Fear City: New York vs The Mafia

NEW Genre: True-crime documentary Available: Wednesday 22 July Season: 1 Episodes: 3 Runs: 44-62min TVSW says: Meet the real-life Goodfellas

THIS TRUE-CRIME series sheds fresh light on the ruthless Mafia families that ruled New York City in the 1970s until a group of federal agents set about trying to bring them to justice. The so-called ‘Five Families’ were made up of the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno organisations, who controlled operations involving extortion, money laundering, prostitution, gambling and narcotics.

The FBI targeted the Mob families using undercover agents, including Joseph Pistone, AKA Donnie Brasco, and a witness-protection programme that persuaded Mafiosi to break the oncesacred code of silence and testify against former friends, leading to hundreds of convictions in the 1980s.