Episode 0

Episode 0 is technically the first episode in the Gangland Series.

## Synopsis

a crime boss recounts how he got into the business.

## Plot

in 1984, soon to be mafia member Tony Angelo is a soldier stationed at the Taft Memorial military base. He saves the life of Lieutenant Sam Wilson, a drug courier for the Russo crime family. The next day, Wilson takes Angelo to see Ralph Russo, his employer. While there, he also meets Jim Stone, an enforcer for the Russo family and eventual second hand man of Angelo. Stone is covering the shift of doorman after the usual doorman, Roger, is executed the previous night. Angelo meets Ralph who thanks him for saving Wilson's life. After Wilson goes back to the car, Ralph admits that Wilson has become too much of a hassle for the family, and requests Angelo kill him. Angelo says he'll think about it, before leaving. Angelo spends the rest of the day contemplating whether or not he should kill Wilson or not. The next day, Angelo decides to kill Wilson, cutting the breaks to his car and leading Wilson to crash into a river and drown. Meanwhile, Charles Stuart, at the time a hitman and eventual nemesis of Angelo leads a coup against the Romano family,seizing power and creating the Stuart Crime Syndicate (CSC). The next day, Angelo discovers he's been kicked out of the military, most likely for associating with the Russos. He goes to see Ralph, telling him he's killed Wilson. For this, Angelo is made a soldier in the Russo family.

## Deaths

* A man is beaten to death in the streets of Franklin City.

* Roger is shot in the back of the head, execution style.

* Wilson drowns to death in the Franklin City river.

* All blood members of the Romano family that are involved in the Mafia are executed by Stuart's men in a coup. Ricky Romano ends up beaten to death as Stuart watches.

## Songs used

Matthew Wilder- Break My Stride (plays during the first scene where Tony saves Wilson's life)

Joe Walsh- Life's Been Good (plays as Wilson takes Tony to see Ralph)

The Beatles- A Day in The Life (Plays during the ride back to base from Ralph's bar, where Tony contemplates whether or not to kill Wilson)

Pink Floyd- Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Live, 1969) (Plays during the scene where Wilson's car crashes into the river)

Jimi Hendrix- Hey Joe (Plays over montage of the Romanos being killed and as Stuart watches Ricky Romano get beaten to death)

Phil Collins- In The Air Tonight (Plays as Tony is officially made a soldier in the Russo family)

## Trivia

* While it's unclear who exactly killed Roger, Stone telling Wilson that Roger quit before winking confirms that Roger was likely killed by the Russos. In later episodes, we find out that Stone was one of the Russo soldiers that took part in the severe beating of Roger the day before he was killed, making it likely that Stone could have been the killer.

* + Continuing on the topic of Roger and his death, Angelo states that his remains were discovered in 2015.

* Where is My Mind by The Pixies was originally going to be used in the scene where Angelo rode back to the military base with Wilson, but it was decided that due to the fact that the song did not exist during the time, A Day in The Life, by The Beatles was chosen instead.

* During a scene in the city, Barbra and Don can be seen with their son, Snake, walking down the street. No attention is brought to it.

* + Other important characters were supposed to be seen in the city, such as crooked cop Joseph Bronco, or businessman and gang associate William Shaver. These cameos were cut for unknown reasons.

* This is one of the few episodes to feature narration.

## Quotes

"Alright, I'm gonna cut the shit. I'm a crimelord. Of course, you've probably got questions running through your head. 'How long have you been doing this?'. or 'When did you start doing this?', or, most likely: "Hey, what the fuck do you mean you're a crimelord?" Well, to answer the first question, 34 years. To answer the second question, you're about to see it."- Tony Angelo narrating.

"You know, it's funny how much I've changed over these last 3 decades. Today, I wouldn't have batted a fuckin' eye if I was asked to kill Wilson. Back then, it was a real moral dilemma for me. Besides Wilson doing some illegal shit, He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, with his whole life ahead of him. I almost considered not killing him, but eventually, I made up my mind. Wilson had to die." Angelo narrating about his contemplation of killing Lieutenant Wilson.