In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with author Jay Baer to explore the hidden, human side of organized crime’s biggest names — Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, John Gotti, and Paul Castellano.

Jay’s book, Mob Life: The Private World of Capone, Lansky, Gotti, and Castellano, takes a unique look beyond the murders, rackets, and headlines to reveal how these mobsters actually lived — what they ate, how they dressed, their relationships with religion, and how they handled immense power and wealth.

Listeners will hear:
How Al Capone’s family sold his spaghetti sauce recipe to Ragu — their first commercial product.

Why Meyer Lansky, the most devout of the four, was denied the right to die in Israel by Prime Minister Golda Meir.

The lavish lifestyle and fatal missteps of Paul Castellano, the “Howard Hughes of the Mafia.”   The contrast between Gotti’s flamboyance and Lansky’s low profile — and how each approach shaped their downfall.

The staggering fortunes these men built — and how, in the end, they all lost it.

Jay also shares his own lifelong fascination with organized crime, his career outside writing, and his upcoming project, How to Live Like a Gangster — No Prison Required, a look at mob values like loyalty, respect, and power through a modern lens.

Gary and Jay swap mob history from New York to Kansas City, including a discussion of the real story behind scenes from Casino and Kansas City’s own underworld power struggles.

ON AMAZON Wayne said

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Facts on the Mob
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2021Format: Kindle
If your looking for a good fast interesting read on the Mafia, this is the book for you. Full of information on mob types that most have no clue about.
You can't lose with this book I believe.

Listen now to uncover the side of the mob you’ve never heard before.

Get the book: Mob Life: The Private World of Capone, Lansky, Gotti, and Castellano by Jay Robert Baer on Amazon

00:00 – Intro: Gary Jenkins welcomes Jay Baer 01:00 – Why Jay wrote Mob Life and his lifelong fascination with gangsters
03:30 – From detailing cars to writing true crime books
05:30 – Gary and Jay’s early mob reading influences
07:00 – Researching Al Capone’s private life
08:00 – Capone’s secret spaghetti sauce recipe sold to Ragu
09:00 – John Gotti’s love for Cracker Barrel and biscuits & gravy
10:00 – Meyer Lansky’s religious life and denied burial in Israel
12:00 – Castellano’s wealth, arrogance, and fall 14:00 – Jay’s next book: How to Live Like a Gangster — No Prison Required
15:00 – Loyalty and respect in the mob vs. business life
16:00 – How Castellano’s aloofness led to his murder
18:00 – The real Joe Watts story — the German who made millions
20:00 – Gary shares Kansas City mob stories and Casino connections
23:00 – The failed car bombing of underboss Tuffy DeLuna
25:00 – The Mob Museum and modern mob myths
26:00 – Jay shows his book Mob Life and shares fun mob trivia 28:00 – How much money mob bosses really made — and lost
30:00 – Why law enforcement didn’t chase mob money before the drug era
31:00 – Joe Massino’s $10 million cash and gold surrender
32:00 – Final thoughts: The mob’s empire always ends the same way

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwir...

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence detective Gary Jenkins sits down with Burt Gonzalez, a veteran officer from the Miami-Dade Police Department, for an unfiltered look inside one of the most violent and chaotic eras in American law enforcement history. Bert has published his story title The Real Greatest Show on Earth.

With decades of experience spanning multiple divisions, Burt recounts the transformation of Dade County’s police force—from Metro-Dade to Miami-Dade—and now back to an elected sheriff. He walks us through the gritty evolution of policing in South Florida, where the drug trade fueled daily violence and cartel wars left bodies in the streets. Burt shares firsthand stories from Miami’s cocaine-crazed years, including a shocking drug bust that netted 208 kilos of cocaine and over a million dollars in cash, offering a vivid glimpse into the unpredictable and dangerous life of a street cop.

Beyond the shootouts and seizures, we explore the human side of policing—the growing mental health crisis in Miami-Dade, the deadly unpredictability of domestic violence calls, and the emotional toll that constant exposure to trauma takes on officers. Burt emphasizes the importance of training, de-escalation, and support systems for those on the front lines.

The conversation also previews Burt’s upcoming show, Sergeant Maverick, a podcast where he’ll tackle everything from police work and politics to financial advice for first responders—and even the decline of customer service in America. Join us for this candid, eye-opening conversation as Burt Gonzalez pulls back the curtain on the realities, dangers, and hard-earned lessons of Miami policing during the height of America’s drug war.
Click here to get the book, The Real Greatest Show on Earth
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

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To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

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Transcript
[0:00] Well, hey, all you wiretappers, welcome to the studio of Gangland Wire. I'm back here, and I have a fellow copper from down in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Burt Gonzalez. And, you know, I worked all the jobs on the police department, mainly spent my time in intelligence, so that's why I focus on organized crime. But I worked all the rest of the jobs, almost all of them. I never was a wheel man. But other than that, I think I did everything. And Burt's done a lot of things, too. So welcome, Bert. Thank you, Gary. Appreciate it. Glad to be here. And guys, you need to know, and we'll talk about this later, Bert has a book out there about his career and some great stories called The Real Greatest Show on Earth. And believe me, Bert, it is the real greatest show on Earth, isn't it? Well, that's why I named the book that.

[0:49] I was thinking about what is it that we do and what do w...

In this explosive episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins dives deep into one of the most complex and mysterious figures of the Cold War era—Ricardo “Monkey” Morales, a Cuban exile whose life intersected with the CIA, the anti-Castro underground, Las Vegas mobsters, and even the JFK assassination.
Gary welcomes Rick Morales Jr., son of Monkey Morales, and author Sean Oliver, co-writer of the new book Monkey Morales: The True Story of a Mythic Cuban Exile Assassin, CIA Operative, FBI Informant, Smuggler, and Dad. Together, they unravel the incredible life of a man who was at once a patriot, a spy, and a killer.
Rick recounts growing up in Miami’s Little Havana, where his father’s shadow loomed large—rumored to have ties to the JFK assassination and known for his secret missions across the world. From escaping Cuba as a disillusioned Castro loyalist to training as part of the CIA’s Operation 40 assassination unit, Monkey Morales lived a life that reads like a spy thriller.
Sean Oliver walks listeners through Monkey’s covert missions in Africa’s Congo, his deep ties to other operatives like Frank Sturgis and Barry Seal, and the secret wars that connected Cuban exiles, the CIA, and organized crime. The conversation also explores how Monkey became entangled with Lefty Rosenthal, the Chicago Outfit’s Las Vegas gambling mastermind, and how his bomb-making skills were used in mob turf wars across Florida.
The discussion culminates with Morales Jr.’s chilling memory of his father confessing he was in Dallas on the day President Kennedy was shot—and that he had seen Lee Harvey Oswald in a CIA training camp. Whether you believe Morales was a hero, a villain, or both, his story weaves through some of the darkest and most intriguing chapters of 20th-century American history.
Get the book: Monkey Morales: The True Story of a Mythic Cuban Exile Assassin, CIA Operative, FBI Informant, Smuggler, and Dad
Highlights include:
• How Monkey Morales went from a Cuban intelligence officer to a CIA-trained operative
• The secretive Operation 40 and its links to the Bay of Pigs, the Congo, Watergate, and Dallas
• Morales’s work for the FBI and the CIA—and his dangerous double life in Miami
• His connection to mob figure Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and the Outfit’s Florida operations
• A firsthand account from Morales Jr. about his father’s claim to have seen Oswald in CIA training
• The moral code of Miami’s Cuban bombers—and how it vanished when Colombian cartels arrived

clicj here to get the book, Money Morales: The True Story of a Mythic Cuban Exile Assasin, CIA Operative, FBI Informant. Smuggler, Dad
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

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To purchase one of my books,

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins welcomes author Gregory Macalino, whose book “Little Pussy and Long Branch: Perfect Together” offers a deep dive into New Jersey’s underworld and the life of one of its most notorious figures—Anthony “Little Pussy” Russo.

Gregory begins by sharing his own story, growing up in Monmouth County amid the Italian-American enclaves where whispers of mob activity were part of daily life. His firsthand familiarity with the gambling, politics, and personalities that shaped the Jersey Shore inspired him to explore Russo’s remarkable and brutal reign.
Gary and Gregory trace Little Pussy Russo’s rise from a small-time Newark street thief to a powerful player in the Genovese crime family, detailing how he infiltrated Long Branch’s political and law enforcement circles to control the town for over twenty years. Gregory explains Russo’s business acumen, his use of gambling and real estate ventures to mask criminal operations, and the dangerous rivalries that emerged with independent drug dealers who threatened his dominance.

Listeners will hear how Little Pussy Russo’s empire ultimately unraveled amid violence, betrayal, and federal pressure. Gregory recounts dramatic gangland episodes, family connections, and the eventual collapse of a criminal fiefdom that had once seemed untouchable.

The conversation also touches on how Russo’s world parallels modern portrayals of mob life—especially The Sopranos—revealing just how much real New Jersey mobsters influenced America’s favorite mafia fiction. As the discussion closes, Gregory reflects on the lasting cultural footprint of men like Russo and what their stories teach us about power, corruption, and community identity.

This is a must-listen for true crime fans, Mafia historians, and anyone fascinated by how organized crime once ruled the Jersey Shore.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent 'Brothers against Brothers' or 'Gangland Wire,' the documentaries click here. 

To purchase one of my books, click here.

Transcript

[0:00] Well, hey, all you wiretappers, good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. For those of you who don't know me, most of you do, I think, sometimes, a lot of repeat listeners out there, and I really appreciate all you guys that always come back and make comments on my YouTube channel and comment on my Gangland Wire podcast group page, and so I really appreciate all you. And for you guys that don't know me, I was with the Kansas City Police Department. I spent about 14 years in the intelligence unit. We worked the Sabella crime family here in Kansas city and a variety of other things like that, uh, retired and did a couple other things and find out my last retirement gig is I'm a podcaster. And then this has just been so much fun for me, guys. I really appreciate all your support. I'm getting to know all these authors all around the United States. There's not a place. If you're an intelligence,

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with Tim Richards, a former St. Louis intelligence officer and author of Crook’s Kill and Cops Lie. Tim brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge from his years investigating the mob and navigating the thin line between law enforcement and organized crime.
We dive deep into the history and dynamics of the St. Louis crime families and their ties—or lack thereof—to Kansas City and Chicago. Tim reveals how the St. Louis mob and the Syrian mob were into labor racketeering, ghost workers, and union control, profiting off federally funded projects.
Click here to buy Crooks Kill and Cops Lie and to see all of Tim’s books
• Listeners will hear gritty stories about:
• The interplay between Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago mob families.
• The “Syrian” mafia’s role in local unions, vengeance, and violence.
• St. Louis mob figures like Paul Leisure, Mike Trupiano, and Jesse Stoneking.
• An unforgettable encounter with Trupiano during a traffic stop.
• The challenges police faced without legal wiretaps, relying instead on FBI intelligence.
• The ripple effects of mob influence reach as far as Las Vegas gambling operations.

From bloody reprisals to uneasy alliances, Tim shares not just history but lived experience—vivid accounts of hit jobs, betrayals, and the complexities of policing organized crime. As he reflects on how law enforcement strategies and technology have evolved, Tim leaves us with a powerful reminder of the mob’s enduring mark on Midwestern history.
If you want an insider’s perspective on St. Louis mobsters and the Midwest underworld, you won’t want to miss this one.

Subscribe to get more stories every week.
This is a must-listen for true crime fans, Mafia historians, and anyone fascinated by how organized crime once ruled the Jersey Shore.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent 'Brothers against Brothers' or 'Gangland Wire,' the documentaries click here. 

To purchase one of my books, click here.
0:03 Welcome to Gangland Wire
1:02 Exploring Kansas City and St. Louis Mob Ties
4:19 The Influence of the Chicago Mafia
8:56 The Aladdin Hotel and Skimming Operations
11:41 A Deep Dive into Paul Leisure's Fate
15:12 The Old Italian Mafia and Its Tactics
23:09 Changes in Policing and Mafia Control

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins pulls back the curtain on one of the FBI’s most troubling scandals—the case of Joe Stabile, a corrupt FBI agent whose fall from grace revealed just how deep organized crime’s influence could run.

The story begins in November 1978, when Stabile pled guilty to corruption charges. But as Gary explains, that plea was only the tip of the iceberg. Behind it lay years of whispered rumors, shady deals, and quiet payoffs—stories that painted Stabile not as a straight-arrow G-man, but as a hustler working both sides of the law.

Drawing on conversations with retired FBI agents who once worked alongside Stabile, Gary explores the tangled web of mob connections and compromised investigations. Listeners will hear how mobsters slipped him bribes to make gambling cases disappear, and how his background as a New York City cop may have set the stage for the choices that pulled him deeper into the mob’s orbit.

The episode also highlights the work of honest agents, such as Tony Villano, who began piecing together the truth about Stabile’s corruption. Through case files, informant accounts, and law enforcement interviews, Gary demonstrates how the FBI struggled with a culture of silence that often protected its own—even when integrity was at stake.

As the story unfolds, the lines between right and wrong blur, exposing systemic cracks inside federal law enforcement during a time when the Bureau was shifting its focus and fighting for credibility.

Gary closes with reflections on the lasting impact of the Stabile case: what it meant for the FBI’s war on organized crime, and how Stabile himself may have continued to live in the shadows after his conviction—a man caught between two worlds, crime and law enforcement, never fully belonging to either.
This is a must-listen for true crime fans, Mafia historians, and anyone fascinated by how organized crime once ruled the Jersey Shore.
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent 'Brothers against Brothers' or 'Gangland Wire,' the documentaries click here. 

To purchase one of my books, click here.

0:06 Introduction to Joe Stabile
1:19 The Corruption Unveiled
3:14 Breakfast with Retired Agents
5:59 The Connection to Organized Crime
9:06 Investigating Stabile's Allegations
14:18 The Gambler's Payoff
20:19 Confronting Stabile
21:39 The Aftermath of the Indictment
23:35 Stabile's New Life
25:39 Reflections on Undercover Operations

[0:00] Well, hey, all you wiretappers, Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence

[0:04] Unit detective back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I welcome each and every one of you. I've got a story that it's really interesting how I found out about this. That's part of the story. Let's go back. Here's what I'm talking about. A corrupt FBI agent named Joe Stabile. That's S-T-A-B-I-L-E. November 1978.

This is a bonus episode that contains a sample from the new, exciting podcast Chinatown Sting.

The Chinatown Sting is a gripping investigative show about a group of mothers who took down Manhattan Chinatown's drug kingpin, Machine Gun Johnny. Lidia Jean unravels an entire network of women who were roped into Johnny's criminal underworld and found themselves playing the ultimate high-stakes game. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Listen to a preview of The Chinatown Sting now and find it wherever you get podcasts. Binge the entire season, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription—sign up on The Chinatown Sting Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.

In this episode of Gangland Wire, Gary Jenkins, a former KCPD Intelligence Detective, is joined by Lydia Jean Kott (LJ), a producer at Pushkin Industries, the company founded by Malcolm Gladwell. LJ brings us inside the making of Chinatown Sting, a gripping new podcast that uncovers the fascinating and little-known story of Chinese organized crime, China White heroin, and characters like Machinegun Johnny in New York’s Chinatown during the 1980s.

LJ explains how her interest in the case was sparked by a personal connection—her boyfriend’s mother was a federal prosecutor involved in the original sting. That legendary case centered on heroin smuggled from Hong Kong into Chinatown, hidden in packages and distributed through a network of mahjong-playing mothers. What began with a flagged parcel at the post office unraveled into a high-stakes undercover investigation.

We explore how law enforcement managed to penetrate this tight-knit immigrant community, the risks taken by prosecutors like Beryl Howell, and the difficult moral choices faced by those caught in the middle—including a woman forced to choose between betraying a friend or saving herself.

LJ also delves into the history of Chinatowns in America, where family associations and Tongs—formed initially as mutual aid societies—became intertwined with the vice industry. She connects this legacy to gangs like the Flying Dragons and their ties back to organized crime in Hong Kong.   Our discussion is not just about drugs, gangs, and federal stings—it’s about storytelling, community, and the pursuit of survival.

LJ shares how she and her co-reporter pieced the story together over the course of years of interviews and archival research, giving voice to people often overlooked in the larger mob narrative.   If you’re fascinated by organized crime, hidden histories, or the way law enforcement takes on international networks, Chinatown Sting is a podcast you won’t want to miss.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

 

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. 

xx
Gary Jenkins : [00:00:00] Hey, welcome all you wire tappers. Good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins. You know, I'm a retired Kansas City police intelligence unit detective turned podcaster.
Gary Jenkins : I did a few other things in between, but this is the love of my life here, guys. And I was just talking with our guests that I don't do this for the money, but I do it for fun and, and it is a lot of fun and, and I can tell my guests today. Does it to earn a living, but she does it a lot for fun. She really is into it.
Gary Jenkins : So it's Lydia Jean Kott, or we call her lj. Welcome. Lj,
L.J. : thank you so much. I'm a huge fan of the show and it's an honor to get to be on it and to get to talk to you.
Gary Jenkins : Well, cool. Thank you for that compliment. I really appreciate that. Kind of makes it worthwhile keeping coming back. I get those nice comments on my YouTube channel quite a little bit.
Gary Jenkins : That kinda keeps me coming back when I get down a little bit. Anyhow first of all, you're. You're with something called Pushkin, P-U-S-H-K-I-N,

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with Dan O’Sullivan from the new podcast The Outfit to discuss the incredible story of Ken Eto, known in Outfit circles as “Tokyo Joe.” Ken Eto was unique: the only Japanese American member of the Chicago Outfit, and the only man to survive being shot three times in the head. Eto was the Outfit’s gambling kingpin on Chicago’s North Side, controlling operations along Rush Street, policy wheels in Black neighborhoods, Chinese games in Chinatown, and the Puerto Rican “bolita” numbers racket. His empire generated millions of dollars each year, placing him among the highest-ranking members of the Outfit. But success had its price. In 1980, the FBI caught Eto in a sting, and his Outfit bosses grew nervous—especially since he had ties to a cocaine deal with the Genovese family. Invited to dinner by a mobster who had never broken bread with him before, Eto knew it was a setup. Two gunmen shot him three times in the head. Miraculously, he lived, and his survival changed the history of the Outfit.
Subscribe to Gangland Wire wherever you get your podcasts, and join us each week as we uncover the stories buried beneath the headlines—and the bodies.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.

 

Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. 

To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here
[00:00:00] Hey, y'all, you wire tapers out there. Good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire.
This is Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City. Missouri Police Intelligence unit detective with his own podcast. Now, believe it or not, I've been doing this for quite a while. Guys, if a lot of you guys have been following me for five, six years, you know, guys, you know, I was one of the first guys that did this podcast this kind of a podcast.
And so I have with us today, one of the, maybe the most recent iteration of a Mafia podcast. I have Dan O'Sullivan welcome, Dan. Thank you, Gary. And I like you staking your territory, you know, like that I'm I'm a Johnny. Come lately. It's true. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm a og. You're the og. Exactly. I'm og.
Yeah, right. I mean, I'm an associate. You're the godfather here, you know? And there you go. We gotta get the pecking order down. This is how. As was said to me by a historian, you know, the mob makes discipline in the military look like nothing, you know, so, yeah. However it [00:01:00] works, you know? Yeah. Well, yeah. That discipline is, and there's no appeal either, right?
Yeah. So anyhow Dan and I, I think you're gonna have a partner in that. You're gonna have a podcast called The Outfit. Is that the name of it? That's right. The outfit got, which is, go ahead. You got it exactly right, Gary. Yeah. We me and my co-host, Alana Hope Levinson our new podcast, the outfits launching August 14th and just every week we're doing a different mob story that kind of explains something about, you know, America and, and you know,

In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins sits down with journalist and author Rich Gazarik to explore a little-known corner of mob history—one that ties the Pittsburgh Mafia to Fidel Castro, stolen guns, and even the Kennedy assassination.

Rich’s latest book, Gun Smuggling, Castro, and the Pittsburgh Mafia, shines a spotlight on Sam Mannarino, a Pittsburgh mob captain under boss John LaRocca, who hatched a wild plan in the early 1960s: supply Fidel Castro with hundreds of stolen weapons in hopes of carving out a piece of Cuba’s casino action. The scheme included an audacious plot to rip off 300 rifles from a National Guard armory in Ohio—an operation that quickly unraveled into chaos.

From there, the conversation broadens into the Pittsburgh mob’s stranglehold on its city, including political corruption, bribery, and intimidation that reached into the mayor’s office and the police department. Rich recounts how Mannarino and his crew maintained a façade of respectability while ruling through violence and fear, leaving a lasting mark on Pittsburgh’s civic life.

Drawing on decades of investigative journalism and declassified JFK assassination files, Rich also connects the dots between the Pittsburgh Mafia and broader mob influence in the 1960s. We discuss how figures like Carlos Marcello and Santo Trafficante emerged in congressional investigations, feeding speculation that the Mafia’s reach extended into Dallas on November 22, 1963.

This episode uncovers a forgotten piece of organized crime history where local corruption, mob ambition, and Cold War politics collided. If you want to understand how Pittsburgh’s underworld tied into national events, you won’t want to miss this deep dive with Rich Gazarik. And get his book Gun Smuggling, Castro, and the Pittsburgh Mafia here.

Subscribe to Gangland Wire wherever you get your podcasts, and join us each week as we uncover the stories buried beneath the headlines—and the bodies.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.



Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. 

To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here

[0:00] Well, hey, all you wiretappers out there, this is Gary Jenkins,

[0:02] retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective. I'm here in the studio of Gangland Wire, and I have a story that is kind of topical right now because there's a movie being made about November 1963. And this isn't exactly about Kennedy assassination, but it's all around the Kennedy assassination. And it's about mob guys having connections down in Cuba and with Castro and out of Pittsburgh of all places. Now, go figure that. You know,

In this gripping episode of Gangland Wire, retired intelligence detective Gary Jenkins sits down with author Jonathan Dyer to explore one of the most complex and dangerous figures in Mafia history—Greg Scarpa, the Colombo family enforcer known as The Grim Reaper.
Dyer, whose career spans military intelligence, law, and education, brings deep insight into Scarpa’s remarkable—and chilling—dual role as both a ruthless mob killer and a prized FBI top echelon informant. Together, Gary and Jonathan unpack the moral ambiguities, betrayals, and calculated violence that defined Scarpa’s career in the turbulent world of organized crime.
Listeners will hear:
How Scarpa balanced loyalty to the mob with his covert cooperation with the FBI.   The structured, almost corporate way his crew operated—and how he enforced discipline with fear and bloodshed.
The darker corners of his personal life, including family ties, marriages, and the impact of his choices on his children.
The violent episodes, such as the murder of Mary Bari, underscore his brutality and the Mafia’s code of protection.
From Cold War–era law enforcement collusion to the inner workings of New York’s underworld, this episode reveals how Scarpa manipulated both sides of the law to maintain power.
Jonathan Dyer’s latest book, Greg Scarpa: Legendary Evil, offers the foundation for a conversation that will leave you questioning where law enforcement ends and organized crime begins.

Subscribe to Gangland Wire wherever you get your podcasts, and join us each week as we uncover the stories buried beneath the headlines—and the bodies.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.



Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"



To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here

To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. 

To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here

Transcript
[0:00] Well, hey, welcome all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in the studio of

[0:03] Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins, an entire Kansas City, Missouri police detective. Worked at the Organized Crime Unit or the Intelligence Unit for many years. And now I've got a podcast and we're all about the organized crime. As you guys know, all you regular guys and for new people, it's all about organized crime, particularly the Italian mafia in the United States. Now, I have an author here today, Jonathan Dyer. And Jonathan, I really am excited about having you on here because you have a different take about a much cussed and discussed subject or person, Gregory the Grim Reaper Scarpa. So welcome, Jonathan. Thanks, Gary. Thanks for having me. So tell the guys a little bit about yourself, a little bit about your background. Where'd you come from other than Marshall? We found out we have similar backgrounds, Marshall, Missouri, rural Missouri, farm life and Kansas City. So tell the guys a little bit about yourself. Well, in 1981,