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Mobsters are like rock stars; lots of sex, lots of drugs, and one of them probably has syphilis. Every good American loves rock and roll, and mobsters (honestly probably for that reason), which is why we’re making this list of top ten mobsters. While you may have heard of some of these guys (or their nicknames) it’s the stories that will keep you interested. The ones you haven’t heard, those dudes will just scare you…
10. STEFANO “STEVE THE TRUCK DRIVER” VITABILE
Every good mobster has an even better nickname, you’ll notice that as we go through this list. Ol’ Steve got his start in Jersey, working his way through the DeCavalcante before eventually earning himself a life sentence for murder in 2006. Vitabile was so nuts that he killed a boss himself, with his bare hands, earning him that life sentence.
https://nypost.com/2012/01/25/mob-rat-squeals-no-more/
9. GEORGE CLARENCE “BUGS” MORAN
Bugs is credited with something pretty cool, and that’s inventing the drive-by shooting. He literally invented something that was so sick, Rockstar added it to a Grand Theft Auto game. He even kidnapped Al Capone’s bodyguard and castrated him. That has to go against some guy code Bugs.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-hardened-gangsters-got-the-cute-name-bugsy
8. ANTHONY “FAT TONY” SALERNO
Fat Tony earned his nickname the real way; but not being ironically small but instead being a huge, huge man. Tony also earned his mob credit the same way, by working his way up to boss of a family. He lived up to his name though, dying of diabetes in a prison hospital. Mobsters may not have been able to get Fat Tony, but diabetes sure could.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSFRGx15TVo
7. JOHN JOSEPH GOTTI JR
Alright you’ve probably heard of this guy, but for good reason. Gotti was, maybe literally, a monster. He did it all; gambling, racketeering, bribery, and good old-fashioned murder. It’s rumored that Gotti ordered over one hundred killings himself.
https://nypost.com/2017/10/21/john-gottis-grandson-is-a-ripped-mma-fighter/
6. NIKOLAI “THE RUSSIAN” RADEV
Who knew the Russians operated in Australia? Nikolai did. While most of the other mobsters on this list died in a boring, of-old-age kind of way in some decrepit jail cell, The Russian wasn’t going out like that. This dude got shot 7 times between his head and chest, and his bodyguards “saw nothing”. Right….
https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/16/1050172649464.html
5. CLYDE CHESTNUT BARROW
Clyde of “Bonnie and Clyde” fame, was a lot more intimidating than you may have imagined. He got sexually assaulted in prison and then beat the dude to death with a steel pipe. Sounds more like “Oz” than the movie he’s known for. Not only did he kill law enforcement officers regularly, but he was reported to laugh manically while doing it. Sounds like a fun guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgpdb11Ex1I
4. GIUSEPPE “JOE THE BOSS” MASSERIA
Joe the Boss was an original mobster, hailing from Italy and ending up in the United States to avoid charges from those pesky Italian police officers. Not only that, but he survived a straight up assassination attempt, earning his own saying that he could “dodge death”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mals6tMDa2c
3. JOHN DILLINGER JR
John Dillinger had the coolest quote out of everyone on this list. “Stay calm, ladies and gentlemen! We’re here for the government’s money, not yours! The government steals from you, so we steal from them.” That’s bad ass. It all ended pretty quickly with Dillinger though. Rumor is he got shot in the back of the head, and the bullet ended up coming out of his right eye.
https://www.bobbleheads.com/rbs1013/john-dillinger-bobblehead
2. WILLIAM “WILD BILL” CUTOLO
Wild Bill earned his nickname by beating a union worker with a steel pipe. Need I say more? Weirdly enough, he worked with charities regularly as well. I guess he had to repent some way.
1. AL CAPONE
Capone is maybe the most popular gangster of all time. He was responsible for the Valentine’s Day Massacre. He beat men to death with a baseball bat. He had the most elegant jail cell of all time. He went to jail for tax evasion, not even murder, robbery, or drug dealing. He arguably killed up to 33 people. Don’t mess with Capone.
https://www.themanual.com/living/al-capone-miami-mansion-for-sale/
HONORABLE MENTION: VINCENT “THE CHIN” GIGANTE
While Vincent the Chin couldn’t make it in the top ten, he definitely deserves a mention. The Chin would walk around in public wearing only a bathrobe and muttering to himself so he could plead insanity in court. And it worked. Maybe he knew what he was talking about after all.