Crime buff creates NYC mob app

• Tweet

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A New York crime buff has provided a guide to decades of Mafia history in the city with a Mafia Maps phone application.

John Hughes' app includes such classic locations as the barber shop where Albert Anastasia was gunned down in 1957 to Sparks Steak House where "Big Paul" Castellano was killed in 1985, the New York Daily News reported Saturday. For each mob historical site, the app provides photos of how the place looks now, a summary what happened there and GPS guidance for getting there.

While Hughes lives in Manhattan, his app covers all five boroughs. His description of Staten Island is "Gangster Bedroom Communities."

Hughes, who formerly worked for MTV, said putting the app together took 18 months.

"I did it all," he said. "I did all the photography, the research, the writing. It's just simple storytelling."

In addition to the traditional Mafia, Hughes covers the notorious Irish gang nicknamed the Westies.