Cosa Nostra News

"C'mon over, I've got a dynamite story on Paul Castellano." It's December 1985, two days after the storied execution of the Gambino crime family boss derisively referred to as "The Pope." Big Paul Castellano Considering who the caller was, the reporter, Sidney Zion, couldn't arrive fast enough. Zion had been telephoned by none other than notorious mob defense attorney Roy Cohn, a man considered a scumbag by friend and foe alike.

The food was considered awful, the decor described as "dingy" but "underworld" luminaries ate there, a Billy Joel song immortalized the eatery, and bestselling authors included the place in countless novels. The former Manhattan institution was owned by Elaine Kaufman, who reputedly thought nothing of punching customers or throwing out tourists. Yet Elaine’s restaurant in New York’s upper East Side was always jam packed. Celebrities, writers, high-powered executives and Mafiosi were among her regulars.