1997 in organized crime

Events

 * The gangs of Çole, Gaxhai and Pusi i Mezinit are established in Vlorë amidst the 1997 Albanian civil unrest.
 * January 7 – "Fat" Herbie Blitzstein was shot to death inside his Las Vegas townhouse.
 * June 6 – Arrest of Pietro Aglieri, boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Mafia family in Palermo, in a disused lemon warehouse in the dilapidated industrial area Bagheria together with his "right hand" men, Natale Gambino and Giuseppe La Mattina. It took the authorities almost a year to locate him following the arrest of his right-hand man Carlo Greco. Apparently, Giovanni Brusca, a Riina loyalist arrested in May 1996, helped police identify Aglieri. He had been on the run since 1989.
 * August – Masaru Takumi, the founding head of the Takumi-gumi, a large branch of the Yamaguchi-gumi, was assassinated by the Nakano-kai.

Arts and literature

 * 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (film), starring Joe Pesci and David Spade
 * Bella Mafia (film)
 * Diaro una siciliana ribelle (film)
 * Donnie Brasco (film), starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen and Bruno Kirby.
 * Hoodlum (film), starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth and Andy García.
 * Jackie Brown (film), starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro.
 * Suicide Kings (film)
 * The Last Don (television miniseries), starring Danny Aiello, Joe Mantegna, and Burt Young.
 * The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (documentary)
 * Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia (non-fiction book), by Peter Maas.
 * Brother (film)
 * Face (film)

Deaths

 * January – Victor Spilotro, Chicago mobster and brother of Anthony Spilotro and Michael Spilotro
 * January 2 – Sam Carlisi "Wings", Chicago Outfit boss
 * May 31 – Johnny Papalia is murdered by Kenneth Murdock
 * June 7 – Sam DeCavalcante "The Plumber", retired boss of the New Jersey mafia family
 * August 28 – Masaru Takumi, founding head of the Takumi-gumi
 * October 22 – Matthew "Mike" Trupiano Jr., St. Louis mafia boss