JERUSALEM — His name rhymed with Al Capone and he came to a bad end behind the wheel of a rented white Volkswagen.
Until the moment a bomb planted on his car exploded on a Tel Aviv street, mob boss Yaakov Alperon was living large. He and his Carmela Soprano-blond wife, Ahuva, were media darlings who even took part in a 2006 reality show in which a famous Israeli model moved in with their family.
After her husband's assassination in November, a tearful Ahuva went on Israeli television to plead for an end to the violence. "I'm left with seven orphans," she said. "I beg you, don't look for revenge."
But as he stood over his father's grave, one of her sons appeared to have vengeance on his mind: "I will send back that person to God," he said. "He won't have a grave because I'll cut off his hands, head and body."
Israelis are fond of saying they "live in a rough neighborhood." But chances are they aren't talking about what's been happening recently in this country of 7 million.
An over-the-top gang war between Israeli crime families, complete with daylight bombings, bystander deaths and the occasional rocket attack, has laid bare the shortcomings of the country's formidable security apparatus.
"In many respects we are losing the battle," said Menachem Amir, a criminology professor at Hebrew University.
Organized crime blossomed here in the 1980s and '90s while security forces were focused on Palestinian terrorist threats. By the time Israeli authorities truly began to grapple with the problem a few years ago, they faced a sophisticated global network of gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking, with Los Angeles as one of its hubs.
Court documents and interviews with Israeli law enforcement officials give glimpses of a criminal tapestry that includes an assassination in Encino, alliances with violent L.A. gangs and the establishment of an Israeli-directed drug pipeline from Europe straight to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Israeli law enforcement officials admit they've been caught flat-footed and are scrambling to catch up, using increased surveillance, tougher laws and partnerships with more experienced agencies in the U.S. and Europe.
"We're about five years behind the criminals," said Arye Livneh, head of the government's newly created witness protection program, which won't even begin protecting prospective mob informants until next summer. "This is a tiny place. It's not easy to hide someone in Israel."
