Fascinating facts and interesting stories about organized crime: gangs, gangsters, mobsters, the mafia, and other criminals & crime syndicates all over the world.

Feels Good to Be a Gangster

Entertainment

Most gangsters are, by definition, bad people. They&#39;re criminals and lowlifes and killers. The best new <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/gangster-movies-and-films/reference" target="_blank">gangster films</a> take us deep into their worlds. Although these people&nbsp;do very bad things, it&#39;s hard not to be fascinated by them. We all like staring <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-episodes-of-into-the-dark/ranker-tv?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">into the dark</a> abyss every once in a while. Seeing a film that dramatizes what it&#39;s like to live and operate in the violent underworld of crime holds a certain you-can&#39;t-look-away appeal. Ever since Francis Ford Coppola&#39;s classic The Godfather rocked the world, movies about gangsters and the mafia of all varieties&nbsp;have been released with great consistency. Each year&nbsp;brings at least a few more modern gangster movies.

Actors love playing these characters, as many recent gangster movies can attest. You&#39;ll find some of Hollywood&#39;s biggest names that starred in the latest gangster movies on the list below.

Vote up the best entries on this list of new gangster movies.&nbsp;Also be sure to check back for the latest and upcoming gangster movies as they are released.

The Best New Gangster Movies Of The Last Few Years

Film

The 25+ Best New Gangster Movies, Ranked by Fans

Ranker Film

Unspeakable Times

Many look back on their high school years fondly, remembering them as the best time of their life. For others, the thought of&nbsp;high school brings back <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/elementary-school-teachers-discuss-gross-students/alexfurlin" target="_blank">painful memories</a>&nbsp;of being bullied. No matter what type of school someone attended, they likely know all about bullies - whether through personal experience or stories.Some students <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/kids-standing-up-to-bullying/anabel-conner" target="_blank">stand up to bullies</a> and put a stop to the mistreatment. Others, meanwhile,&nbsp;suffer from the life-long effects of being beaten up, called names, or having their school days made a living hell. For&nbsp;those who dealt with bullying in high school, however, sharing stories of their harassment on Reddit&nbsp;can prove cathartic.

People Share Their Stories Of Sadistic High School Bullying

General

Real People Share Their Heartbreaking High School Bully Stories

Jessika M. Thomas 

Lists about punishments, penalties, systemic harm, and execution methods used then, now, here, and all around the world.

Crime & Punishment

Torture

Capital punishment: the age-old way for humans to&nbsp;dispose of one another for crimes perceived to be the most egregious in a particular moment and place. As an ancient practice carried out countless times <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/state-sanctioned-execution-methods/shonna-wright" target="_blank">throughout history</a>,&nbsp;there have predictably been some horrifically failed&nbsp;attempts. These failed executions have resulted in sheer agony for the condemned, adding insult, injury, and intense suffering to their final moments.

This list serves as a lowlight reel for history&#39;s most brutally botched executions - some from as recent as 2015. What follows goes to show that the process of capital punishment still seems to be working out a few bugs, even after hundreds of years of testing. In fact, some of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/horrible-executions-still-used/harrison-tenpas" target="_blank">these methods are still used</a>&nbsp;around the world.

Botched Execution Attempts That Went Horribly Wrong

Harrison Tenpas

True Crime

There has been a recent&nbsp;increasing fascination with true crime in media and entertainment. Recounting unspeakable&nbsp;stories usually feels more like a work of fiction than something that actually happened. Few people have literally been on the wrong side of a gun, a knife, or a deranged person and lived to tell the tale. There are some, though, who have been attacked by someone with an intent to kill and are still here to share their story.

There are plenty of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-survival-stories/lea-rose-emery" target="_blank">survival stories</a>&nbsp;that have been sensationalized by popular culture, and rightfully so, but these <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bojhpr/serious_people_who_have_survived_a_murder_attempt/" target="_blank">Redditors</a>&nbsp;aren&#39;t likely to show up on any screen, big or small.

People Who Survived An Attempted Murder Tell Their Stories

Samantha Dillinger

Strange True Stories

Most people would agree that the Internet has improved daily life. But the web has a dark side, too - the rise of social media has led&nbsp;to a rise in creepy online stalkers. These real-life creepy stalker stories are absolutely chilling, and it’s telling that so many of them begin with a seemingly innocent online meeting.If you’re looking for an excuse to limit your Internet time, these Reddit stalking tales&nbsp;will give you plenty of reasons to log off. They contain some of the most skin-crawling&nbsp;descriptions of stalking that you'll ever read.&nbsp;From ex boyfriends who just can't take a hint to strangers who lovingly pen poems to the objects of their obsessions, this list has them all.

14 People Describe Their Terrifying Encounters With Creepy Stalkers

14 People Describe Their Scary Stories About Creepy Stalkers

Jacob Shelton

Weird

While it&#39;s now considered history to younger students, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, are moments permanently etched in Americans&#39; minds. Most everyone can tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard about the events, and many&nbsp;who lost loved ones can recall the day in excruciating detail. 2,753 people lost their lives at the World Trade Center alone, and tens of thousands&nbsp;of survivors still live with physical and psychological health problems. The idea that someone would pretend to be involved in such a horrifying event is both shocking and distasteful - but one woman did exactly that.

Alicia Esteve Head - known primarily by her alias, Tania Head - was a graduate student in Barcelona during the events of 9/11. Despite not even being in New York City at the time, she joined the World Trade Center Survivors&#39; Network and told a dramatic story of being severely injured and losing her fianc&eacute;. Although this tale won her sympathy and friendship, those close to her - and reporters - started to sense something wasn&#39;t right. Her narrative wasn&#39;t always consistent, and after&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;opened up an investigation, people learned Tania Head&#39;s story was completely fabricated.

Her ruse was conveyed&nbsp;in the&nbsp;documentary&nbsp;<a href="http://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?TSID=5036&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FWoman-Who-Wasnt-There%2Fdp%2FB00AHGXIE2%2F&amp;amazon-ids-by-cc=US%3Drankercom2758741-20" target="_blank">The Woman Who Wasn&#39;t There</a>. Head&#39;s then-friend Angelo J. Guglielmo&nbsp;Jr.&nbsp;directed and produced the movie, and he originally intended to showcase the lives of survivors. He had to change tactics when Head&#39;s true story came out.

Like the documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-moments-from-mommy-dead-and-dearest-documentary/stefanie-hammond" target="_blank">Mommy Dead And Dearest</a>,&nbsp;the movie delves into a web of intricate lies and speculates about the motivation behind such harmful deceit. Trauma - especially collective grief - can make people act out in a strange manner, and Tania Head appears to be no exception.

'The Woman Who Wasn't There' Tells The Shocking Story Of A 9/11 Survivor Who Wasn't All She Seemed

The True Story Behind 'The Woman Who Wasn't There'

Anna Lindwasser

Lists about real people who were held against their will, the monsters who tormented them, and the grisly details of what went on during those dark times.

Human Captives

The Fritzl case came to public attention in April 2008, when Elisabeth Fritzl and two of the three children living with her emerged from their basement prison in Amstetten, Austria. Her own father, Josef Fritzl, had locked her in a hidden basement for 24 years. He had repeatedly sexually assaulted his daughter, which resulted in numerous pregnancies. He also forced her to give birth to their seven children <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/normal-people-human-captives/lyra-radford" target="_blank">in captivity</a>. Elisabeth&rsquo;s mother lived in the upper sections of the home, believing her 18-year-old daughter had run away.

In 2008, Elisabeth&rsquo;s eldest daughter, Kerstin, fell ill. Elisabeth convinced Fritzl to take the 19-year-old girl to the hospital. There, doctors wanted more information on Kerstin&rsquo;s medical history and made public pleas for the mother to come forward. Fritzl let Elisabeth - then 42 - out of the basement for the first time since she was 18. He took her to speak with the doctors, and the police then intervened.

The following year, Austrian courts found Fritzl guilty of multiple charges, including murder, rape, enslavement, and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/incest-murder-cases/lea-rose-emery" target="_blank">incest</a>. He received life in a psychiatric prison.&nbsp;In 2010, filmmakers released <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/disturbing-incest-documentaries/david-harrison" target="_blank">the documentary</a> Monster: The Josef Fritzl Story. By 2013, authorities sealed the cellar space where Elisabeth lived in concrete, although the rest of the building still stands. Elisabeth and her children are living somewhere in Austria and undergoing therapy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Remembering The Horrific Case of Josef Fritzl's Incest Dungeon

The Worst Things Josef Fritzl Ever Did (To His Own Daughter)

Amanda Sedlak-Hevener

A look at the happenings and goings-on in and around America's wang.

Meanwhile, in Florida...

Though Florida may seem warm and sunny, there&#39;s a dark side to the Sunshine State. The crimes on this list are sinister and mysterious, and they all have one thing in common - they remain unsolved. There are no easy answers when it comes to these unsolved murders, disappearances, and unidentified victims discovered in the state of Florida.

Creepy Unsolved Crimes And Mysteries From Florida

Creepy Florida Unsolved Mysteries

Jodi Smith

Lists of confessions from real people who should probably find a good therapist and talk this out.

That's Messed Up

As people grew more and more comfortable with sharing their <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-secret-stories/lea-rose-emery" target="_blank">deepest darkest secrets</a> online, it opens the door for more and more instances of blackmail. Awful blackmail stories, especially today, often happen over a person's computer, where email chains, private photographs, and personal information all become ammunition for a persistent blackmailer. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/people-share-marriage-ending-secrets/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">Marriage-destroying secrets</a> and sex-shaming photographs emerge as a common thread among the worst blackmail stories. Thankfully, not all of these outrageous blackmail stories take such a negative turn. For all the awful blackmail stories out there, there are also&nbsp;funny blackmail stories between siblings and friends that just show tough love takes on many different forms.On Reddit&nbsp;where people recall times they got blackmailed, each of these stories usually involves a similar theme such as a scorned lover, but they all turn out mighty different from case to case. These outrageous blackmail stories, in addition to be wildly engrossing, remind you why it's always good to keep your receipts in order.

People Share The Craziest Blackmail Story They've Ever Heard (Or Experienced)

Mick Jacobs

Lists about what's going on on Capitol Hill and in your own backyard.

US Government & Politics

Explainer

Laws named after victims remain a source of debate. While plenty of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-by-rich-white-women/elle-tharp" target="_blank">brutal crimes</a> occur within any given year, only a very small percentage&nbsp;lead to changes to our legal system. When it comes to US laws created because of crimes, public outrage is key. Particularly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-by-rich-white-women/elle-tharp" target="_blank">horrifying kidnappings</a>, murders, and suicides receive&nbsp;an unusual amount of press coverage, often resulting in&nbsp;the widespread backlash needed to pressure politicians into reforming the legal system.&nbsp;The crimes that resulted in new laws&nbsp;were already illegal when they were committed. The resulting legislation is usually seen&nbsp;as closing a loophole or addressing a unique aspect of the crime. However, there is much public debate on whether such laws are ethical or effective. People who have laws named after them are honored and memorialized, on the one hand, but critics argue such laws are often too reactionary to be truly effective.&nbsp;If you're unsure where you stand on the issue, browse this list. It will help you develop a more detailed understanding of how and why some crimes lead to new laws.&nbsp;

Every US Law Named After A Victim And What It Does

Prison

When a criminal is deemed to be the &quot;worst of the worst,&quot;&nbsp;they&#39;re sent to the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, otherwise known as ADX. This high-security prison in the middle of nowhere is meant to keep hardened offenders&nbsp;as far away from the general population&nbsp;as possible. It&#39;s unlikely anyone could escape, and for many of its residents, ADX will be the last place they ever see.&nbsp;

ADX has been operating since 1994 and it&#39;s the only prison in America that offers no real means of rehabilitation. Most of the people who end up there have either committed enough terrible acts that the system doesn&#39;t know what to do with them, or they&#39;ve committed crimes against&nbsp;the American Government.&nbsp;

The institution has come under fire for its lack of medical facilities and treatment of its patients, and in the mid-2010s, after a significant amount of legal pressure, ADX reevaluated its practices. Still, the day-to-day life for an inmate at&nbsp;ADX isn&rsquo;t a cakewalk, and most of them spend their time in solitary confinement.

Realities Of Daily Life In Florence ADX Supermax Prison

What Is Life In Florence ADX Supermax Prison Like?

Lists of unsettling and grisly details about what happened to kidnapping victims who were held against their will. 

While They Were Held Hostage

On November 4, 1970, Los Angeles child services discovered an unprecedented case of child neglect. At 13, Susan Wiley had the demeanor and appearance of a 6 or 7-year-old girl. When the authorities began investigating parents Irene and Clark Wiley, they found that two of the four Wiley children passed within months of their births. A third child lived with Clark&rsquo;s mother until her unexpected passing, and the fourth was Susan, also known as &ldquo;Genie.&rdquo; Genie, despite her age, was unable to speak, feed herself, or use the toilet. At less than 60 pounds, the girl walked with an unusual gait, the result of years of confinement.&nbsp;

After child services rescued Genie, child psychologists devoted themselves to the girl&rsquo;s recovery. Known as a &ldquo;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-feral-children/justin-andress" target="_blank">feral child</a>,&rdquo; Genie&rsquo;s isolation from society in her formative years caused her to have stunted cognitive and behavioral abilities. She never developed the ability to communicate with language, although her behavioral and social skills improved with years of positive reinforcement and therapy. Since Genie, other cases of feral children have come to light, such as <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/dani-girl-in-the-window-florida-feral-child/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">Danielle Crockett</a>, known as &ldquo;The Girl in the Window,&rdquo; and Ukraine&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/oxana-malaya-feral-child-facts/erin-wisti" target="_blank">Oxana Malaya</a>.

The courts arrested Genie&rsquo;s parents, but Clark took his own life&nbsp;before the trial. The judge subsequently dismissed the charges against Irene. In 1994, Nova - a PBS series - released an Emmy-winning documentary about Genie called Secret of the Wild Child. As of 2016, Genie lives in a Los Angeles facility as a permanent ward of the state.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

A Little Girl Was Locked In A Basement By Her Own Parents For More Than A Decade

Laura Allan

Organized Crime

The capture of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/brutal-drug-kingpins/katherine-ripley " target="_blank">infamous crime lord</a> Joaqu&iacute;n &quot;El Chapo&quot; Guzm&aacute;n is one of the biggest blows to organized crime of the 21st century. El Chapo&#39;s capture threw&nbsp;his family and empire into a state of chaos. While Guzm&aacute;n may be incarcerated, that doesn&#39;t mean&nbsp;the Sinaloa cartel has ceased its operations. Internal conflict, rival cartels, and law enforcement agencies are putting the squeeze on this once-untouchable syndicate.

But it&#39;s not over for the&nbsp;Guzm&aacute;n family. Many of his children are living relatively normal lives, and his wife&#39;s public and flashy lifestyle has caught the attention of the tabloids. His sons are consolidating power within the cartel, and there is always the possibility El Chapo will try to escape from the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-prisoners-at-adx-florence-facility/treadlightly" target="_blank">supermax penitentiary</a>&nbsp;in which he&#39;s likely to be housed. In any case, the post-Chapo history of the Guzm&aacute;n family is as rich and horrifying as its leader&#39;s reign. El Chapo is in jail, but the ripples of his numerous exploits will be felt for years to come.&nbsp;

What Happened To El Chapo's Family And Empire After The Last Time He Was Caught

What Happened To El Chapo's Family & Empire After He Was Caught?

Eric Luis

Mysteries

Brittanee Drexel told her parents she was staying with a friend for spring break before she went <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/lost-children-who-were-found/anabel-conner" target="_blank">missing</a> in 2009. Leading up to her disappearance, the 17-year-old high school senior from Rochester, NY,&nbsp;was under an immense amount of stress from&nbsp;her parents&#39; separation. While her vanishing&nbsp;may at first sound like the case of a runaway teen, Brittanee Drexel&#39;s disappearance quickly turned ominous.

The Brittanee Drexel case has remained unsolved since she was last seen on April 25, 2009, though the investigation fluctuated between hot and cold throughout the 2010s. While murder and human trafficking are the two leading theories in Brittanee&#39;s disappearance, the events of April 25&nbsp;remain just as perplexing now as they were in 2009.

Here are the facts of the case and a general timeline of events. We&#39;ll also explore plausible theories and suspects in Brittanee Drexel&#39;s confounding disappearance.

Brittanee Drexel Was On Spring Break When She Vanished In 2009, And Her Case Is Still Unsolved

Patrick Thornton

First comes trial, then comes guilty, then comes sentencing to years locked away with people even more dangerous than you are. Join us on a whirlwind tour of prison!

Prison: Behind the Bars

Prison is far from pleasant, but things sink to an extra nasty level when prisoners are taken out of the yard and put into solitary confinement. Solitary confinement was originally a form of punishment practiced by Quakers and Calvinists who wanted&nbsp;to afford prisoners the quiet space to evaluate their actions, presumably while praying. Some religious sects, such as the Amish, still use <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-the-amish-shunning/erin-wisti" target="_blank">forms of social isolation</a> to punish offending members of their community, and it can wreck the psyche of those ostracized. Still, these practices don&#39;t hold a candle to&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scary-prison-stories/stefanie-hammond" target="_blank">United States prison system</a>, which takes solitary confinement to an inhumane level.&nbsp;

These days, solitary confinement goes by a more PC name - segregation - but it takes no less a toll on the prisoners unfortunate enough to be separated from the general population and subjected to total isolation for weeks, months, and even years. Various studies have shown that putting prisoners in SHU or other forms of isolation are not only incredibly damaging to the prisoner&#39;s psyche, but is also incredibly expensive and counterproductive to what <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scariest-prisons-in-history/danielle-ownbey" target="_blank">prisons</a> are supposed to be doing: rehabilitating prisoners to become functioning and contributing members of society.&nbsp;

You want to know what solitary is like? The best way to find out is to ask those prisoners who&#39;ve been forced to live it firsthand.

'Far Worse Than Any Death Sentence': Horrific Realities of Solitary Confinement

What Solitary Confinement Is Like in the US

Justin Andress

Lists about people who were tried, convicted, and even executed for crimes they didn't commit.

Wrongful Convictions

In 1991, a tragic fire burned down a house in&nbsp;Corsicana, Texas, and killed three children. Cameron Todd Willingham, the father of the kids, was quickly found guilty in the aftermath&nbsp;and was&nbsp;executed for the crime in 2004. His death was one of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/controversial-us-death-penalty-executions-093015/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">most controversial US death penalty cases</a> in history.&nbsp;In the years leading up to his execution, and even after,&nbsp;evidence has been mounting that addresses a pressing question:&nbsp;was Cameron Todd Willingham&nbsp;really guilty?&nbsp;

There is plenty of evidence that points toward&nbsp;Willingham&nbsp;being innocent. From weird witness testimonies&nbsp;to a jailhouse snitch who got a secret deal, there are many factors that make Willingham&#39;s&nbsp;guilt questionable. In the minds of many, all of the unearthed&nbsp;evidence over the years&nbsp;shows&nbsp;that Texas killed an innocent man for what may very well have been an accident. Even Cameron Todd Willingham&#39;s last words proclaimed his innocence, and he&#39;s certainly not the first person to be potentially&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/california-innocence-project/jodi-smith" target="_blank">falsely accused</a>. Read on below to discover the disturbing&nbsp;facts that make&nbsp;Willingham&#39;s&nbsp;guilt questionable.&nbsp;

Disturbing Evidence That Texas Executed An Innocent Man, Cameron Todd Willingham

Hugh Landman

Unspeakable Times lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for lists and rankings in all categories