The Hawaiian Crime Empire Behind Dwayne Johnson and Scorsese's New Project

Caption: Dwayne Johnson at the 2025 Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2025. Credit: Harald Krichel / WikiPortraits, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dwayne Johnson and investigative journalist Nick Bilton are developing a true-crime book about the rise and fall of the Company, a Hawaiian organized-crime syndicate led by Wilford ‘Nappy’ Pulawa. The same history is also being developed as a major film with Martin Scorsese attached to direct.

The project carries the names of some of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures, but the story behind it is less familiar outside Hawaii. Pulawa built a criminal network during a period when gambling, political influence, labor power, and organized crime were colliding across the islands.

The Company and the Man Called Nappy

Crown Publishing describes Pulawa as the leader of Hawaii’s most notorious crime syndicate and the first and only Hawaiian mob boss. Known as the Company, the organization operated during the middle decades of the 20th century and became associated with illegal gambling and other criminal enterprises.

Pulawa’s influence grew in an environment shaped by Hawaii’s transition to statehood, the power of mainland crime organizations, and local struggles over money and control. His story has remained prominent in Hawaii but has rarely received the national treatment given to organized crime in New York, Chicago, or Las Vegas.

Why Dwayne Johnson Is Involved

Johnson spent part of his childhood and teenage years in Hawaii and has said the era carries personal meaning for his family. He also studied criminology before his wrestling and acting career.

Johnson is co-writing the nonfiction book with Bilton, whose earlier work includes American Kingpin, an account of the Silk Road investigation. Crown acquired publication rights in 2025. The publisher has not announced a final title or confirmed publication date.

A Book and Film Developing Together

Bilton is also writing the screenplay for a related film. Scorsese is attached to direct, with Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Emily Blunt connected to the project as performers and producers.

The film remains in development, and details may change before production begins. The book is also still being written. That means the current story is about the history the projects intend to examine, not revelations from a finished manuscript or completed movie.

A Crime History Larger Than One Boss

Pulawa’s story offers more than a traditional mob biography. It sits inside a larger history involving colonial power, statehood, policing, organized labor, cultural identity, and the influence of mainland institutions in Hawaii.

That wider context is likely to determine whether the project becomes another gangster spectacle or a fuller account of how the Company gained power and what its rise meant for the communities around it. For now, the most important verified facts are straightforward: Johnson and Bilton are writing the book, Crown owns the publishing rights, and Scorsese is attached to the film adaptation. The finished projects will determine what new reporting they add to a crime story that many American readers have never heard.

References: Crown Acquires True Crime Book By Dwayne Johnson | Dwayne Johnson Is Writing a True Crime Book Connected to His Martin Scorsese Crime Movie

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