As early as the 1980s, Amado Fuentes was one of Mexico's most powerful drug lords. From there, his influence and reputation only rose. He was possibly the most dreaded man in Mexico by the 1990s. He overthrew the Juarez Cartel after killing its leader. During his rule, he is thought to have made roughly $25 billion.

Fuentes made the decision to have plastic surgery in order to elude the Mexican and American authorities who were pursuing him. He underwent liposuction and facial reconstruction in 1997. Then, to everyone's amazement, he suffered a heart attack while under anesthesia and passed away on the operating table.

Many people didn't think it to be true, so Fuentes' decomposing body was actually displayed for reporters to take photos of to show it was really him. Some still maintain that it was a fabrication, which is why Fuentes disappeared. He hasn't been seen since, though.

Born: Amado Carrillo Fuentes, December 17, 1956, Guamuchilito, Navolato, Sinaloa, Mexico
Died: July 7, 1997 (aged 40)Mexico City, Mexico

In his days as a mobster, Ken Eto was referred to as Tokyo Joe. He oversaw the Asian gambling ring in Chicago, and in the 1980s, when he turned on his friends, he assisted the FBI in jailing 15 mobster.

Eto's about-face started after he was charged with federal gambling offenses. Eto was a threat that mob leaders did not want to be around. They weren't mistaken. The mobster was prepared to go to any lengths to survive because he had experienced Japanese internment camps as a young man. After Eto was released from prison in 1983, the syndicate ordered a hit on him.

Eto was approached by two hit men in his parked car. At point blank range, they fired three shots into his head before walking away. Of course, neither of the men thought to check Eto for a pulse because who can survive three head shots? Ken Eto and John Veasey both did, in fact.

Eto turned informant after realizing his options were constrained. He provided evidence against politicians, mob figures, and even Chicago's chief of police. At the age of 84, Eto passed away in 2004. Since becoming an informant, he had been residing in witness protection.

Born: October 19, 1919

Died: January 23, 2004

The most well-known figure in American organized crime history is undoubtedly Al Capone. You might have heard about his Canadian counterpart, Rocco Perri, if you had been north at the same time. Perri was a bootlegger who actually assisted Capone by transporting whiskey for Capone's organization from Canada to Chicago. His criminal activities were also well known. He even boasted to his local newspaper about how well-oiled his bootlegging business was and how his crew didn't even require guns. He thought that instead of shooting the police, bootleggers merely needed to outrun them. Anybody who was apprehended was at fault for being too slow.

He was able to accumulate a wealth during his tenure as a criminal boss, albeit his family members continue to dispute it. This is as a result of Rocco Perri taking a walk one day in 1944. He was never seen again. At the height of his criminal career, this happened, and there was much discussion about what might have transpired. He might have been killed by rival gangsters outright. However, other relatives believe that after learning of a murderous plan against him, he fled, both literally and symbolically, and began a new life south of the border.

Born:Rocco Perre, December 30, 1887Platì, Calabria, Italy
Disappeared: April 23, 1944 (aged 56)Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

When Philadelphia's mob scene was ramping up in the 1990s, John Veasey was brought on as extra muscle during a particularly brutal period. He was obviously skilled at killing people because he was paid to do so. He murdered several rival gang members, but eventually he started to regret his actions. He made the decision to contact the FBI and become an informant after speaking with his brother. In just three days, his cover had been compromised, and his own gang had ordered a kill on him.

When Veasey's mob associates invited him to a meeting in an apartment, he wasn't wearing a wire. Being a mob hitman, he didn't think anything of the plastic covering the entire room. He frequently worked in plastic-lined spaces. Veasey was perplexedly led to believe the associates when they claimed the room was being painted.

Veasey was struck once in the chest and three times in the back of the head by the males. It was a failure. One of his attackers was drawn out by Veasey, who then stabbed him before fleeing. Later, he testified against the entire crime family, and it is presumed that he is still alive today under a different name.

Although Canada has a reputation for courtesy and maintaining the peace, this does not mean that all of its offenders conform to these preconceptions. One man who pushed the limits and lived and died by a cruel creed is Richard Blass.

Blass earned the nickname "The Cat" not because he was swift or agile but rather because he had extra lives. In the course of two months, he escaped three distinct assassination attempts. The rival gangster returned the favor after attempting and failing to kill a rival, also failing to kill Blass in the process. They failed to kill him again when they set fire to the hotel where he was staying two weeks later. He was actually shot in the head a few months later while escaping the third assassination attempt, but he still managed to drive himself to the hospital.

Blass was sought for the deaths of countless Italian residents of Montreal because he harbored a deep hatred for Italians, not simply rival criminals but also anyone of Italian heritage. He wasn't finally apprehended and taken to jail, from which he quickly escaped, until he shot a police officer. After being apprehended and thrown back, he later succeeded in escaping once more.

Blass pursued and killed the witnesses who had assisted in his conviction rather than staying quiet. Then he killed the people who had witnessed the murder. Police started looking for him, and when they did, they shot him 27 times. Years later, one of the officers who had initially claimed that Blass had come at them with a revolver had really startled the gangster and all he had in his hands was a pair of socks.

Born: Richard Blass, October 24, 1945, Rosemont, Montreal
Died: January 24, 1975 (aged 29)

In the realm of the mob, snitches are hated. The thought that one thief will turn on another, even if they are rivals, is despised among thieves. Call it honor among thieves. Therefore, the likelihood that someone who does come forward may be attacked or perhaps killed is quite high. But how far do some individuals go with it? Up to Frank Gusenberg's journey.

In 1929, Gusenberg, a hitman for the mob, took part in the horrific St. Valentine's Day Massacre. A rival gang posing as police shot and killed seven gang members. Gusenberg, who was shot a startling 14 times, was one of the victims. Amazingly, Gusenberg was still alive even though his six companions had already passed away. Police arrived and questioned him regarding the shooter. "No one shot me," Gusenberg claimed.

The man refused to provide the killers' identities because six of his companions, including his own brother, were already on ice and his own death was all but certain. Within a few hours, he passed away from his wounds.

Born: October 11, 1893, Lakeview, Chicago, Illinois U.S.
Died: February 14, 1929 (aged 35), Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Method acting is the practice of committing to a part even when the camera is not rolling. Therefore, it is always playing a pretend game. When your freedom is at stake, it might make more sense even though it seems boring in that situation. And perhaps Vincent Gigante believed that when he decided to devote to playing insane for years.

Gigante oversaw the Genovese crime family for many years and accumulated a $100 million fortune. He repeatedly feigned to be insane in an effort to avoid detection by law authorities or at the very least prosecution. He appeared to be a harmless old kook as he walked around town in a robe and slippers, urinated on the sidewalk, and muttered to himself.

He earned the moniker "Oddfather" as a result. Law enforcement claims that this was a long-running ploy to enable him avoid punishment while making it appear as though he couldn't possible be the head of a crime family. In 1997, Gigante was ultimately determined to be competent to stand trial. In 2005, he passed away within.

Born: Vincent Louis Gigante, March 28, 1928New York City, U.S.
Died: December 19, 2005 (aged 77)Springfield, Missouri, U.S.

Whitey Bulger was formerly second on the FBI's list of most-wanted criminals to Osama bin Laden. In 1994, Bulger was wanted for 19 murders; he wasn't found until 2011. At age 89, Bulger was brutally killed while incarcerated. He was beaten by other prisoners with a padlock in a sock, and they even tried to gouge out his eyes. The career of one of the most well-known mobster in American history came to an unfortunate end. But his narrative is more complicated than just a violent life followed by a brutal demise.

At one point, Bulger tried to mend his reputation by becoming an informant. This didn't do anything to assist him avoid prison during his trial. But after being sentenced, he began communicating with one of the jury members. Through a series of letters, she discovered that after Bulger's initial detention, the CIA had experimented with LSD. This was project MK Ultra, as it is now well known.

According to Bulger, he was informed that they were searching for a schizophrenia treatment. He was not told which medications he was receiving. And they gave him about 50 doses total. Evidently, before the experiments, he had never been violent. The juror said that if she had been aware of the experiments, she would not have found Bulger guilty.

Born: James Joseph Bulger Jr.September 3, 1929Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died:October 30, 2018 (aged 89), USP Hazelton, Preston County, West Virginia, U.S.

There is no doubt that Matteo Denaro, the mob boss, has committed some crimes. He is sought after in relation to more than 50 killings, in addition to drug trafficking, bombings, and extortion. Law enforcement has been keeping an eye on him for years. So what ultimately happened to him? Nobody is aware. Since June 1993, Denaro has been missing. Law enforcement hasn't been able to catch up with him in 30 years. This despite his boasts of having enough victims to fill a cemetery, one of whom was the 11-year-old son of a rival crime lord.

When Dutch police mistaken a hapless Formula 1 racing fan in 2021 for Denaro, who is still one of Europe's most sought criminals and the top criminal in Italy after all these years, they blindfolded him and took him away. When it was discovered that the fan was only a man who somewhat resembled Denaro, he was later freed.

Born: 26 April 1962 (age 60), Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy

One of the most infamous hitmen in history, Alexander Solonik rose to fame in the 1990s when hitmen were earning as low as $500 a job. He is renowned for killing prominent individuals, especially crime lords.

Solonik was a former member of the police and military who was known for using ruthless methods when carrying out his job. He was let go by the police for cruelty after only six months. He became even more insane once he started committing crimes, but it was nearly impossible to punish him. He jumped out of a window during a rape trial and fled in a hearse. He was apprehended once more and imprisoned in Ulyanovsk for two years before breaking out. Later, following a gunfight inside a police station, he was apprehended and taken back to jail. He was the only prisoner to do so at the time, but he nevertheless managed to escape from Matrosskaya Tishina.

Solonik escaped to Greece, where he would spend the rest of his days planning to kill the mafia lords who had turned against him. But his house was bugged, and his former employers ordered Sasha Soldat, a hitman, to murder him. Since Solonik and Soldat were buddies, he immediately opened the door for the murderer to enter. Later, when he had been strangled, investigators discovered his body.

Born: Alexander Viktorovich Solonik, 16 October 1960Kurgan, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Died: 31 January 1997 (aged 36) Athens, Greece