May 2008 From Australian SBS news show "Dateline" - A look at the February 2008 mafia arrests in New York On Thursday, local, state, and federal police announced a major crackdown on the Mafia in New York, including the indictment of the leadership of the Gambino organized crime family, one of the five major syndicates in the Big Apple. In all, more than five dozen were indicted across three organized crime families and the construction industry and its supporting unions. A total of 57 were arrested. The charges spanned some three decades and involve murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion. "For those of us who grew up in 'The Godfather' generation and now live in the era of 'The Sopranos,' today's case demonstrates once again that organized crime is not fiction," said FBI Deputy Director John Pistole at the press conference. "It is alive and real, and there is nothing romantic or glamorous about it." Once ruled by the powerful Carlo Gambino and "Dapper Don" John Gotti, the Gambino family has been reduced to a shadow of its former criminal self over the years by the FBI and its partners, both nationally and internationally. But it is far from dead, continuing its efforts to infiltrate such industries as trucking and construction. Still, the investigations and ensuing indictment represent another crippling blow. A total of 25 alleged Gambino mobsters—including each active leader of the family not already in jail—were indicted, as follows: * Acting boss ...