**We’re currently revamping and rebuilding our classic bios with major expansions, featuring them right here on the home page as they drop. With additional new stories and charts in the hopper, and the upcoming launch of our sister site, Pop the Channel, the Button Guys frontier is officially growing—stay tuned.**
BG Mugshots
Follow Button Guys
From the Vaults
The Loansharking Racket
It is said that the gambling business, in all its various forms, is the very lifeblood of organized crime. Bookmaking on horses and sports, the...
George (Blah-Blah) Smurra
George Smurra was a strong-arm for the Genovese Family who found himself caught up in the 1944 murder of Ferdinand (The Shadow) Boccia along with...
Denis Dillon and His Battle With the Mob
Denis Dillon was a long-time Nassau County D.A. and prosecutor who went after the mob and later once claimed he could "speak in tongues."
Marco (Mimi) Li Mandri
Technically speaking, within the ranks of Cosa Nostra, Marco Li Mandri formally held the rank of a soldier. Nothing more, nothing less. No law enforcement...
Anthony (Tony Long) Ricciardi: Brooklyn’s “Kid Chocolate”
Anthony (Tony Long) Ricciardi was heavy into bookmaking for the Colombo Family until he met an untimely end.
NJ Soldier Salvatore (Charlie) Chiri
Charlie Chiri had a roster a mile long of unsavory mafia friends and associates he affiliated with, and, for many years, he was able to...
Jimmy Genna
Jimmy Genna was a Bonanno Family soldier who was active in a variety of rackets including sports bookmaking, fencing of stolen goods, counterfeiting, and hijacking....
Sebastian (Benny) Biondo: Gambino Family Crooner
Sebastian (Benny) Biondo was Gambino Family associate active in loansharking.
Friends of BG
