Youngstown Mob Talk and The Vice Squad Podcast presents Part 1 of a brand new, exclusive 5-Part investigative series: From Burglars to Murders, Who Hit the Hitman Joe DeRose?

This story was compiled from information contained within investigative task force files from the Ohio Attorney General’s Organized Crime Investigation Commission. Included are details about crimes which have never been publicly released. These files were provided to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous.

In Part 1, the series examines the murder of Joe DeRose Jr., including the Task Force's investigation into Sam Fossesca and admitted co-conspirators Charles Treharn & Ed Farris.

Coming up in Part 2, a deep dive into the murder of Dominic Senzarino.

The audio of this episode contains real news clips as well as AI generated voice readings of actual transcripts from the Organized Crime Task Force investigation interviews of Sam Fossesca and Charles Treharn.

A reminder that you can also watch with video by subscribing to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/amazingpodcastcompany

James Mancini, aka "Big Jimmy" Munsene was the first notorious crime boss of Ohio's Trumbull County. Munsene controlled gambling in the county and had clubs as far away as Atlantic City, NJ before he was gunned down in cold blood, along with his nephew, in Warren on March 24, 1941. He famously went on trial for the same act of bribery on three separate occasions, even hiring the country's most famous trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow, to represent him. Once Munsene was killed, stronger organized crime interests took control of Trumbull County, and ruled it for decades, not far from Youngstown, Ohio aka Crimetown, USA.

On this episode, author Rick Porrello writes about his own family's organized crime history in Cleveland, Ohio as his grandfather and great uncles waged a war with their former friends and fellow bootleggers, the Lonardo brothers. It was all over corn sugar, which was used to make booze during prohibition in America.

The Vice Squad Podcast delves into one of the most daring train robberies in American history. On November 7, 1935, as the mid-west crime wave continued, infamous criminal Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and his gang pulled off a heist that shocked the nation in Garrettsville, Ohio. In this riveting episode, our hosts explore the details of the crime, the personalities of its mastermind, and the aftermath of the robbery including FBI Director, J Edgar Hoover, using Karpis's arrest to add to his own myth. Follow along as this podcast unravels the twists and turns of this notorious event, and as always, gain a deeper understanding of the dark underbelly of American crime history.

There was once a place in Trumbull County Ohio, just outside of Youngstown city limits, called Halls Corners, which was "conceived in infamy!" according to Youngstown Police Chief Eddie Allen. Halls Corners was a tiny, unincorporated township created solely for the purpose of operating a casino called The Jungle Inn. A mob run establishment for years, The Jungle Inn was operated by twin brothers John & Mike Farah on behalf of the Cleveland crime family, until the whole operation was eventually closed by state liquor agents (by order of the Governor) on August 12, 1949.

From Cleveland to Youngstown to Pittsburgh, a serial killer wreaked havoc along the railyards from the 1920s to the 1940s. Sometimes known as "The Mad Butcher," this murderer chopped up his victims and left them for police or passers-by to find. Despite best efforts from detectives in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the killer was never caught. Not even famed lawman Eliot Ness could solve the case and bring the "Mad Butcher" to justice.

On this episode we give you a condensed history of organized crime in the Mahoning Valley. Future episodes will air bi-weekly, and will dive deeper into individual criminals and crimes from the Youngstown/Cleveland/Pittsburgh region.