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Godfathers of Gore: How the Gambino Family Used Murder to RULE New York City!
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Jul 1, 2025
Discover the shocking, blood-soaked rise of the Gambino crime family — New York’s most feared Mafia dynasty. From ruthless hits to brutal betrayals, this is the untold story of how murder wasn’t just a weapon, but the foundation of their iron grip on the city. Dive deep into the dark underworld where loyalty was fragile and power was won with cold-blooded violence. Don’t miss this jaw-dropping expose on the Godfathers of Gore who ruled NYC with terror and bullets. 🔥 Subscribe now for more true crime stories that will blow your mind! 🔔 Hit the bell to never miss an update! #GambinoFamily #Mafia #TrueCrime #NYCUnderworld #GodfathersOfGore --~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Like and subscribe will be greatly appreciated! 🙏 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Grow Your YouTube Channel Faster with vidIQ! Want to get more views, subscribers, and take your YouTube game to the next level? I personally use vidIQ to optimize my videos, find the best keywords, analyze trends, and crush the algorithm. Whether you’re just starting out or already growing fast, vidIQ gives you the tools, insights, and strategies you need to stand out. Start for free today and see the difference: 👉 https://tinyurl.com/2b2dw2u8 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- 🌟 Earn Money by Inviting Friends! 🌟 Invite your friends to sign up through our link, and they get 50% off their first 3 months! You’ll earn 40% of any purchase they make (up to $50). The more friends you refer, the more you earn!
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0:00
New York City, the city that never
0:02
sleeps, right? But beneath all that
0:05
glitz and glamour, there's always been a
0:08
dark undercurrent.
0:09
An underworld ruled by iron fists and
0:13
Tommy guns. For decades, one name echoed
0:16
louder than all others. A name that
0:19
meant ruthless ambition and pure terror.
0:22
Gambino. But how did they claw their way
0:25
to the top? How did they become the most
0:28
feared criminal organization in America?
0:31
The answer is as simple as it is brutal.
0:34
Murder. And not just any murder, but a
0:38
relentless strategic campaign of
0:40
bloodshed. This is the story of how the
0:44
Gambino family used murder, not just as
0:47
a tool, but as the very cornerstone of
0:50
their rise to power in New York's
0:53
criminal underworld.
0:55
The American Mafia. It's a complex
0:58
story, isn't it? Woven with threads of
1:01
blood, power, and bitter betrayal. And
1:04
right in the heart of that story is the
1:06
Gambino Crime Family. One of New York
1:09
City's five families that pretty much
1:11
ran organized crime for the best part of
1:14
a century. Their tale isn't just about
1:17
crime. It's about a dynasty built on a
1:20
chilling idea that violence used smartly
1:24
was the quickest way to get power and
1:27
keep it. From the blood soaked docks of
1:30
early 20th century Brooklyn to the
1:33
courtroom dramas that screamed from
1:35
headlines in the late 1900s, the
1:38
Gambinos left a bloody, unforgettable
1:41
mark on New York. Their climb to the top
1:45
was a masterclass in brutality. A grim
1:48
dance of bullets and betrayal where
1:51
loyalty was a suggestion and life was
1:54
terrifyingly cheap. This is the untold
1:57
story of the Godfathers of Gore and how
2:00
they used murder to rule New York City.
2:03
Section 1, the genesis of violence,
2:07
early days and the era of Anastasia.
2:11
The Gambino crime family's roots. They
2:14
dig way back to the early 1900s, a time
2:18
of massive change and for some
2:20
opportunity in New York's bustling
2:22
immigrant neighborhoods. Sicilian
2:24
immigrants chasing the American dream
2:27
also brought over some oldw world
2:29
traditions, including the early seeds of
2:32
organized crime. Street gangs and small
2:35
factions started to merge, and among
2:38
them, the group that would eventually
2:40
carry the Gambino name began to form.
2:43
Think figures like Salvatoreé Toto
2:46
Dquila, an early powerful boss, and
2:50
later Vincent Mangano, who led the
2:52
family from the 1930s until he too met a
2:56
violent end. But the real trial by fire.
3:00
The moment that stamped the family with
3:02
its lethal reputation came with the rise
3:04
of one of the mafia's most terrifying
3:07
figures, Albert Anastasia.
3:10
Born Ombberto Anastasio in Italy in
3:13
1902, he landed in New York and quickly
3:17
found his niche in the brutal world of
3:20
organized crime. Anastasia was a
3:23
dangerously unpredictable man known for
3:25
his savagery. They didn't call him the
3:28
Mad Hatter and even more chillingly, the
3:31
Lord High Executioner for nothing.
3:34
Anastasia wasn't just another gangster.
3:37
He was a key player in one of history's
3:40
most infamous murder machines, Murder
3:44
Incorporated.
3:45
Operating from the 1920s into the early
3:48
1940s,
3:50
Murder Inc. was basically the hit squad
3:52
for the National Crime Syndicate, a
3:55
loose alliance of Italian and Jewish
3:58
crime groups. Initially led by Louisie
4:01
Lepka Bukala and later effectively run
4:05
by Anastasia, this outfit was quite
4:08
literally murder for hire on an
4:11
industrial scale. We're talking
4:14
hundreds, maybe even thousands of
4:17
contract killings across the US. Their
4:20
methods, anything that worked,
4:22
shootings, stabbings with ice picks,
4:25
whatever got the job done, often with
4:27
brutal efficiency. The victims were
4:30
usually fellow mobsters who'd stepped
4:32
out of line, skimmed profits, or were
4:35
suspected of talking to the cops.
4:37
Anastasia's job, running murder, Inc.
4:40
cemented his power and his fearsome
4:43
image. He had an army of killers at his
4:46
beck and call, ready to silence anyone,
4:49
enforce any rule. This period was
4:51
crucial for the family that would become
4:53
the Gambinos.
4:55
Even though it wasn't called Gambino
4:57
yet, the Mangano family with Anastasia
5:00
as its underboss was neck deep in this
5:04
culture of systematic violence. They
5:07
weren't just committing crimes. They
5:09
were learning, perfecting how to use
5:11
murder as policy, a way to wipe out
5:14
rivals, keep discipline, and grab more
5:18
turf. The lesson was stark. In the
5:21
mafia's brutal food chain, power didn't
5:25
just come from a gun. It was carefully
5:28
grown through fear. And fear, that was
5:32
Anastasia's specialty. He was reportedly
5:35
one of the shooters in the 1931
5:38
assassination of Joe the Boss Maseria. A
5:42
huge turning point in the cast war that
5:45
reshaped the American mafia. Doing that
5:48
hit ordered by Charles Lucky Luchiano
5:52
showed Anastasia would spill anyone's
5:55
blood to achieve his goals. Luchiano
5:58
rewarded Anastasia by making him Vincent
6:01
Mangano's underboss.
6:04
The Murder Inc. era was a brutal
6:06
training ground. It taught these
6:08
aspiring godfathers that no one was
6:11
safe, that ambition trumped loyalty, and
6:15
that a well-amed bullet could solve
6:17
almost any problem. New York's streets
6:21
became a killing field. And Albert
6:23
Anastasia was one of its chief
6:26
designers. He brought a level of
6:28
brutality and efficiency to murder that
6:31
would define the family he'd eventually
6:33
lead. A legacy Carlo Gambino would later
6:37
inherit and polish. The message couldn't
6:40
have been clearer. Cross us and you die.
6:44
The seeds of the Gambino's bloody reign
6:47
were planted in the blood soaked soil of
6:50
murder. Inc. Vincent Mangano, the
6:53
family's official boss, increasingly
6:55
clashed with Anastasia's independent and
6:58
violent streak. Then in 1951, Vincent
7:02
Mangano and his brother Philillip just
7:05
disappeared.
7:07
Everyone suspected they were murdered,
7:09
and many pointed fingers at Anastasia,
7:12
though it was never proven in court.
7:15
With the manganos out of the picture,
7:17
Albert Anastasia, the Lord High
7:20
executioner himself, officially became
7:23
the boss. The family was then known as
7:26
the Anastasia crime family. The era of
7:30
unchecked, terrifying violence had fully
7:32
arrived. Section two, the bloody ascent
7:36
and reign of terror. Carlo Gambino's
7:39
calculated carnage.
7:42
Albert Anastasia's time as boss was just
7:45
as fierce as his days leading Murder
7:48
Inc. People were terrified of him, and
7:51
for good reason. But fear, as they say,
7:54
is a double-edged sword. It keeps people
7:57
in line, sure, but it also breeds
8:00
resentment and ambition in those lurking
8:03
in the shadows. One of those men was
8:06
Carlo Gambino. Born in Palmo, Sicily in
8:10
1902, Carlo Gambino snuck into the
8:14
United States as a stowaway in 1921 and
8:19
quickly dove into Brooklyn's growing
8:22
Italian underworld. Unlike the flashy
8:25
and openly brutal Anastasia, Gambino was
8:29
a different breed. He was quiet,
8:32
calculating with a mind like a steel
8:35
trap for crime. He understood violence
8:39
was useful, but he preferred to use it
8:41
like a surgeon's scalpel, not a
8:44
sledgehammer. He'd patiently climbed the
8:47
ranks under Vincent Mangano and then
8:50
served as Anastasia's underboss,
8:53
learning, watching, and biding his time.
8:57
Gambino knew Anastasia's wild behavior
9:00
and love for violence were making him
9:02
enemies, not just in his own family, but
9:05
among other powerful mafia bosses.
9:08
Anastasia's unsanctioned murder of a
9:10
civilian Arnold Schuster, who'd ratted
9:13
on bank robber Willie Sutton really
9:15
ticked off other mafia leaders like Veto
9:18
Genevese.
9:19
Genevies saw it as drawing way too much
9:23
heat from the public and the law.
9:26
Genevese himself, a ruthless and
9:28
ambitious boss of what would become the
9:29
Genevese crime family, sniffed an
9:32
opportunity to take out a rival and
9:35
boost his own power. He found a quiet
9:38
but very willing partner in Carlo
9:41
Gambino. The stage was set for one of
9:44
the most notorious mob hits ever. On the
9:48
morning of October 25th, 1957,
9:51
Albert Anastasia was getting his usual
9:55
shave and haircut at the Park Sheritan
9:57
Hotel in Manhattan. Relaxing in the
10:01
barber's chair, face wrapped in a hot
10:03
towel, two gunmen, faces hidden, burst
10:07
in. A hail of bullets ripped through
10:10
Anastasia.
10:11
The Lord High executioner was dead. His
10:14
reign of terror ending in a bloody heap.
10:18
While Veto Genevvesi was a key
10:20
instigator, it's widely believed Carlo
10:23
Gambino pulled the strings, clearing his
10:26
own path to the top. With Anastasia
10:28
gone, Carlo Gambino grabbed the reigns
10:32
and the family was soon renamed in his
10:35
honor. His rise to power signaled a
10:39
change in style, but definitely not a
10:42
softening of the family's capacity for
10:44
strategic violence. Gambino got it. True
10:48
power wasn't just about making people
10:51
afraid, but about wielding that fear
10:54
intelligently. He was a master
10:56
manipulator, a quiet puppet master who
10:59
liked to operate from the shadows. His
11:02
reign lasting nearly two decades until
11:05
his death from natural causes in 1976
11:09
saw the Gambino family become arguably
11:12
the most powerful and profitable
11:14
criminal organization in America. Under
11:17
Carlo, murder was still a vital tool,
11:21
but it was often more thought out, more
11:23
discreet. He used violence to tighten
11:26
his grip on lucrative rackets, gambling,
11:30
lone sharking, hijacking, and especially
11:33
labor racketeering with huge control
11:36
over waterfront unions, the garment
11:38
district, and trucking. He got rid of
11:41
rivals and potential threats with cold
11:44
efficiency, but usually without the
11:46
public drama Anastasia had loved. He
11:50
understood the value of alliances and
11:53
held a powerful spot on the commission,
11:56
the mafia's ruling council, often acting
11:59
as the boss of bosses. One example of
12:02
Gambino's clever use of power and
12:04
violence, even if indirectly, was his
12:08
supposed role in the Banano War of the
12:11
1960s.
12:12
When Joseph Banano, head of the Banano
12:15
crime family, plotted to assassinate
12:17
Gambino and other commission members,
12:20
Gambino found out. The commission with
12:24
Gambino leading the charge acted fast,
12:27
forcing Banano into hiding and
12:30
essentially taking him off the board.
12:32
This move only made Gambino stronger. He
12:36
was also suspected of setting up the
12:38
shooting of Joseph Columbbo, head of the
12:41
Columbbo crime family in 1971.
12:45
After Columbbo started attracting too
12:48
much public attention with his Italian
12:50
American Civil Rights League rallies,
12:53
Columbbo survived but was left
12:55
incapacitated.
12:57
Another rival neutralized. Carlo
12:59
Gambino's genius was his ability to
13:03
project this image of a traditional
13:05
almost grandfatherly figure while
13:08
secretly running a massive criminal
13:10
empire built on violence and
13:12
intimidation.
13:14
He rarely talked to the press and
13:16
somehow managed to avoid serious prison
13:19
time only doing 22 months in 1937-38
13:24
for tax evasion. His reign was long and
13:29
for the family incredibly rich. He
13:33
showed that murder, when used carefully
13:35
and strategically, could not only win
13:38
power, but keep it for decades. The gore
13:42
became less public. But the iron fist
13:44
was still there, just hidden inside a
13:47
velvet glove. As Carlo Gambino's health
13:50
started to fail in the mid 1970s, he
13:54
made a controversial choice for his
13:56
successor. He bypassed his longtime
13:58
underboss, Angelo Decroce, a tough old
14:03
school gangster and instead named his
14:05
brother-in-law, Paul Castellano, to take
14:08
over. Castellano was more of a
14:11
businessman focused on white collar
14:14
crimes and trying to steer the family
14:16
towards more legitimate businesses.
14:18
Though of course these were still
14:20
propped up by the family's criminal
14:23
muscle. This decision planted seeds of
14:26
resentment that would explode into
14:29
spectacular violence a decade later.
14:32
Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack in
14:36
his Long Island home on October 15th,
14:40
1976,
14:41
leaving behind a powerful, wealthy, and
14:45
increasingly divided family. The era of
14:48
calculated quiet was about to give way
14:51
to a storm of open bloodshed.
14:55
Section three, the Goty era, violence
14:58
unleashed and the price of gore. Paul
15:01
Castellano, Big Paul, took over the
15:04
Gambino family in 1976,
15:07
inheriting a colossal and powerful
15:10
criminal machine. Castellano, Carlo
15:13
Gambino's brother-in-law, had a
15:16
different vision for the family. He
15:18
wanted to focus on sophisticated white
15:21
collar crime, things like extortion,
15:24
controlling unions, and musling into
15:26
legitimate businesses like construction
15:29
and food distribution.
15:31
He wasn't so keen on the grittier street
15:34
level stuff like drug dealing, which he
15:37
officially banned, though many,
15:39
including guys in John Gotti's crew,
15:42
ignored him. He preferred the boardroom
15:44
to the back alley, often running things
15:47
from his lavish Staten Island mansion,
15:50
famously known as the White House. Now,
15:54
Castellano wasn't afraid of violence,
15:56
and he could certainly greenlight it
15:58
when he thought it was necessary, but
16:00
his leadership style created a major
16:03
split in the family. Many of the
16:06
everyday members, especially the faction
16:09
loyal to Angelo Deoce, the underboss
16:12
who'd been passed over, felt ignored by
16:15
Castellano's standoffish ways and his
16:18
apparent dislike for the traditional
16:20
mafia street life. Delicroce's crew,
16:23
which included a charismatic and very
16:26
ambitious captain named John Goty, was
16:29
deep into hijacking, gambling, and
16:32
importantly, drug trafficking. Something
16:36
Castellano publicly condemned, but
16:38
privately tolerated as long as he got
16:41
his cut. The tension just simmered for
16:45
years.
16:46
John Goty, a product of Queen's tough
16:49
streets, was everything Castellano
16:52
wasn't. Flashy, street smart, and openly
16:56
dismissive of Castellano's leadership,
16:59
Goti was a throwback to the more openly
17:02
aggressive bosses of the past, and he
17:05
built a loyal following among the
17:07
family's soldiers. The breaking point
17:11
came when Angelo Decroce died of cancer
17:14
on December 2nd, 1985.
17:18
Castellano, in a move seen as a massive
17:21
insult by Delro's followers, didn't even
17:25
show up to his under boss's wake. That
17:28
plus rumors that Castellano was going to
17:30
break up Goty's crew because of their
17:33
drug dealing and maybe even have Goty
17:35
killed pushed Goty to make a move. He
17:39
reportedly worried Castellano would use
17:41
the drug charges as an excuse to
17:44
eliminate him. Goty with help from other
17:47
unhappy Kpos like Frank Dico and
17:50
Salvator Sammy the Bull Graano started
17:54
planning Castellano's assassination.
17:57
It was an incredibly bold highstakes
18:00
move. Killing a mafia boss without the
18:04
commission's okay was a cardinal sin
18:07
punishable by death. But Goti, always
18:10
audacious,
18:11
decided the prize was worth the risk. On
18:15
the evening of December 16th, 1985,
18:18
Paul Castellano and his newly appointed
18:21
under boss and bodyguard, Thomas
18:23
Bilotti, were heading to a dinner
18:26
meeting at Spark Steakhouse in Midtown
18:29
Manhattan. As their black Lincoln pulled
18:31
up and Castellano and Bellotti got out,
18:34
a team of four assassins wearing
18:37
identical trench coats and Russian fur
18:40
hats to hide their faces opened fire.
18:43
Both Castellano and Bellotti were gunned
18:46
down in a barrage of bullets. Their
18:49
bodies left sprawling on the cold
18:51
pavement in front of the busy
18:53
restaurant. John Gotti and Sammy Graano
18:57
supposedly watched the whole thing
18:58
unfold from a car parked across the
19:01
street, then drove by the scene to make
19:04
sure their targets were dead. The
19:06
Castellano hit sent shock waves through
19:09
the mafia world. It was a public
19:11
execution, a blatant challenge to the
19:14
established order. Within weeks, Goti
19:17
was declared the new boss of the Gambino
19:21
crime family. His reign marked a
19:24
dramatic return to open violence and a
19:28
public image unlike any mafia boss
19:31
before him. The media dubbed him the
19:34
dapper dawn for his expensive suits and
19:38
charismatic almost celebritylike
19:40
persona.
19:42
He also earned the nickname the Teflon
19:45
Dawn after getting acquitted in a string
19:48
of high-profile trials, often thanks to
19:51
witness intimidation and jury tampering.
19:54
However, Goti's unauthorized hit on
19:57
Castellano didn't just go unnoticed.
20:02
Vincent theqin Jaganti, the eccentric
20:05
but powerful boss of the Genevese crime
20:07
family, was furious about Goty's breach
20:10
of mafia rules and plotted revenge. On
20:14
April 13th, 1986,
20:16
a car bomb went off outside a Brooklyn
20:20
social club Goty and his crew often
20:22
visited. Goty was the target, but he
20:26
changed his plans at the last minute.
20:28
His new underboss, Frank Diko, who had
20:31
helped plan the Castellano hit, was
20:34
killed in the blast. Using a car bomb, a
20:38
tactic generally frowned upon in mafia
20:40
circles because of the risk to innocent
20:43
people, showed just how much hatred Goti
20:45
had stirred up. Despite the attempts on
20:48
his life and constant police attention,
20:51
Goti continued to rule with an iron
20:53
fist. His time at the top was marked by
20:57
violence and a ruthless chase for
21:00
profit. But the Teflon wasn't going to
21:03
last. The FBI armed with powerful laws
21:07
like the rakateeer influenced and
21:09
corrupt organizations, RICO act
21:12
relentlessly went after Goti and the
21:14
Gambino leadership. Wiretaps,
21:17
informants, and intense surveillance
21:20
started to break the family's code of
21:22
silence. The ultimate betrayal, the one
21:25
that would finally bring Goty down, came
21:28
from inside his own inner circle. Sammy,
21:33
the bull, Gravano, Goty's under boss and
21:36
a prolific killer himself, got fed up
21:39
with Goty's leadership and worried Goti
21:42
might try to blame numerous murders on
21:44
him. Facing serious charges and
21:47
confronted with FBI recordings of Goty
21:50
badmouthing him, Gravano made a deal. In
21:55
1991,
21:56
he turned states witness, agreeing to
21:59
testify against his boss. Graano's
22:02
testimony was absolutely devastating. He
22:06
confessed to 19 murders and tied Goty to
22:10
several, including the Castellano
22:12
assassination.
22:14
The courtroom drama was a sensation. The
22:17
once untouchable Dapper Dawn was laid
22:21
bare. In 1992, John Goty was convicted
22:25
of murder, raketeering, and a whole list
22:28
of other charges. He was sentenced to
22:31
life in prison with no chance of parole.
22:34
The Teflon Dawn, as the FBI quipped, had
22:37
finally become the Velcro Dawn. Goti's
22:40
conviction and Gravano's betrayal hit
22:43
the Gambino crime family hard. The
22:46
leadership was gutted and the myth of
22:48
mafia, the code of silence, was
22:51
shattered. While the family kept
22:53
operating, its power and influence were
22:56
drastically reduced. Goti died in prison
22:59
from cancer in 2002.
23:02
The era of Gambino dominance built and
23:05
maintained through decades of strategic
23:08
and often spectacular violence had come
23:11
to a bloody and shameful end. The price
23:14
of all that gore ultimately was the
23:17
family's own downfall.
23:20
Though it's worth noting arrests as
23:23
recent as 2023,
23:26
still show Gambino family members trying
23:28
to use extortion and violence to control
23:32
industries. A sign that the legacy,
23:36
however weakened, still flickers. The
23:39
Gambino family's bloody history is a
23:41
brutal reminder of the true cost of
23:44
organized crime. What do you think was
23:47
the most pivotal murder in their rise to
23:49
power? Was it Anastasia, Castellano,
23:53
maybe someone else? Let us know your
23:55
thoughts in the comments below. And if
23:58
you want to dive deeper into these dark
24:01
sagas of the underworld,
24:03
make sure to like this video and
24:06
subscribe for more true crime
24:08
chronicles. The story of the Gambino
24:11
crime family is a brutal epic, isn't it?
24:14
A chilling account of how murder was
24:18
systematically used to carve out and
24:20
control a criminal empire right in the
24:23
heart of New York City. From the raw
24:27
savage violence of Albert Anastasia and
24:30
Murder Inc. where killing was
24:32
practically a daily chore to the
24:34
calculated strategic assassinations
24:37
under Carlo Gambino that cemented the
24:40
family's dominance and finally to the
24:43
brazen headline grabbing hits of John
24:46
Goti that marked both their peak and the
24:48
start of their fall. Violence was the
24:52
one constant, the unwavering currency of
24:55
power. They really were the godfathers
24:58
of Gore. Their path to the top was paved
25:02
with the bodies of rivals, informants,
25:05
and even their own.
25:07
Every murder was a message, a strategic
25:11
move in a deadly chess game played out
25:14
on the city's streets. The
25:17
assassinations of bosses like Vincent
25:19
Mangano, Albert Anastasia, and Paul
25:22
Castellano weren't just acts of
25:25
violence. They were brutal coups
25:27
reshaping the underworld and pushing new
25:30
ruthless leaders into the spotlight.
25:34
Internal betrayals like Sammy Graano's
25:37
just highlighted how unstable a world
25:40
built on broken loyalties and the
25:42
constant threat of death truly is.
25:45
Eventually, law enforcement using
25:48
powerful tools like the RICO Act managed
25:51
to exploit these internal weaknesses,
25:54
ending the reigns of figures like Goti
25:57
and seriously cutting back the family's
25:59
once unstoppable power. Yet, the Gambino
26:03
crime family's legacy lingers. It's a
26:06
testament to a time when organized crime
26:10
had an iron grip on huge parts of
26:13
American life. Their story is like a
26:16
dark mirror reflecting the violent
26:18
ambitions that can fester just beneath
26:21
society's surface. It's a stark reminder
26:24
that for some the road to power isn't
26:26
paved with innovation or smarts. But
26:29
with the cold, calculated shedding of
26:31
blood, the streets of New York might be
26:34
safer now, but the echoes of the
26:36
Gambino's reign of gore still hang in
26:39
the air, a chilling chapter in the
26:42
city's complex. an often violent