AllMovie

This first video in a four-part series from A&E seeks to document how organized crime took hold in the U.S. and how it changed with the times. The program covers Prohibition and its profitability in America's big cities, and the arrival of the mob's first families from Sicily. Vintage newsreels and Hollywood re-enactments of mob life tell the story, with narration by Bill Kurtis. In addition, a series of flamboyant Mafia historians and enthusiasts give interviews, first-hand accounts, and analyses that fill in the gaps. This collection provides a broad overview of one of the most popular facets of criminology.