For a mafia enthusiast like myself I was ecstatic to hear that the creators of “Don’t f*ck with Cats” were releasing a new documentary on the downfall of the five New York crime families. The three episode mini-series promised to reveal audio recordings, video footage, and photos compiled by the FBI in the late 70’s and early 80s of the said crime families and how they used this information to finally bring an end to a violent era in New York.
The whole series gives us a different point of view from what we’re used to with such films as “Goodfellas” or “The Godfather” series.
The 5 crime families in New York consisted of the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambini, Genovese, and Lucchese families. All participated in racketeering, money laundering, and other crimes including infiltrating and controlling many construction unions in New York City. “Fear City” introduces us to the many FBI agents who were called upon to somehow gather hard evidence to convict and bring down all who were involved in the mafia. We follow along as they hide microphones to record conversations and attempt to tail the higher ups to see who they’re meeting with. The whole series gives us a different point of view from what we’re used to with such films as “Goodfellas” or “The Godfather” series. We as the viewers finally get a glimpse inside what it was like for law enforcement having to deal with the mob and their antics as well as lawlessness.
Although it is just a docu-series it still has its suspenseful moments. For instance, when some of our friendly FBI agents are attempting to bug one of the top mafia soldiers, life, as it always does, continues to throw them curveballs. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn’t seen it so you’ll have to tune in to find out how that story ends.
After bingeing this show as soon as it released I walked away wanting more. Not necessarily more as in it left anything out, but in the sense that I want to learn more. I want to dive deeper into the story and the characters. “Fear City’ does exactly what a great documentary should, bring light to an issue or tell a story that then encourages the viewer to become more well versed in the issue or story at hand. “Fear City” also leaves us with a little cliff hanger of sorts, leaving the viewer wondering what happens next when they tease us with a news report that the FBI is now after the notorious John Gotti. Could there be another mini-series in the works? One can only hope, because after watching this I’m definitely left wanting more.
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