The first episode of American Godfathers: The Five Families, a three-part documentary series narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Michael Imperioli, airs on History on Sunday, August 11, 2024. The series explores the rise and fall of New York City’s five Mafia families and their extensive involvement in organized crime over several decades.
This installment, “Death of the Old Rules,” traces the early development of the American Mafia in New York City neighborhoods and their evolution through the Prohibition era to the booming 1950s. It examines how public violence, drug trafficking, and government hearings impacted the families’ operations and their supposed code of honor.
Through a combination of archival images, footage, audio recordings, recreations, and interviews with experts, historians, law enforcement, and former mafia affiliates, the episode examines the history of the Mafia’s involvement in bootlegging, drug trafficking, extortion, and gambling. It also explores the breakdown of the “omerta” code and the violent power struggles within each of the five families.
Based on Selwyn Raab’s New York Times best-seller, “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires.”
American Godfathers: The Five Families, Death of the Old Rules airs on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at 8:00 PM on History.
