110614-Deamuseum-Lectureseries
MLS-Mafia_1 Page 1 of 35 DEA Museum Lecture Series, November 6, 2014 Targeting the Mafia: FBN, Organized Crime, and Drugs. Dr. John Coleman Sean Fearns: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the third and final program in our Fall DEA Museum Lecture Series, themed this fall around the 100th anniversary of federal drug law enforcement. Now, just a quick side note. Out of courtesy to our speaker, and to our - your fellow audience members, if I could ask you to please silence your cell phones or other electronic devices. The Godfather, The Sting, The Untouchables, Goodfellas. If the number of hit movies is any indication, America has a love affair with the Mafia. You know the scenes: Tommy Guns, fedoras, gripping the running boards on old Buicks, and inevitably someone ends up face-down in a plate of spaghetti, the victim of a Mob hit. With real names like Willie "The Creep," Tony "Ducks," Tommy "The Nose," Don Cheech, Don Vito, and, of course, "Lucky" Luciano, these individuals really did exist. So, what role did the Mafia play, and what role did Mafia families play in early drug trafficking in this country? And how did the feds get a handle on it? What are some of the lessons learned, and are there similarities to today's drug trafficking organizations? We touched a little bit on the Mafia in our other two lectures earlier this fall, themed around the 100th anniversary. Today, we're going to go in depth as we look back at DEA, then known as the Federal Bureau of Narcotics or the FBN.
[Show full text]