10 Huge Criminal Downfalls in History

10 Huge Criminal Downfalls in History

Welcome to WatchMojo, where well be covering arrests that brought down some of the most influential criminals in history.

The Kray Twins

During the 50s and 60s, Ronnie & Reggie Kray ruled the streets of London. Backed by their gang, the Firm, they became Londons most infamous crime bosses. Instead of shying away from the spotlight, they ended up achieving celebrity status in the 60s. Both twins earned a reputation for violence from a young age, which ultimately led to their downfall in 1968. In 1964, Detective Leonard Nipper Read began investigating their operation. By 1968, theyd acquired enough evidence to put them behind bars. A likely catalyst was their murder of Jack the Hat McVitie, who was a relatively minor gangster. The twins were sentenced to life in prison, ending their criminal reign.

Manuel Noriega

In the 80s, Panama was a dictatorship, with Manuel Noriega at the helm. He wasnt the leader on paper, but in all other respects, he was. Using puppet presidents, he became absurdly wealthy, exploiting his position to traffic drugs and weapons across Central America. One of his strongest allies was the Medellín Cartel, founded by the famous Pablo Escobar. In the end, his regime was so brutal that America put pressure on Noriega to resign. After realizing it was an impossible task, they opted to invade Panama. Noriega was successfully captured, then tried in America, Panama, and France.

Whitey Bulger

Its no secret that the FBI sometimes keeps criminals as informants, then protects their operations in exchange for knowledge. One of their most infamous moles was Whitey Bulger, who led the Winter Hill Gang in Massachusetts. Bulger joined the FBI in the mid-1970s, which allowed him to terrorize his local area with impunity. It all fell apart in 1994, when the DEA and local police set their sights on him. It took law enforcement 16 years to finally catch him, with Bulger spending 12 of those years on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. In 2011, they finally arrested him in Santa Monica, California, while he was 81 years old.

Jeffrey Epstein

In the early 80s, Epstein created a banking investment firm, which quickly became highly lucrative. This allowed him to become friends with Americas wealthiest figures, such as Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein. Turned out, behind the scenes, he was trafficking underage women. This got him arrested in 2005, but he got away with a light 13 months in prison. In 2019, he was arrested again, but this time they seemed to take it more seriously. A few weeks later, he seemingly took his own life in jail. Some are skeptical, however, with conspiracy theorists claiming it was a murder to protect his wealthy friends.

Frank Lucas

From the late 60s to mid 70s, Lucas was one of the most notorious figures in Harlem, New York. At his peak, he claimed he was earning $1 million daily. He got his product directly from Asias Golden Triangle, which he claimed was smuggled in using the coffins of dead American forces. In 1975, his home was raided, and Lucas was convicted soon after. Despite being sentenced to 70 years in prison, he only served five, after giving the police the names of his accomplices. They placed him in the Witness Protection Program, but he was put back in jail shortly after for selling narcotics once again.

John Gotti

The Five Families are infamous criminal organizations all based in New York City. One of the most infamous is the Gambino crime family, which gets up to all manner of illicit activities. In 1985, John Gotti had their previous ruler murdered, then took charge. Under his rule, they became the most powerful crime family in America. He spent 7 years pulling the strings, but unlike most mob bosses, he didnt shy away from the spotlight. This was likely a factor in his arrest and subsequent life sentence in 1992. His list of convictions was humongous, giving him no hope of freedom. 10 years later, Gotti died in prison, aged 61.

El Chapo

Joaquín Guzmán is more commonly known by his nickname, El Chapo. Hes infamous for leading the Sinaloa Cartel, which made him the globes most powerful narcotics dealer. During his career, estimates claim he caused at least 34,000 deaths. At one point, he maintained a power level similar to Pablo Escobar at his peak. He was first arrested in 1993, but escaped in 2001 after bribing guards. In 2014, he was arrested and escaped once again. Finally, in 2016, they got him for good. Hes currently serving a lifetime prison sentence for his abhorrent crimes.

Al Capone

Also known as Scarface, there are few criminals who earned the reputation Capone did. In the 1920s, America prohibited alcohol. This gave rise to huge crime syndicates, peddling illegal liquor. The most famous was run by Al Capone, who ruled over Chicago from 1925 to 1931. For a time, he was considered Americas Robin Hood, because public opinion was largely opposed to prohibition. After the Saint Valentines Day Massacre, when seven gangsters were murdered on Capones orders, he became overwhelmingly despised. In the end, he was charged with tax evasion, a fairly minor offense compared to his other misdeeds - but it ended his career.

Bernie Madoff

Ponzi schemes are named after Charles Ponzi, a criminal who made over 20 million dollars scamming so-called investors. Despite having the scheme named after him, he didnt run the most successful Ponzi scheme; that medal goes to Bernie Madoff. His scheme was worth approximately 65 billion dollars, the largest in history. In 1960, he opened a penny stock brokerage, and by 2008, it had become the 6th largest of its type. That same year, he was arrested after his sons told law enforcement about the scam. Roughly 18 billion dollars was lost, with 4 billion of that still being missing years after the schemes collapse.

Pablo Escobar

Colombias most famous cartel boss is Pablo Escobar by a significant margin. His criminal career began in the 70s, then came to a huge crash in 1993. Escobars operations peaked in the 80s, when he smuggled over 70 tons of narcotics into America monthly. Some of his most outrageous crimes were the Avianca Flight 203 and DAS Building bombings, earning him a reputation as a terrorist. After a lengthy manhunt, he was found in Medellín, but refused arrest. While trying to escape, he was shot and killed, with his cartel dismantling in his absence.

Who do you think was the most nefarious crime boss in history? Let us know in the comments section!