The Vice Squad

Amazing Podcast Company LLC
  • 4.2 (5)
  • TRUE CRIME

THE VICE SQUAD PODCAST True American crime history with host and author Vince Guerrieri. Season One of The Vice Squad Pod shines a light on the seedy underbelly of Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding region. A midwestern, rustbelt crime town on Ohio's Northeastern border with Pennsylvania. Also featuring the writings of author/retired Police Chief Rick Porrello and filmmaker/podcast producer Johnny Chechitelli along with his fellow Youngstown Mob Talk co-host/mafia historian James Naples III. Together, The Vice Squad looks back at the most infamous, daring, bizarre and mysterious crimes of the 20th century. Rick Porrello is an author, drummer, and former police chief with a knack for writing books that attract interest from filmmakers (To Kill The Irishman and Superthief). Grab a copy of his latest book, There's More Bodies Out There: The True Story of a Mafia Associate and a Cop who Emerge as Suspected Serial Killers. He carries the last name of one of the first families in Cleveland's organized crime lore. Vince Guerrieri writes for a variety of publications, including The Smithsonian Magazine, Popular Mechanics, POLITICO, Defector, and CityLab. He's also co-author of one book and the author of two more, most recently, Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports. Johnny Chechitelli is a filmmaker and podcast producer behind the documentary Youngstown: Still Standing and the podcast Crooked City: Youngstown Ohio. He is one half of Youngstown Mob Talk with his co-host James Naples III and is the founder of Amazing Podcast Company. James Naples III is a descendent of Youngstown, Ohio's famous Naples brothers. He is also one half of the Youngstown Mob Talk podcast with Johnny Chechitelli, an accomplished mob historian with a Masters degree in Professional Communication, currently teaching for Youngstown City Schools.

Episodes

  1. THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 4 - Silencing a Snitch

    12/10/2025

    THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 4 - Silencing a Snitch

    These files were leaked to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. Part 4 of this exclusive 5-part series, presented by Youngstown Mob Talk. This story was compiled from information contained within investigative task force files from the Ohio Attorney General’s Organized Crime Investigation Commission. Included are details about crimes which have never been publicly released. These files were provided to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. In Part 4, we examine the 1974 murder of Youngstown businessman, fence and informant Robert Talbert Sr. After testifying before a federal grand jury, Talbert was abducted at his gas station on Labor Day 1974, tortured and brutally killed. His body was found in neighboring Boardman Township three days later. The Boardman Police Department says they turned the case over to the ATF but the ATF says they don't investigate murder cases. Talbert's sons, Rob Jr. & Dave, grew up and led their own investigation into their father's killing. Their efforts spurred the Ohio Attorney General's Office to look into the case and in 1999 the Organized Crime Task Force began an official investigation. The Task Force believes they solved the case but it was never prosecuted. Still to come in Part 5, the conclusion of the series looks into the 1974 triple-murder of General Motors Lordstown security guard Benjamin Marsh, along with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. Contained within the Task Force's investigative files, which were leaked to us, is new evidence which may exonerate the man who was convicted for the crimes in 2013. A reminder that you can also watch with video by subscribing to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/amazingpodcastcompany You can also visit our website: www.amazingpodco.com for more of our original shows. ©. Amazing Podcast Company LLC 2025

    33 min
  2. THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 3 - The Mummy of Mob Town

    07/27/2025

    THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 3 - The Mummy of Mob Town

    These files were leaked to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. Part 3 of this exclusive 5-part series, presented by Youngstown Mob Talk. In 1980, Youngstown Mob associate John Magda was found dead in a roadside dump site. His hands were bound and his face was wrapped in duct tape. For decades, speculation has run rampant about who killed him and why. Now, for the first time ever, the details of John "Maggie" Magda's death are becoming public. It turns out John Magda's death had a major connection to the death of bookmaker and Youngstown Mob associate Jack Tobin. The information in this series comes from leaked investigative files from a special police task force that was created around the year 2000, by the Ohio Attorney General's Organized Crime Investigation Commission. This Organized Crime Task Force investigated several unsolved mob murders from the 1970s and 1980s. This information was never made public... until now. The audio of this episode contains real news clips as well as AI generated voice readings of actual transcripts from the Organized Crime Task Force investigation interviews of Charles Treharn. A reminder that you can also watch with video by subscribing to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/amazingpodcastcompany You can also visit our website: www.amazingpodco.com for more of our original shows. ©. Amazing Podcast Company LLC 2025

    15 min
  3. THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 2 - Who Bumped Off Junior Senzarino? And Other Mob Family Matters

    07/27/2025

    THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES PART 2 - Who Bumped Off Junior Senzarino? And Other Mob Family Matters

    These files were leaked to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. Part 2 of this exclusive 5-part series, presented by Youngstown Mob Talk. In part 1 of this exclusive 5-part series, we detailed the Youngstown Mob scene in the late 1970s/early 1980s and the previously unsolved murder of Joe DeRose Jr.. Now in part 2, we explore who killed Dominic "Junior" Senzarino, a cousin of the Carabbia brothers and experienced burglar, safecracker and gambler, who was murdered in his garage by shotgun in 1980. His killing was considered an unsolved cold case for decades, until the Ohio Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force successfully solved the case and gained admission and conviction of the killer in 2001. The audio of this episode contains real news clips as well as AI generated voice readings of actual transcripts from the Organized Crime Task Force investigation interviews of Charles Treharn. A reminder that you can also watch with video by subscribing to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/amazingpodcastcompany You can also visit our website: www.amazingpodco.com for more of our original shows.

    30 min
  4. THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES: PART 1

    06/21/2024

    THE ORGANIZED CRIME TASK FORCE FILES: PART 1

    Youngstown Mob Talk and The Vice Squad Podcast presents Part 1 of a brand new, exclusive 5-Part investigative series: From Burglars to Murders, Who Hit the Hitman Joe DeRose? This story was compiled from information contained within investigative task force files from the Ohio Attorney General’s Organized Crime Investigation Commission. Included are details about crimes which have never been publicly released. These files were provided to us by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. In Part 1, the series examines the murder of Joe DeRose Jr., including the Task Force's investigation into Sam Fossesca and admitted co-conspirators Charles Treharn & Ed Farris. Coming up in Part 2, a deep dive into the murder of Dominic Senzarino. The audio of this episode contains real news clips as well as AI generated voice readings of actual transcripts from the Organized Crime Task Force investigation interviews of Sam Fossesca and Charles Treharn. A reminder that you can also watch with video by subscribing to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/amazingpodcastcompany

    26 min
  5. The Vice Squad: The Life & Death of Jimmy Munsene

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: The Life & Death of Jimmy Munsene

    James Mancini, aka "Big Jimmy" Munsene was the first notorious crime boss of Ohio's Trumbull County. Munsene controlled gambling in the county and had clubs as far away as Atlantic City, NJ before he was gunned down in cold blood, along with his nephew, in Warren on March 24, 1941. He famously went on trial for the same act of bribery on three separate occasions, even hiring the country's most famous trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow, to represent him. Once Munsene was killed, stronger organized crime interests took control of Trumbull County, and ruled it for decades, not far from Youngstown, Ohio aka Crimetown, USA.

    20 min
  6. The Vice Squad: The Sugar War

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: The Sugar War

    On this episode, author Rick Porrello writes about his own family's organized crime history in Cleveland, Ohio as his grandfather and great uncles waged a war with their former friends and fellow bootleggers, the Lonardo brothers. It was all over corn sugar, which was used to make booze during prohibition in America.

    21 min
  7. The Vice Squad: Alvin Karpis's Train Robbery

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: Alvin Karpis's Train Robbery

    The Vice Squad Podcast delves into one of the most daring train robberies in American history. On November 7, 1935, as the mid-west crime wave continued, infamous criminal Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and his gang pulled off a heist that shocked the nation in Garrettsville, Ohio. In this riveting episode, our hosts explore the details of the crime, the personalities of its mastermind, and the aftermath of the robbery including FBI Director, J Edgar Hoover, using Karpis's arrest to add to his own myth. Follow along as this podcast unravels the twists and turns of this notorious event, and as always, gain a deeper understanding of the dark underbelly of American crime history.

    21 min
  8. The Vice Squad: The Jungle Inn

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: The Jungle Inn

    There was once a place in Trumbull County Ohio, just outside of Youngstown city limits, called Halls Corners, which was "conceived in infamy!" according to Youngstown Police Chief Eddie Allen. Halls Corners was a tiny, unincorporated township created solely for the purpose of operating a casino called The Jungle Inn. A mob run establishment for years, The Jungle Inn was operated by twin brothers John & Mike Farah on behalf of the Cleveland crime family, until the whole operation was eventually closed by state liquor agents (by order of the Governor) on August 12, 1949.

    21 min
  9. The Vice Squad: The Torso Killer

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: The Torso Killer

    From Cleveland to Youngstown to Pittsburgh, a serial killer wreaked havoc along the railyards from the 1920s to the 1940s. Sometimes known as "The Mad Butcher," this murderer chopped up his victims and left them for police or passers-by to find. Despite best efforts from detectives in Ohio and Pennsylvania, the killer was never caught. Not even famed lawman Eliot Ness could solve the case and bring the "Mad Butcher" to justice.

    24 min
  10. The Vice Squad: Mahoning Valley Mob 101

    10/19/2023

    The Vice Squad: Mahoning Valley Mob 101

    On this episode we give you a condensed history of organized crime in the Mahoning Valley. Future episodes will air bi-weekly, and will dive deeper into individual criminals and crimes from the Youngstown/Cleveland/Pittsburgh region.

    26 min
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

THE VICE SQUAD PODCAST True American crime history with host and author Vince Guerrieri. Season One of The Vice Squad Pod shines a light on the seedy underbelly of Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding region. A midwestern, rustbelt crime town on Ohio's Northeastern border with Pennsylvania. Also featuring the writings of author/retired Police Chief Rick Porrello and filmmaker/podcast producer Johnny Chechitelli along with his fellow Youngstown Mob Talk co-host/mafia historian James Naples III. Together, The Vice Squad looks back at the most infamous, daring, bizarre and mysterious crimes of the 20th century. Rick Porrello is an author, drummer, and former police chief with a knack for writing books that attract interest from filmmakers (To Kill The Irishman and Superthief). Grab a copy of his latest book, There's More Bodies Out There: The True Story of a Mafia Associate and a Cop who Emerge as Suspected Serial Killers. He carries the last name of one of the first families in Cleveland's organized crime lore. Vince Guerrieri writes for a variety of publications, including The Smithsonian Magazine, Popular Mechanics, POLITICO, Defector, and CityLab. He's also co-author of one book and the author of two more, most recently, Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports. Johnny Chechitelli is a filmmaker and podcast producer behind the documentary Youngstown: Still Standing and the podcast Crooked City: Youngstown Ohio. He is one half of Youngstown Mob Talk with his co-host James Naples III and is the founder of Amazing Podcast Company. James Naples III is a descendent of Youngstown, Ohio's famous Naples brothers. He is also one half of the Youngstown Mob Talk podcast with Johnny Chechitelli, an accomplished mob historian with a Masters degree in Professional Communication, currently teaching for Youngstown City Schools.

Information

  • Creator
    Amazing Podcast Company LLC
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Amazing Podcast Company LLC 2023
  • Show Website
    The Vice Squad