You're probably familiar with the American mafia, at least through its portrayal in popular culture. But how did this infamous secret society come to be?

Louis Ferrante traces its origins in the first volume of his slated trilogy on the subject, entitled Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia. While there's been plenty written on the mafia, Ferrante, who was incarcerated for being a mobster himself, offers the first insider's history of this crime organization. Today on the show, he shares the surprising influences on the formation of the mafia in Sicily, why Louisiana and not New York was actually the mob's American Plymouth Rock, the unexpected collaboration between the government and the mafia during WWII, the real reason J. Edgar Hoover didn't go after the mob, why that hands-off approach changed, and much more.

Connect With Louis Ferrante

• Louis' website
• Louis' previous appearance on the AoM podcast — #551: Inside the Gangsters’ Code