What accounts for our fascination with the Mafia?
Perhaps we can thank author Mario Puzo and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who created The Godfather film epic that renewed our interest in Italian gangsters.
Or perhaps it was mob media darling John Gotti, the ''Teflon Don'' who was eventually betrayed by his underboss, mob hit man Sammy Gravano.
Mob stories, whether fact or fiction, are quintessential American stories - penniless immigrants who through luck, hard work and ruthless violence rise to positions of great power and wealth.
They might be devils, but they sure are interesting.
That fascination is evident on the Web, where several sites chronicle the history of the mob in America. And these sites, most very well done, are almost all the work of hobbyists.
For our tour, we'll start at That Life http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/6713/. The work of two guys who have a real thing for mobsters, this site provides lots of background about the American Mafia and provides links to many other pages.
They have lists of books and movies, as well as chronologies of the major crime families of New York, Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans and Milwaukee. You can also find brief biographies of many famous mobsters.
In the ''Hit Room'' are police photos of those Mafioso who met untimely ends - many while sitting in a restaurant. (The grisly black and white photos are actually quite tame compared to current film and television gore.)
Following the Mob online
Fans of Jerry Capeci, who co-wrote the definitive biographies of John Gotti (Mob Star: Story of John Gotti and Gotti: Rise and Fall) and followed the antics of the New York mobs for the New York Daily News, will enjoy his Web site, where he continues his chronicles of the New York Mafia.
At Gangland http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jercap/, you can read Mr. Capeci's weekly columns, mob histories written by mob historian ''Andy,'' even listen to Mr. Gotti talk about ''whacking guys'' in his R-rated New York dialect. The site, which focuses on New York crime families, also explores the influence of Chinese gangs.
For information about Mafia activities in the heartland of America, Mario Machi has posted on his home page http://www.naxs.com/people/mmachi/mafia/ brief histories of Mafia families in 19 U.S. cities, including Denver, Kansas City and Tampa, Fla.
Mob history
At Gangsters! http://www.well.com/user/mod79/main.html, the early history of the Mafia is explained, along with information on how to make yourself into a classic gangster (drive a large Cadillac convertible, spend time at Alcatraz, give yourself a silly nickname).
One of the most interesting Mafia pages is the John Gotti Tribute Page http://www.gotti.com. The site declares it's ''a tribute to John Gotti and other Italian Americans who have been railroaded under the RICO act and through the use of paid government informants and witnesses.''
Since 1992, Mr. Gotti has been serving a life sentence at the federal prison in Marion, Ill. He reportedly spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.
At his site, you can read about ''a kinder, gentler Gotti.'' You know, the stand-up guy who threw huge Fourth of July parties for his Howard Beach neighborhood, bought ice cream for kids and even gave money to a homeless man.
The site offers lots of underword trivia, such as mob-speak, how to play the numbers, even favorite Italian dinner and drink recipes.
It's the work of a genuine Gotti groupie named Ravenna Angelini.
And finally, the Cosa Nosta Homepage http://www.fionline.it:80/mafie/ explores Mafia activities in Italy and Sicily. But brush up on your Italian, compare, since this site in Italy has no English pages.
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at CBrewer@enquirer.com
BREWER ARCHIVE