Mafia

Before Tony Montana, there was Meyer Lansky. True-crime writer T.J. English recounts the history of a mob-ruled Havana before the 1959 revolution.

Mario Puzo talks to Terry Gross about the book and the film "The Godfather"

Actor Michael Imperioli, . He played Spider in the film Goodfellas, best known for getting shot in the foot by Joe Pesci's character after failing to get a drink.

Former New York Times crime reporter Selwyn Raab provides a history of New York City's organized crime in his book, Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. The book is now out in paperback. This interview originally aired on Sept. 18, 2005.

The new season of The Sopranos opens on Sunday, bringing the world of Tony and Carmela, Christopher and Paulie Walnuts back to dens around the country. The show's last previous episode aired in the summer of 2004.

The aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks revitalized New York City's mafia organizations. That's one of the revelations of former 'New York Times' crime reporter Selwyn Raab's new book, 'Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires'.

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews Mikey & Nicky, a film first released in 1976 written and directed by Elaine May starring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk. It's now out on DVD.

Puzo was best known for the novel The Godfather (1969) which spawned three films. He died in 1999. A new novel is based on the characters he created called The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner. This interview was originally broadcast on July 25, 1996.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Sopranos" - which begins its fifth season on HBO Sunday.

He created the HBO hit series The Sopranos. The show begins its fifth season this Sunday and picks up where it left off with the separation of Tony Soprano and his wife Carmela.