How Mafia Leader's 'Grave Miscalculation' Helped 'Prove A Conspiracy'

In the world of the mafia, silence is key, so when one man revealed a bit too much about his connection to organized crime, everything came tumbling down.

In the September 5 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Justice System , the podcast described how in 1983, Joe Bonanno , the leader of the Bonanno crime family, admitted the existence of the mafia and a collaboration between the five major crime families while promoting his memoir on 60 Minutes , breaking the mafia's "code of silence" and "[sending] ripples through the criminal world."

"Bonanno was promoting a memoir of his life in crime, a public display of hubris that would have been unheard of in Lucky Luciano 's day," said host Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi . "So while being the first former boss to publicly acknowledge the existence of the mafia, Bonanno had also made a grave miscalculation."

Bonanno's book detailed his issues with the Commission, a collection of other crime bosses that until that point had been described as "the government's theory" and something that "doesn't exist" by defense attorneys of organized crime figures on trial.

"The Commission was like the executive board of the five families running and ruining New York City and beyond, and Bonanno's admission of its existence gave law enforcement a new angle of attack because proof of a Commission meant a way to link the families together and prove a conspiracy," said Nicolazzi.

The Law & Order: Criminal Justice System podcast launched in August and "tells the real stories behind the landmark cases that have shaped how the most dangerous and influential criminals in America are prosecuted." The Wolf Entertainment and iHeartPodcasts show, hosted by Nicolazzi, recently premiered its inaugural season is focusing on the "downfall" of the mafia in New York throughout its inaugural season. According to the podcast description:

"In its first season, the series tackles the most influential crime organization in American history, the New York Mafia. Discover how the seemingly random murder of an influential mafioso sparked a chain of events that led to the downfall of the city's five major crime families at the height of their power."

Catch up on the first few episodes and follow along with all the twists and turns of the Law & Order: Criminal Justice System podcast , now available at iHeartRadio.com .