Mafia History: La Cosa Nostra--The History of the New York Mafia

Concentrating as it does on the New York Mafia families, this program contains little reference to the arguably more powerful and equally sinister Chicago outfit with which the Big Apple mobsters frequently interacted, but with characters such as Lucky Luciano and Albert Anastasia to limn, this survey suffers from no shortage of footage or stories to tell. Since it looks at the New York Mafia rather than organized crime in general, however, the program also tends to under-appreciate the efforts of mob financial genius Meyer Lansky and other non-Italian miscreants; Lansky and associate Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel are mentioned, as is Luciano's inspired realization that cooperating with non-Italians was the route to riches in the U.S., but the focus remains squarely on the Italian families of New York's criminal underground. Even within this limited scope, one could argue that more airtime could have been spent, for instance, on Frank Costello's dapper dealings and less on the preening contemporary mob media sensation John Gotti. In addition, the narrative is sometimes a bit muddled as certain aspects of mob culture are only briefly mentioned and chronologies are occasionally confusing. Overall, however, this very affordable slice-of-lowlife history is a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)