The Godfather of Houston

In the 100th episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small introduces his listeners to Sam Cammarata, a career criminal who tried to follow his dreams and become the "Godfather of Houston." After brief stints in the Boston and New Orleans mafia, Cammarata decided to start his own criminal empire in Houston, Texas. With a nightclub as a legal front and a second-in-command with a love of violence, the Cammarata organization quickly grew more prominent and more profitable as it engaged in illegal activities such as bookmaking, loansharking, prostitution and extortion. As a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force, Mr. Small was sent to Texas to help the Texas Rangers indict members of the criminal enterprise.