"Big Paul" Castellano served as boss of the Gambino crime family--the largest in New York during the 1970's and 80's. Castellano presented himself as a legitimate businessman and mingled with New York's upper crust, while running a multi-million dollar racketeering operation. From his $3.5 million dollar estate on Staten Island, he oversaw rackets in construction, meat distribution, union infiltration, pornography and more. But many Gambino members believed Castellano got a free ride to the top on the coattails of his predecessor, cousin and brother-in-law, Carlo Gambino. Nepotism and Castellano's reclusive lifestyle split the Gambino family into two factions, which would ultimately led to his undoing.

The fifth child of 13 children, John Joseph Gotti, Jr. was born October 27, 1940 in the South Bronx. From a very young age, John Gotti made a name for himself in the neighborhood as the leader of the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, a group of young thugs. He soon became "capo" of the East New York Crew. After a violent coup he went on to take the leadership position of the Gambino Crime family. All of these events would set Gotti on the path to becoming one of the most well-known figures in Mafia history. Gotti's legendary fashion flair made him an interesting character. His rough cunning made his fellow mafiosi respect him. Gotti's volatile temper made them and others fear him.

In the 1980s, New York City cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were secretly working as hired guns for the Mafia in a scheme that would go down as the worst case of police corruption in NYPD history.

Commander Lenny DePaul and Deputy Michelle "Michy" Mendez receive a prominent, "ripped from the headlines" case out of the U.S. Marshals' office in Puerto Rico. Federal authorities on the island have completed a major drug offensive against a notorious gang with 71 people facing indictment. The operation, while a major success, failed to capture one of the alleged leaders, now believed to be hiding in the New York. Michy and Lenny waste no time gathering the assets for a major manhunt. Their target is rumored to eat lunch in a Bronx restaurant, causing Lenny, Michy and their teams to begin marathon surveillance.