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HBO's 'The Deuce:' The golden age of porn and how the Italian mafia made the most of it

HBO's 'The Deuce' does paints a realistic picture of Manhattan's dark past and how slowly and steadily crime families saw the opportunity to mint money.

"Once upon a time in America, pleasure became a business."

If you look at it clutching a moral compass, porn is a disease. But to the Italian mafia in New York in the 1970s, it was money - and a gift that just kept on giving. Times Square wasn't always what it is today - glittering billboards, designer boutiques to be and people who are always in a hurry. It was unrecognizable back then- garish streets prowling with pimps where drugs ran galore and sex sold by the dozen.