Netflix Docuseries Recommendation: Fear City New York vs. The Mafia (2020)

Posted on 09/09/2020 by Pisaries Creator

This life of ours, this is a wonderful life. If you can get through life like this, hey, that’s great. But it’s very, very unpredictable. There are so many ways you can screw it up.
-Paul castellano-

This three-part docuseries is pretty self-explanatory. It covers the five Italian American Mafia families in New York during the 1970s: Bonnano, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese. The capo di tutti i capi was replaced by the Commission of seven family bosses in 1931 by Charlie Luciano. The job of the Commission was to discuss family problems. The current/acting bosses are Michael Mancuso (Bonanno), Alphonse Persico (Colombo), Domenico Cefalù/Lorenzo Mannino (Gambino), Liborio Savatore Bellomo (Genovese), and Victor Amuso/Michael DeSantis (Lucchese).

They had a strong grip on how New York City business operated until the FBI brought down the five families that lead to the Mafia Commission Trial. It changed who controlled New York when it led to the bosses being convicted. It is a little disjointed in some areas and it could have gone deeper into how the mob affected those not part of the mob. It did a little bit in the beginning but by the end it was lacking. I get those involved in the mafia miss those good old days, but the charges against the five families had effects that lasted for decades. Each episode is around 45 to 60 minutes and directed by Sam Hobinson. It has a rating of TV-MA.