Gerald Capeci () is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, as an expert on the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...

."Website tracks mob activities"
BBC News Online, Saturday, November 10, 2001

Career

Capeci was raised in

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

.Writing About Gangsters, as Far Back as He Can Remember
Clyde Haberman, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (December 15, 2013) He worked as a truck driver and dock worker before becoming a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

with the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' in 1966. Capeci later became a police reporter for the newspaper.Gangster Chronicles: Reporter Jerry Capeci’s tenacious investigations have earned him the respect and wrath of the New York underworld
Josh Getlin, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (March 25, 1992) In 1976, he covered the funeral of Carlo Gambino for the ''Post''. Capeci also wrote about

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

figures for ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' magazine. Shortly after the murder of Paul Castellano in 1985, Capeci was hired by the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

''. He wrote the "Gangland"

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

in the ''Daily News'' from 1989 until August 1995, when the column was discontinued by the newspaper. In February 1996, Capeci took the column online with his ''Gangland News'' website.Neighborhood Report: New York On Line; Wiseguys, Boss Talk and a Stand-up Granny
Bettina Edelstein, ''

'' (October 5, 1997) "Gangland" also ran in ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...

'' between 2002 and 2007 before Capeci quit the newspaper in a salary dispute. In 2008, ''Gangland News'' became a paid subscription site.A Diverse Audience Mobs Jerry Capeci's Web Site
Robin Shulman, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' (September 26, 2009) Capeci has authored several books detailing the inner workings of the New York crime families. In 1988, he and fellow ''Daily News'' reporter Gene Mustain published a biography of

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...

, ''Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti''. Capeci and Mustain co-authored two other books: ''Murder Machine'' (1992), an exposé of

Roy DeMeo Roy Albert DeMeo (; September 7, 1940 – January 10, 1983) was an American mobster in the Gambino crime family in New York City. He headed a group known as the "DeMeo crew", which consisted of approximately twenty associates involved in murder ...

and his crew of mafia hit men, and ''Gotti: the Rise and Fall'' (1996). With Tom Robbins, he has written ''Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D’Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia'' (2013). Capeci has also written ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia'' (2002) and ''Wiseguys Say the Darndest Things: The Quotable Mafia'' (2003). A compilation of columns was published in the 2003 book ''Jerry Capeci's Gang Land''. From 1999 to 2004, Capeci worked as director of communications at the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...

. In 2007, he appeared as himself on an episode of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

''.

Personal life

Capeci and his wife Barbara have three children.

Works

* ''Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti'' (with Gene Mustain, 1988) * ''Murder Machine: A True Story of Murder, Madness and the Mafia'' (with Gene Mustain, 1992) * ''Gotti: Rise and Fall'' (with Gene Mustain, 1996) * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia'' (2002) * ''Wiseguys Say the Darndest Things: The Quotable Mafia'' (2003) * ''Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D'Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia'' (with Tom Robbins, 2013)

References

External links

Jerry Capeci archive at The New York Sun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capeci, Jerry 1944 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American people of Italian descent American reporters and correspondents HuffPost bloggers Journalists from New York City New York Daily News people New York (magazine) people New York Post people Non-fiction writers about organized crime in the United States Organized crime in New York City People from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Writers from Brooklyn Xavier High School (New York City) alumni

Career

Personal life

Works

See also

References

External links