Bootleggers, smugglers, drug dealers, hitmen — all these occupations are the provenance of mobsters, who operate in ethnic, family and business networks. Mobsters' real-life crimes, and Hollywood's fascination with them, has earned them a special place in the American imagination. From Al Capone's Chicago crime ring and Bugsy Siegel's Las Vegas racket to "The Teflon Don," John Gotti, these mobsters have made their names notorious from coast to coast.
Henry Hill was a member of the Lucchese crime family who became a federal informant, inspiring the Martin Scorsese movie 'Goodfellas.'
Gangster Dutch Schultz built up a criminal network that included bootlegging, illegal gambling and murder. His biggest enemies were Legs Diamond and the IRS.
John Gotti, also known as 'The Teflon Don,' was an organized crime leader who became head of the Gambino family.
Mickey Cohen became the West Coast racket boss in 1947, after his mentor and predecessor, Bugsy Siegel, was assassinated.
By the 1960s, gangster and drug kingpin Frank Lucas had constructed an international drug ring that spanned from New York to South East Asia.
Whitey Bulger was a prominent figure in Boston's organized crime scene from the 1970s until the mid-'90s when he fled the area. Captured in 2011, he was later found guilty of federal racketeering, extortion, conspiracy and 11 murders.
Reggie Kray and his twin brother Ronnie teamed up to become two of England's most notorious gangsters of all time.
With his identical twin Reggie, gangster Ronnie Kray ruled the streets of London's East End in the 1950s and 1960s.
Arnold Rothstein was a Jewish-American mob boss who inspired a character in 'The Great Gatsby' and was portrayed in the series 'Boardwalk Empire.'
Meyer Lansky, an organized-crime figure known for his sharp financial acumen, was instrumental in the development of a national crime syndicate in the United States.
Lucky Luciano was an Italian-born American mobster best known for engineering the structure of modern organized crime in the United States.
Tony Spilotro is best known as a ruthless Chicago mob representative in Las Vegas from the 1970s to the '80s. He was brutally beaten and murdered by other mobsters in 1986.
Iconic mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel built the Flamingo casino in Las Vegas, igniting an era of glamour, gambling and gangsters in the desert.
John Dillinger was an infamous gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression. He was known as "Jackrabbit" and "Public Enemy No. 1."
Donnie Brasco was the alias of Joseph Pistone, an undercover FBI agent that infiltrated the Bonanno crime family.
Organized crime boss, Sam Giancana climbed to the top of Chicago's underworld and became a player on the national stage through shadowy ties to the Kennedys.
Joseph Sullivan was a Mafia hit man who was the only known person to escape from Attica. He is currently serving three life sentences.
Mobster John "Junior" Gotti allegedly served as a capo in the Gambino family and was the acting boss when his father, John Gotti was in prison.