The Underworld Podcast

In the late 1970s, as Sicily descended into all-out mafia war, the island’s allegiances split between the ruthless Corleonesi clan, led by Toto Riina, and southern gangsters fed up with Riina’s campaign of murder that was spilling innocent lives, and disgusting the Italian public. This schism would be the birth of the Stidda — Sicilian for ‘star’ — a group that fought and thrived for turf in southern Sicily, and became prominent enough that, even today, people know it as Italy’s “Fifth Mafia”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vincent Gigante was a master of deception, performing as a madman in a bathrobe while secretly commanding the Genovese crime family. His infamous antics, like wandering Greenwich Village and avoiding capture, kept law enforcement at bay for decades. The podcast delves into his criminal empire, from orchestrating murders to controlling vital unions, all while maintaining an image of insanity. It explores his rise against rivals like John Gotti, his clever evasion of justice, and the legacy he left behind.

Ever hear about how Woody Harrelson's dad was a hitman who killed a federal judge? The Chagra brothers came up along the El Paso and Juarez border when smuggling weed became one of America's booming industries. With Lee a prominent criminal defense attorney and Jimmy an outlaw, they gambled millions in Vegas, lived lavishly, and made a lot of enemies, chief among them prosecutors and judges. When the feds finally closed in, Jimmy Chagra got desperate...so desperate, he put a hit out on a federal judge. This is the story of the Chagra brothers, one of America's wildest cartels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the son of Suriname’s president offered to ship drugs and guns for a major terror group in 2013, it was the dimwitted denouement to decades of narco-fueled madness in the small, South American nation — which began when the two belligerents in its bitter civil war made so much cash ferrying product for Colombian cartels, that they buried their differences and worked together instead. The war ended. But the drugs never stopped flowing — particularly between Suriname and a new clique of criminals in its former colonial ruler, the Netherlands. A crazy episode, and one to add to the pantheon of the world’s true, out-and-out narco states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's stash house time! We bring you all the news on organized crime, gangs, drugs, cartels and the holidays that you could ever want. And, at the end, Sean shows his feet in a special holiday new years gift to our most loyal fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sweden's gang wars are spiraling out of control, driven by a brutal conflict between the Kurdish Fox and rival factions. The Kurdish Fox built a vast drug network without even residing in Sweden, using encrypted chats to recruit teenagers as hitmen. A shocking murder of a gang member's mother escalated tensions into an all-out civil war. The podcast explores the alarming rise in gun violence, the intricate logistics of drug operations, and the broader implications for Sweden's society and policy changes to tackle this chaos.

In the wake of the EncroChat bust, swaths of the world’s biggest narco traffickers have been swept up by European cops — from Balkan tough guys to Camorra capos. Somehow, though, the man who connects them all has kept his hands clean. How did Daniel Kinahan go from Dublin goon to global cartel leader? And how long can he stay out of trouble? Sean spoke to The New Yorker’s Ed Caesar, who’s written about Kinahan, to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting in the mid 2010's, Sweden’s gang wars transformed from neighborhood disputes into a national crisis, driven by splintered immigrant-area crews who now recruit teenage hitmen willing to kill for a few thousand dollars. At the center of the chaos, the bitter feud between Shottaz and Death Patrol, two rival networks whose bombings, kidnappings, and retaliatory shootings have turned Stockholm’s suburbs into warzones. The murder of chart-topping rapper Einár shocked the country, a killing that symbolized how deeply the underworld had bled into mainstream Swedish life. How did one of Europe's safest countries turn into a gangland battleground? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With gunboats parked in the Caribbean, fast boats blown up, and the White House threatening to invade, we unpick some of the narratives surrounding Venezuela’s regime — and its gangs. Is the Tren de Aragua really exporting fentanyl to the US? Is Nicolas Maduro the head of a global narcotics trafficking organization? And is the Cartel of the Suns actually a thing? Featuring guest interviews and footage from a famous 1993 bust, we dive into the past, present — and uncertain future — of one of DC’s longest-standing regional feuds, and ask: is it truly all about drugs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special Thanksgiving episode, the guys are in the studio together and do a deep dive on the insane Louvre Heist of the French Crown Jewels. They also get to the bottom of the Mafia rigged poker games and the absolutely insane NBA gambling scandal that rocked professional sports recently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices