Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of the Irishman

DANNY GREENE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE IRISHMAN is a documentary on the life and death of Cleveland's legendary gangster and his battle with the Italian mob. Clint O'Connor of The Plain Dealer wrote: “Feeding America's appetite for mob stories with a grisly slice of Cleveland's criminal past, (this documentary) spotlights the gangster whose life was famously extinguished by a car bomb in a Lyndhurst parking lot. A fearless hood who grabbed headlines for years in the 1970s, Greene was a colorful character. He dressed in green, drove green cars, and embraced Irish history and Celtic lore. Alternately a union troubleshooter, embezzler, and enforcer, Greene dabbled in racketeering, gambling, and loan-sharking. He excelled at beating the rap, which may have been attributed to his other occupation: FBI informant. Police have long assumed that Greene conspired to take out Shondor Birns, a rival in Cleveland's numbers racket, and later mafia underboss Leo “Lips” Moceri, whose body was never found.” Tommy Reid interviews Danny's nearest and dearest, including a nun, an ex-wife, and the cops who tried to bring him down. – B.B.