In January 1950, journalist Theodore Link of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch fired the first shot in what would become a nationwide war on organized crime. His groundbreaking article exposed the deep connections between notorious mob bosses Frank Costello and Tony Accardo, and their influence over politics, business, and illegal gambling. Titled "Crime Capital Miami Beach Ready to Reopen Gambling Under Costello," the piece revealed the Mafia’s grip on major cities and set the stage for an all-out crusade against the underworld. This documentary dives deep into the early days of the fight to bring down the Mob, the figures who shaped it, and the dramatic hearings that followed.

Although the federal government’s war on organized crime was looming, it hadn’t yet reached its full intensity. Sensationalists like Walter Winchell had long reported on the Mob’s activities, but for the most part, organized crime was portrayed as isolated incidents in major cities. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover downplayed the existence of a national crime syndicate, focusing instead on the communist threat.

But Harry Anslinger of the Narcotics Bureau had been pushing the national syndicate theory for years and found his champion in Senator Estes Kefauver from Tennessee. The Kefauver Committee, formed in January 1950, aimed to investigate interstate gambling and racketeering, eventually homing in on the Mob’s influence over the gaming industry. The hearings began in Chicago and quickly spread to other major cities like Saint Louis, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Tampa. Kefauver, a plainspoken politician with a knack for dramatics, turned the hearings into a crusade against organized crime. He and his mostly Protestant colleagues subpoenaed Italian-American, Irish, and Jewish mobsters, making for explosive testimonies. Among the most shocking sessions were those held in South Florida, where the Mob’s ties to Cuba came under the spotlight, further exposing the far-reaching power of figures like Lansky. The Mob’s influence in Havana, Las Vegas, and across America was undeniable, and Lansky, ever the strategist, continued to shape the underworld as he worked both sides of the law, cementing his legacy as one of the most powerful figures in organized crime.

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