Fans of law and order If you like the intimate look into the criminal justice system in the NBC drama series, you’re in luck.
A new investigative audio series from Wolf Entertainment and iHeart applies the same format to true crime cases, diving deep into monumental New York City trials that helped shape the criminal justice system.
The podcast, Law & Order: Criminal Justice, The first season will consist of 10 episodes and will be hosted by someone with plenty of experience both in the courtroom and behind the podcast microphone. For a preview of what’s to come, check out the trailer released Thursday.
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Who organizes the Law & Order: Criminal Justice System Podcasts?
Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi, a former prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, hosts the new audio series. She is also co-host of the True Crime podcast Anatomy of Murder, And hosted the television series True conviction.
During her first semester of law school, Nicolazzi was particularly drawn to her criminal justice course and knew then that she wanted to be a prosecutor. “I thought it would be very exciting and in my eyes I would hopefully do something good,” she said. NBC Insider“I felt like I was making a contribution to society.”
And soon after, she got a job in one of the largest prosecutors’ offices in the country. “Brooklyn is a city within the city of New York. When I walked into that courtroom and saw people in court, I just knew that this is exactly what I wanted to do,” Nicolazzi said.
During her time with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, she tried over 50 capital cases, including 35 murders. “I love the challenge of putting the pieces of a puzzle together – and then packing it all up and explaining it to a group of 12 citizens from all walks of life, because the challenge is to make sure they’re on the same page,” Nicolazzi said. NBC Insider.
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What is Season 1 of Law & Order: Criminal Justice System about?
The first season of the podcast will delve deeply into the fall of the Mafia in New York City, beginning with the murder of powerful Bonanno crime family boss Carmine Galante in 1979. The series, similar to the scripted law and order The programs highlight both the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who worked on the cases.
“We do the same thing,” said moderator Nicolazzi about the podcast’s similarities to Law & Orders Storytelling. “Only we don’t portray the people involved, we talk to the people.”
This season’s original interviews include the prosecution team that led the so-called “commission case.” Family members of former mafia bosses also have their say. And Angela Tucceri Galante and Rita Gigante talk in the podcast about their respective fathers, Galante and the boss of the Genovese family Vincent “The Chin’ Gigante.”
“We have FBI agents who worked undercover,” Nicolazzi added of other interviewees. “You hear from those who were supervisors and really had to think of a different approach than anything that had been done before.”
Most of the cases that were heard at the time were not broadcast from the courtroom, Nicolazzi explained. So in order to get first-hand testimony, Law & Order: Criminal Justice System The podcast contains audio data from wiretappings related to the case.
The audio recordings contain conversations between gangsters who were unaware that anyone was listening, Nicolazzi said.
“As a prosecutor, I can tell you that our videos are often grainy and our audio is often a little crackly, but it’s the original and that’s why we decided to include some of that 100%,” Nicolazzi said.
When will new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Justice System fall?
The first two episodes of the first season of the Law & Order: Criminal Justice System The podcast will be released on Thursday, August 22nd, followed by eight more episodes, with one episode premiering every Thursday until October 17th.
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Why Season 1 of Law & Order: Criminal Justice System sheds light on organized crime in NYC
“We focus on organized crime and have come to the conclusion that the Mafia is actually the largest criminal organization that the United States, and New York City in particular, has ever seen,” Nicolazzi said. NBC Insider. “So where better to start? The mafia is part of pop culture, you know? The Godfather, The Sopranos. If people haven’t seen it, they know about it.”
While discussing the topic for the podcast, Nicolazzi expressed her awe at “the men and women who took on this organization that was untouchable for decades,” she said. NBC Insider.
“Seeing them develop these new approaches to success was a really amazing journey in some ways. Seeing it through their eyes, how they experienced it and saw it, including some of those affected,” Nicolazzi added. “I don’t even think people realize how much the mob affected New Yorkers in general.”
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