# Fear City: New York vs The Mafia (2020)

> Former FBI agents, mobsters, and prosecutors recount how a federal team set out to dismantle New York's five mafia families in the 1970s.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/88186

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary, crime
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: G. Robert Blakey, John Savarese, Johnny Alite, Michael Franzese, Lin Devecchio, Jim Kossler, Bruce Mouw, Marilyn Lucht
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12588372/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sober, tense, gritty, methodical

## What critics say

Viewers broadly find the miniseries an engaging, well-sourced account of the FBI's campaign against New York's mafia families, valued for its archival access and detailed investigative account.

## Synopsis

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia (2020) is a US true crime documentary miniseries created for Netflix, running three one-hour episodes. Rather than dramatizing events, it gathers the people who lived them: former FBI special agents such as Lin Devecchio and Jim Kossler, supervisors from the Gambino squad, former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese, and former mobster Johnny Alite, alongside Rudolph Giuliani and Cornell law professor G. Robert Blakey. Their accounts build the engine of the series: a small group of federal agents attempting something that seemed nearly impossible, taking on five entrenched crime families that ran New York City with brute force. The investigation unfolds through wiretaps, surveillance, and the risky decision to pursue the families through the courts. Set in 1970s New York, the story moves with a tense, methodical rhythm, as each interview adds a new layer of danger and institutional strain. The tone is sober and clear-eyed, with gritty moments of violence and crime. Fans of The Irishman, The Sopranos, and Mob Wives will find resonance in its mix of organized crime history and firsthand testimony.

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