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They swore sacred oaths in blood. They pledged loyalty until death. Then they broke everything.
These are the 5 biggest betrayals in mafia history—the moments when made men turned rat, when bosses were murdered by their own soldiers, and when the sacred code of omertà shattered forever.
What you'll discover:
• Joe Valachi – The first made man to publicly break omertà and testify before Congress, exposing La Cosa Nostra to the world in 1963
• Sammy "The Bull" Gravano – How the Gambino underboss betrayed John Gotti and brought down the most famous mob boss in history
• Donnie Brasco – The shocking story of FBI Agent Joseph Pistone who infiltrated the Bonanno family for 6 years, the deepest mob penetration ever
• The Castellano Assassination – When John Gotti murdered his own boss in front of Sparks Steak House, breaking every mafia rule
• Whitey Bulger – The Boston crime boss who was secretly an FBI informant while running a murder empire, the ultimate two-way betrayal
Each betrayal changed the mafia forever. These weren't just informants—these were seismic events that destroyed families, ended the code of silence, and proved that nobody could be trusted.
From Senate hearings to mob hits, from FBI infiltrations to corrupt agents, this is the real story of how the American mafia was brought down from within.
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0:00
The mafia built its entire empire on one
0:02
sacred principle. Loyalty, you live by
0:06
it, you die by it. The code of silence,
0:08
Omemerita, isn't just a rule. It's
0:11
supposed to be absolute. It's the
0:13
foundation of everything. You swear an
0:16
oath in blood, and that oath binds you
0:19
until death. Break it, and death comes
0:22
swiftly. For decades, this code held.
0:25
The families grew powerful because
0:27
nobody talked. Nobody testified. Nobody
0:32
cooperated. Law enforcement could arrest
0:34
mobsters all day long. But without
0:36
witnesses, without insider testimony,
0:38
convictions were rare. The mafia seemed
0:41
untouchable, protected by an invisible
0:43
wall of silence that no amount of
0:45
pressure could break. But here's the
0:47
truth they don't want you to know. That
0:49
wall has been crumbling for decades. And
0:52
it didn't crack slowly. It shattered in
0:55
five catastrophic explosions of betrayal
0:57
that rocked the underworld to its core.
0:59
We're talking about betrayals so
1:01
devastating, so unprecedented that they
1:04
changed the mafia forever. Men who swore
1:07
sacred oaths and then destroyed
1:09
everything they'd pledged to protect.
1:10
Some did it to save their own skin. Some
1:13
did it for revenge. And some, the most
1:16
dangerous ones, were never really loyal
1:19
at all. They were ghosts, living lies,
1:22
walking among maid men while serving
1:24
different masters. These five betrayals
1:26
brought down bosses, decimated crime
1:29
families, exposed secrets that were
1:31
supposed to die with their keepers, and
1:33
fundamentally alter the balance of power
1:36
between organized crime and law
1:38
enforcement. Each one sent shock waves
1:40
through the underworld. Each one made
1:42
every mobster look at his closest
1:44
friends with suspicion. Each one proved
1:46
that the unbreakable code could be
1:48
broken. And once it was broken the first
1:51
time, it became easier for the next man
1:53
and the next until the flood of
1:55
turncoats became unstoppable.
1:58
Today, we're opening the vault. These
2:00
are the secrets they thought were buried
2:02
forever. We've spent months analyzing
2:04
court transcripts, FBI debriefing
2:07
documents, and testimony from the men
2:09
who committed these betrayals. We've
2:11
studied the fallout, the assassinations
2:13
that followed, and the permanent changes
2:15
these acts of treachery inflicted on
2:17
organized crime in America. What you're
2:19
about to hear are the five most
2:21
catastrophic betrayals in mafia history.
2:24
These aren't just stories about rats and
2:26
informants. These are pivotal moments
2:29
when the entire structure of the
2:30
American mafia was exposed, when its
2:33
most powerful bosses fell, when its
2:35
deepest secrets were revealed to the
2:37
world. Each betrayal is a complete story
2:40
with shocking details, devastating
2:43
consequences, and revelations that still
2:46
echo today. Some of these men are still
2:48
alive, living under new identities and
2:50
witness protection. Others paid the
2:52
ultimate price, hunted down and executed
2:55
years after their betrayals. But all of
2:58
them changed history. The mafia before
3:00
these betrayals was different from the
3:02
mafia after. These five men, whether
3:05
through infiltration, testimony, or
3:08
strategic treachery, accomplished what
3:10
decades of law enforcement couldn't,
3:12
they broke the code, exposed the
3:14
machine, and proved that Omemerita was
3:17
just a word. And once that word lost its
3:19
power, everything changed. First up, the
3:23
betrayal that started it all. The man
3:26
who first broke Omera on a national
3:28
stage and opened the floodgates. Joe
3:32
Balachi, the soldier in the Genevese
3:34
crime family, who became the first made
3:36
member to publicly testify about the
3:38
mafia's existence and inner workings.
3:40
Before 1963, the mafia didn't officially
3:44
exist. Law enforcement knew about
3:46
organized crime obviously, but the
3:48
actual structure, the rituals, the
3:51
families, the commission, all of it was
3:54
speculation and rumor. Mobsters denied
3:57
everything. The organization itself was
3:59
a secret. Then came Joe Velasi. Velasi
4:04
wasn't a big shot. He was a low-level
4:06
soldier, a tough guy who'd spent decades
4:08
in the life doing hits, running rackets,
4:11
earning for his family. But in 1962,
4:14
while serving time in federal prison,
4:16
Velasi became convinced that his boss
4:19
Beto Henobiz had marked him for death.
4:22
Genevies, who was also in prison,
4:24
allegedly believed Velasi was an
4:27
informant in the paranoid world of the
4:29
mafia. Accusation equals guilt. Velasi
4:33
knew what was coming, so he struck
4:35
first, killing another inmate he
4:37
mistakenly thought was the hitman sent
4:38
to kill him. Facing a murder charge and
4:41
possible execution, Velasi made a
4:43
calculated decision. If he was going to
4:45
die anyway, he'd take the whole
4:47
organization down with him. He contacted
4:50
federal authorities and offered to tell
4:52
everything.
4:53
And he meant everything. In September
4:56
1963, Velasia testified before the
4:59
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
5:00
Investigations. The hearings were
5:02
televised. America watched in
5:04
fascination as this weathered mobster
5:07
confirmed what had been whispered about
5:08
for decades. Yes, there was a secret
5:11
criminal organization. Yes, it was
5:14
called Laosa Nostra. Yes, it had an
5:17
elaborate structure with bosses,
5:19
underbosses, concigli, capos, and
5:22
soldiers. He drew organizational charts.
5:26
He explained initiation rituals. He
5:28
described the commission that governed
5:29
all the families. He named names,
5:32
hundreds of them. For the first time in
5:35
American history, a maid member pulled
5:37
back the curtain and showed the world
5:39
what the mafia really was. The impact
5:41
was Seismic Ha Edgar Hoover, who had
5:45
publicly denied the mafia's existence
5:46
for years, was forced to acknowledge it
5:49
and redirect FBI resources toward
5:51
organized crime. Prosecutors suddenly
5:54
had a road map for investigations. The
5:56
families panicked, knowing their
5:58
structure was now public knowledge. But
6:00
beyond the practical implications,
6:02
Veloci's betrayal shattered something
6:05
psychological. He proved that a murder
6:07
could be broken. He showed that made men
6:10
could talk, could testify, could survive
6:13
by cooperating. He set a precedent that
6:15
would haunt the mafia for generations.
6:17
In the underworld,
6:19
became the ultimate traitor. His name
6:22
synonymous with rat. The families put
6:24
out contracts on him, but he died of
6:26
natural causes in prison in 1971,
6:29
protected by federal authorities. His
6:31
betrayal didn't bring down specific
6:33
bosses or end crime families, but it did
6:36
something arguably more damaging. It
6:38
legitimized cooperation with law
6:40
enforcement and showed future mobsters
6:42
that there was a way out. The first
6:44
crack in the wall had appeared, and it
6:46
would only grow wider. But that's not
6:49
all. The next betrayal was even more
6:51
devastating because of who it involved
6:53
and who it destroyed. Salvator Sam
6:56
Bulgraano, the boss of the Gambino crime
6:59
family who betrayed the most famous mob
7:01
boss in modern history.
7:04
John Gotti. This wasn't just any
7:07
informant. Gravano is Gotti's right-hand
7:09
man, his most trusted associate, the man
7:12
who helped him rise to power and
7:14
maintain control of America's most
7:15
powerful crime family. By 1990, John
7:19
Gotti was a media sensation. The dapper
7:22
Don who beat case after case, earning
7:24
the nickname Teflon Don because charges
7:27
never stuck. He'd orchestrated the
7:29
murder of his predecessor, Paul
7:31
Castillano, and seized control of the
7:33
Gambino family. He was powerful,
7:35
wealthy, and seemingly untouchable. And
7:38
standing beside him through it all was
7:40
Sammy Graano. Graano wasn't just a loyal
7:43
soldier. He was a killer, a strategist,
7:47
a true believer in the life. He'd
7:49
personally murdered 19 people and
7:51
ordered dozens more. He was exactly the
7:54
kind of mobster you'd think would never
7:56
flip. But the FBI had been building a
7:58
case against Gotti for years, and they
8:01
finally had something devastating. Audio
8:04
recordings from bugs planted in Gotti's
8:06
headquarters. When Gravano heard those
8:08
tapes, he realized that Gotti was
8:10
setting him up to take the fall for
8:12
various crimes while protecting himself.
8:14
Gotti was talking about Gravano behind
8:16
his back, shifting blame, distancing
8:19
himself. The ultimate betrayal was
8:21
coming from the top. Faced with life in
8:23
prison and realizing that his boss was
8:26
selling him out, Gravano made a historic
8:28
decision. In November 1991, he agreed to
8:31
cooperate with federal prosecutors. The
8:34
news sent shock waves through the
8:36
underworld. Sami the bool, one of the
8:38
most feared and respected mobsters in
8:40
New York, was testifying against the
8:43
boss of bosses. The trial was a media
8:45
spectacle. Gravano took the stand and
8:48
methodically dismantled Goti's defense.
8:50
He testified about murders, rackets, the
8:53
inner workings of the Gambino family and
8:55
Gotti's role in everything. His
8:57
testimony was calm, detailed, and
9:00
absolutely damning. Gotti was convicted
9:03
on 14 counts, including murder and
9:06
racketeering. He was sentenced to life
9:07
in prison without parole, and he died
9:10
behind bars in 2002, never having spoken
9:13
to Gravano again. But Gravano's
9:15
cooperation didn't stop with Gotti. His
9:18
testimony helped convict 37 other
9:20
mobsters. He exposed operations across
9:23
multiple families. The damage was
9:25
catastrophic and permanent. The Gambino
9:27
family never fully recovered its
9:29
previous power. The betrayal proved that
9:32
even the highest ranking, most seemingly
9:34
loyal members could flip if the
9:36
circumstances were right. After serving
9:38
just 5 years for his 19 murders, Gravano
9:42
entered witness protection with a new
9:44
identity. But he couldn't stay out of
9:47
trouble. He later left the program, got
9:49
involved in drug dealing, and ended up
9:51
back in prison. As of today, he's out
9:53
and living openly, running a podcast and
9:56
YouTube channel where he discusses his
9:58
mafia life. The ultimate insult. The man
10:01
who betrayed the most famous boss in
10:02
history is now profiting from telling
10:04
those stories. For the mafia, Gravano's
10:07
betrayal was more than a tactical loss.
10:09
It was proof that nobody could be
10:11
trusted, that the code meant nothing
10:13
when personal survival was at stake, and
10:15
that the highest levels of the
10:17
organization were vulnerable to betrayal
10:19
from within. Coming in at number three,
10:22
we have a betrayal that was actually an
10:24
infiltration so deep so that it still
10:28
stands as one of law enforcement's
10:29
greatest achievements and the mafia's
10:32
worst nightmare. Donnie Brasco, except
10:35
Donnie Brasco didn't exist. He was an
10:37
invention, a persona created by FBI
10:40
special agent Joseph Peace, who spent 6
10:43
years living as a mobster and
10:44
penetrating the Banano crime family
10:46
deeper than any law enforcement officer
10:48
before or since. From 1976 to 1981,
10:53
Pestone became Donnie Bre, a jewel thief
10:55
and street criminal looking to move up
10:57
in the world. He befriended Benjamin
10:59
Lefty Rio, a soldier in the Bonano
11:01
family, and slowly, carefully worked his
11:05
way into the organization. Lefty vouched
11:07
for Donnie, brought him around,
11:09
introduced him to other members. Donnie
11:11
became part of the crew, participating
11:13
in criminal activities, attending
11:15
meetings, earning trust. He was so
11:18
convincing that he was on the verge of
11:19
being made, of becoming a full member of
11:22
the family. If that had happened, an FBI
11:24
agent would have been a maid member of
11:26
the mafia, an unprecedented
11:28
infiltration. But before the ceremony
11:30
could happen, the FBI pulled Keystone
11:32
out. His cover was so deep that
11:34
extracting him required careful
11:36
planning. When his true identity was
11:38
revealed, the fallout was immediate and
11:41
brutal. The Banano family went into
11:44
crisis. They'd been infiltrated for 6
11:46
years by a federal agent. Every
11:47
conversation, every crime, every secret
11:50
Donnie had witnessed could now be used
11:52
against them. The family was humiliated,
11:55
sanctioned by the commission, and nearly
11:57
shut down entirely. Lefty Ruhiro, the
12:01
man who vouched for Donnie, faced
12:03
certain death. He'd broken the ultimate
12:05
rule. Bringing an outsider into the
12:08
family without properly vetting him. The
12:10
rules said he had to be killed for his
12:12
mistake. Lefty knew it was coming. He
12:15
prepared for death, made his peace, and
12:18
waited. But he was never killed. Some
12:21
sources say he was spared because of his
12:23
age and long service. Others suggest the
12:26
family had bigger problems to deal with.
12:28
He died of cancer in 1994, but he lived
12:31
his final years in disgrace and
12:33
isolation. Keystone's infiltration led
12:36
to over 200 indictments and more than
12:38
100 convictions. His testimony destroyed
12:41
operations, exposed hierarchies, and
12:43
revealed secrets the families had
12:45
protected for decades. But beyond the
12:47
legal consequences, the Braso operation
12:50
created a permanent paranoia within the
12:52
mafia. If the FBI could plant someone
12:54
that deep for that long without
12:56
detection, who else might be an agent?
12:59
How could anyone be trusted? The
13:01
families implemented new vetting
13:02
procedures became more insular, more
13:05
suspicious. The ease with which mobsters
13:08
worked together was replaced by constant
13:10
doubt. Every new associate became a
13:12
potential threat. The infiltration also
13:15
revealed vulnerabilities in the mafia's
13:17
structure. The families had become
13:18
complacent. Trusting their instincts and
13:21
traditions rather than properly
13:23
investigating new members. Peace
13:25
exploited that complacency perfectly.
13:27
After leaving undercover work, Peace
13:30
testified at numerous trials and lived
13:32
under death threats for years. The
13:34
Banano family put a $500,000 contract on
13:37
his life, a bounty that technically
13:39
still exists today. His story was
13:42
immortalized in the book and filmed on
13:44
IBrasco, but the real impact was the
13:47
permanent damage to the mafia's sense of
13:49
security. The Brasco betrayal proved
13:51
that the organization could be
13:53
penetrated from outside, that outsiders
13:55
could fool men, and that 6 years of
13:58
daily interaction wasn't enough to
14:00
expose a well-trained infiltrator.
14:02
Trust, already fragile in the
14:04
underworld, became nearly impossible.
14:06
The fourth betrayal on our list is
14:08
different because it came from within.
14:10
Not through testimony or infiltration,
14:12
but through a calculated assassination
14:14
that changed the power structure of the
14:16
entire American mafia. The murder of
14:19
Paul Castellano, ordered by his own
14:21
unboss, John Gotti. On December 16th,
14:25
Paul Bigpole Castilliano, boss of the
14:27
Gambino crime family, pulled up in front
14:30
of Spark's steakhouse in Manhattan. He
14:33
was there for a dinner meeting with
14:34
several capos. He never made it inside
14:37
as Castellano and his bodyguard Thomas
14:40
Bellotti stepped out of their car. Four
14:43
men in identical trench coats and fur
14:45
hats emerged from the crowd and opened
14:47
fire. Castellana was shot six times and
14:50
killed instantly.
14:52
Bellotti was also gunned down. The
14:54
shooters calmly walked away and
14:56
disappeared into the Christmas shopping
14:58
crowds. Minutes later, a car drove
15:01
slowly past the murder scene. Inside was
15:04
John Gotti. watching his plan unfold
15:07
perfectly. This wasn't just another mob
15:09
hit. This was a coup, an unauthorized
15:12
assassination of a sitting boss, a
15:14
violation of mafia protocol so severe it
15:17
should have resulted in Gotti's own
15:18
death. The rules stated clearly that no
15:21
boss could be killed without commission
15:23
approval. Gotti didn't ask permission.
15:26
He didn't care. He saw weakness and
15:28
opportunity and atuk italiano. Big Paul
15:32
had been a different kind of boss. He
15:34
was more businessman than gangster,
15:36
focused on white collar creams,
15:38
construction rackets, legitimate
15:40
investments. He'd grown distant from the
15:42
soldiers, ruling from his mansion, while
15:45
the street level mobsters felt ignored
15:47
and disrespected. Goti a capo who ran a
15:50
crew in Queens represented the old
15:53
school mobsters who wanted to return to
15:55
traditional values. Bold crimes, respect
15:58
through fear, and a bossa who came up
16:01
through violence. The tension had been
16:03
building for years. Castellano had also
16:06
made the fatal mistake of talking about
16:08
stepping down and reorganizing the
16:09
family in ways that would diminish
16:11
Gotti's power. Goti moved first. He
16:14
assembled a team of shooters, including
16:16
Sammy Graano, and planned the hit with
16:19
precision. After Castellano's murder,
16:21
Goti moved quickly to consolidate power.
16:23
He met with other families, explained
16:25
his actions, and presented himself as
16:27
the new boss. The commission faced with
16:30
a fate accomply and wary of starting a
16:33
war reluctantly accepted the situation.
16:35
Gotti became boss of the Gambino family,
16:38
the position he'd murdered his way into.
16:40
The betrayal of Castellano represents
16:42
the mafia's internal power struggles at
16:45
their most ruthless. This wasn't
16:47
testimony or cooperation with law
16:49
enforcement. This was raw ambition and
16:51
violence. The willingness to murder your
16:53
own boss to seize power. It showed that
16:55
even at the highest levels, loyalty was
16:58
conditional and could be destroyed by
17:00
ambition. The hit also marked a turning
17:03
point in mafia history. Gotti's
17:06
flamboyant style and the brazen nature
17:08
of the Castellano murder brought
17:10
unprecedented media attention and law
17:13
enforcement heat. The FBI intensified
17:15
its focus on the Gambino family,
17:18
eventually leading to Gotti's downfall
17:20
through Gravano's testimony. In a sense,
17:22
the betrayal of Castellano set in motion
17:25
the events that would lead to Gotti's
17:27
own betrayal and imprisonment. The
17:28
murder proved that internal treachery
17:31
could be just as destructive as external
17:33
infiltration. For soldiers watching this
17:35
unfold, the lesson was clear. If a boss
17:38
could be murdered by his own UNRA boss
17:41
in broad daylight in Manhattan, nobody
17:44
was safe. the old rules, the traditional
17:47
structures, the commission's authority,
17:49
all of it could be circumvented by
17:51
someone bold enough and violent enough
17:53
to act. Castellano's betrayal and murder
17:55
changed the Gambino family forever and
17:58
demonstrated that the mafia's greatest
18:00
threat might not be law enforcement, but
18:03
its own members ambitions. And finally,
18:06
our number one betrayal, the one that
18:08
reveals perhaps the darkest secret of
18:10
all. Sometimes the betrayal goes both
18:13
ways. James Whitey Bulier, the Boston
18:16
crime boss, who was simultaneously one
18:19
of America's most wanted fugitives and a
18:21
protected FBI informant. This is a
18:23
betrayal so complex, so morally tangled
18:26
that it exposes corruption at the
18:28
highest levels of law enforcement.
18:30
Whitey Bulier ran the Winter Hill gang
18:32
in South Boston for decades, controlling
18:35
drug trafficking, extortion, and murder.
18:38
He was brutal, calculating, and
18:41
seemingly untouchable. Law enforcement
18:43
couldn't build cases against him.
18:45
Witnesses disappeared or refused to
18:47
testify. He always seemed one step ahead
18:50
of investigations.
18:52
The reason? He was an FBI informant
18:55
protected by corrupt agents who valued
18:57
his information more than justice.
18:59
Starting in 1975, Bulier was recruited
19:02
as an informant by FBI agent John
19:04
Connelly, who had grown up in South
19:06
Boston and knew Bulier from the
19:08
neighborhood. The deal was simple.
19:10
Bulier would provide information about
19:12
other criminal organizations,
19:14
particularly the Italian mafia families
19:16
in Boston, and in exchange, the FBI
19:19
would protect him. But the relationship
19:21
quickly became corrupted. Connelly and
19:24
other agents didn't just protect Bulier
19:26
as a source. They tipped him off to
19:27
investigations, warned him about
19:29
surveillance, and actively helped him
19:32
eliminate rivals by feeding him
19:34
intelligence. They betrayed their oath
19:36
to uphold the law in service of a
19:38
gangster who played them masterfully.
19:40
Bulier used his FBI protection to wipe
19:42
out competition. When other criminals
19:45
became problems, he'd feed information
19:47
about them to his FBI handlers and
19:49
they'd be arrested. Meanwhile, Bulier's
19:52
own crimes escalated. He was involved in
19:54
at least 19 murders during this period.
19:58
All while under FBI protection. The
20:00
ultimate betrayal wasn't just Bulier
20:02
informing on other criminals. It was the
20:05
FBI betraying the public trust by
20:07
protecting a serial killer because he
20:09
was useful. The arrangement lasted for
20:11
decades until it finally collapsed in
20:13
the early 1990s when other law
20:15
enforcement agencies began investigating
20:17
corruption in the FBI's Boston office.
20:19
When Bulier learned that his protection
20:21
was ending and indictments were coming,
20:23
he disappeared. He was tipped off likely
20:26
by his FBI handlers and went on the run.
20:29
For 16 years, he was one of the FBI's 10
20:32
most wanted fugitives while living
20:34
comfortably in California. Under an
20:37
alias, the irony was brutal. The FBI was
20:40
hunting the man they'd protected for
20:41
decades. He was finally captured in 2011
20:45
at age 81 and convicted of numerous
20:47
crimes, including 11 murders. He was
20:50
sentenced to life in prison and was
20:52
killed by fellow inmates in 2018. But
20:55
the Bulger case exposed something more
20:56
disturbing than one criminal's betrayal.
20:59
It revealed systemic corruption, showing
21:01
how law enforcement could be compromised
21:03
and how the line between catching
21:05
criminals and enabling them could be
21:07
crossed. FBI agent John Cony was
21:09
convicted of racketeering and
21:11
secondderee murder for his role in
21:13
protecting Bulier. Other agents were
21:15
implicated in the scandal. The entire
21:17
Boston FBI office was tainted. Bulges
21:20
betrayal was multi. He betrayed fellow
21:22
criminals by informing on them. The FBI
21:25
betrayed the public by protecting a
21:27
murderer. And Bulier ultimately betrayed
21:29
his FBI handlers by going on the run and
21:31
exposing their corruption. Families of
21:33
victims watched in horror as the truth
21:35
emerged. Their loved ones had been
21:37
murdered by a man under federal
21:39
protection. The scandal resulted in
21:41
lawsuits, investigations, and a complete
21:44
restructuring of how the FBI handles
21:46
informants. Bulier's case stands as the
21:49
ultimate example of betrayal's complex
21:51
nature in the criminal underworld. It
21:54
proves that sometimes law enforcement
21:56
and organized crime become so entangled
21:59
that distinguishing between them becomes
22:01
impossible. And it shows that the mafia
22:03
isn't the only organization where
22:05
loyalty can be bought, sold, and
22:08
betrayed. So there you have it. Five
22:11
betrayals that didn't just change
22:13
individual lives or specific crime
22:16
families. They changed everything. Joe
22:18
Valaci proved America could be broken
22:21
publicly. Sami Gravano showed that even
22:23
the most powerful bosses could be
22:25
destroyed by their own under Donny Brasa
22:27
revealed that the mafia could be
22:29
infiltrated from outside by patient
22:31
skilled operators. Paul Castellano's
22:34
murder demonstrated that internal
22:36
ambition could topple bosses without
22:38
commission approval. and Whitey Bulier
22:40
expose the darkest truth. That betrayal
22:43
flows in every direction, even from
22:45
those sworn to fight crime. Together,
22:47
these five betrayals fundamentally
22:49
altered the American mafia. They created
22:52
a culture of paranoia where trust became
22:54
impossible. They showed potential
22:56
cooperators that there was a way out
22:58
through testimony and witness
22:59
protection. They proved to law
23:01
enforcement that with the right tactics,
23:03
the unbreakable could be broken. The
23:05
mafia still exists today, but it's a
23:08
shadow of its former power, weakened by
23:11
decades of prosecutions built on insider
23:13
testimony. And that testimony exists
23:16
because these five betrayals opened the
23:18
door and showed others the way. The code
23:20
of silence that once seemed absolute is
23:23
now just a suggestion, broken regularly
23:26
by men who decide their survival matters
23:28
more than their oath. The families
23:30
always said that betrayal would be met
23:32
with death, that rats would be hunted
23:34
forever. But Velasi died of natural
23:36
causes in protective custody. Gravana
23:39
walked free and now tells his stories
23:41
publicly. Piston lived through his
23:43
infiltration and retired peacefully.
23:45
Gutty seized power through treachery and
23:48
became the most famous boss in modern
23:50
history. Bulier lived as a fugitive for
23:53
16 years. Some betrayals were punished,
23:56
others were rewarded. The lesson is
23:58
clear. In the mafia's world of absolute
24:01
loyalty, nothing is actually absolute.
24:04
If you want the full cinematic story of
24:06
the groups behind these secrets, check
24:09
out our 100 episode master series on our
24:11
main channel, Global Mafia Universe. The
24:14
link is in the description. Go deep.