At The Times and elsewhere, he wrote about wrongful convictions, fake methadone clinics and the five powerful Mafia families in New York.

Selwyn Raab, an investigative journalist whose ... Mr. Raab’s 2005 book, “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires,” was widely regarded ...

Mr. Raab’s reporting at the New York Times delved into organized crime and helped overturn the murder conviction of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.