In the history of cinema, there have been several real-life gangsters who have appeared in the most famous gangster films. The full number of mafia members who have become Hollywood actors is understandably a mystery. But there are still a number of well-known characters that have appeared on screen in some of…

Former Odessa resident Marat Yakovlevich Balagula, who served three sentences for debit card fraud and gasoline tax evasion, died in New York. He had a reputation as the "godfather of the Russian mafia", which was mainly created for him by my late colleague Robert Friedman,...