When The Mob Ran Hollywood

In America, one organization has seemingly been in control of every industry we have at some point and time in our history.  That group is known collectively as The Mob.  From prostitution, to running unions, to funding government officials, some form of organized crime has been in control since the Mayflower.  We are going to talk about one such industry today, an industry that is arguably our largest export:  The Film Industry.  Yes, in the early days of the film industry, Bugsy Siegel was sent over by one of the big crime families in New York to get in on the gold mine that was Hollywood.  The first move was to take over the labor unions, so they could have the studios eating out of their hand in fear of a strike.  The next was to bribe Hollywood starlets to extort money from the rich and famous.  We also talk about a couple of other non-mob related characters who definitely employed mob-like tactics, including JFK’s criminal father Joseph Kennedy, and the famous mob fixer Sidney Korshak.  Jeffrey Sussman takes us on a ride through the time the Mob ran Tinseltown, and if you like true crime, this is the episode for you!

*Bonus*  The Mob Also Ran The Pornographic Industry

The Mob totally owned the sex industry at one point.  Forget prostitution, how about the entire sex toy industry?  From manufacturing to distribution and sales, they owned it all.  The same is true for pornographic films, almost all of which were produced, filmed, edited, and distributed by The Mob or Mob affiliates.  Their tentacles were everywhere, and Jeffrey Sussman sits down with me to explain how it all worked.

The Mafia in Rock ‘N Roll

Today, it is a given that Rock ‘N Roll is still one of the most popular and lucrative music genres in the world, but this was not always the case.  In the 1950’s, it was an upstart musical movement that was nothing like the contemporary songs of the day.  It needed a push, and that push came from an unlikely source:  The Mafia.  The Mob realized the potential of this new music, and they made it their mission to make a monopoly out of it.  Jeffrey Sussman is back to tell us how The Mob made a star out of Rock ‘N Roll by using Jukeboxes, “into perpetuity” contracts, Payola, and a few old fashion beatdowns. 

Italian mobsters were not the only ones who wanted to control an entire musical genre.  Rap Mogul Suge Knight followed the formula of the Mafia by controlling the lives of up-and-coming rappers, and beating/killing the competition.  Just ask Vanilla Ice.