz.
#4: George Kelly Barnes [aka Machine Gun Kelly]
Not to be confused with the modern-day rapper MGK, George “Machine Gun” Kelly was a famous American gangster during the Prohibition Era. Kelly’s criminal reputation began with bootlegging and then escalated to armed robberies and kidnappings. It was actually his wife Kathryn Thorne who gave him his first machine gun and helped get his name and reputation out there amongst his fellow criminals. In July 1933, Kelly gained the attention of the FBI by kidnapping a wealthy oilman for a ransom of $200,000–equivalent to about 4.5 million today. With Kelly robbing banks dry and kidnapping men for money, the FBI was scrambling to lock him up for good. On September 26, 1933, Kelly and his wife were finally caught and sentenced to life in prison.
#3: John Gotti
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Just like Genovese, mobster John Gotti was bloodthirsty to be the boss of the Gambino Family. In 1985, Gotti had orchestrated the murder of the Gambino Family’s boss, Paul Castellano and his right-hand man Thomas Bilotti. With Castellano eliminated, Gotti took over the Gambino family and rose to be a celebrity gangster on the streets of New York. He was either known as the “Dapper Don” for his fancy suits or the “Teflon Don” because authorities were unable to stick serious criminal charges on him. But through wiretapping, constant surveillance and some help from Gotti's underboss, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, the FBI arrested Gotti and later convicted him on multiple charges in 1992, including for the murder of Castellano and Bilotti.
#2: Frank Lucas
Rivaling Leroy Nicky Barnes, kingpin Frank Lucas created an international drug ring that expanded from New York to Southeast Asia in the 60s and 70s. He was most infamously known for providing the streets of Harlem with a version of heroin known as “Blue Magic.” Lucas reportedly entered the world of organized crime and dope dealing under the guidance of notorious Harlem gangster Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. When Johnson died in 1968, Lucas essentially replaced him as a Harlem crime boss, expanding his criminal operations to a whole new level of wealth and notoriety. His international drug trafficking led to the exploitation and deaths of many caught in his scheme for money and power. But his drug empire came to an end when his house was raided in 1975 and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison - though that was reduced and modified in subsequent years for various reasons.
#1: Al Capone
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One of the biggest catches of them all in mob history was that of Al Capone—the original Public Enemy No. 1. Out of all the American gangsters, Al Capone is most famously known and celebrated due to pop culture’s romanticization of his criminal lifestyle. From bootlegging to gambling rackets, Al Capone controlled the streets of Chicago with his crime syndicate the Chicago Outfit. One of Capone’s deadliest acts as crime boss was the supposed ordering one of the bloodiest hits of the century: the 1929 Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. As the violence in Chicago increased, so did the hunt to build a case against Capone and imprison him. In 1931, federal investigators followed the money and found Capone guilty of income tax evasion and sentenced him to 11-years in prison.
