When U.S. authorities arrested suspected Mafia figures with nicknames like Jackie Nose and Tommy Sneakers, it sounded like a crime tale from a bygone era.

But experts said on Friday the crackdown is evidence the Mafia never was eradicated and that it would live on, even if prosecutors were successful in convicting the 61 suspects who were arrested.

Thursday’s U.S. roundup focused on the Gambino crime operation, one of the five historic Italian-American Mafia families in New York. Meanwhile Italian police detained 19 people, seeking to stop the Sicilian Mafia from re-establishing itself in the U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering trade.

“It’s sort of like what Mark Twain said. Reports of the death of the mob were greatly exaggerated,” said Randy Mastro, a former federal prosecutor and an ex-deputy mayor of New York who specialized in attacking the Mafia.

“La Cosa Nostra is like a rat infestation. Just when you think you have them eradicated, they reproduce and come back,” he said.

A U.S. grand jury indicted 62 people, one of whom remains a fugitive, alleging that organized crime maintains a grip on construction-related industries in New York, extracting business through violence and extortion.

Charges included murder, loan sharking, gambling and cocaine and marijuana distribution.

The probe went back five years, aided by an informant who secretly taped conversations with mob suspects, and involved three years of cooperation with Italian police.

Lawyers for Britney Spears’ parents returned to court Thursday for a hush-hush hearing to deal with the troubled singer’s affairs.

The session in Los Angeles Superior Court was closed to the public, and a court spokesman said the proceedings were sealed. But several media reports said that Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, and a court-appointed co-conservator were hoping to strengthen control over Britney’s affairs.

Neither Spears nor her parents attended the hearing. The deranged diva was represented by a court-appointed attorney.

Lawyer Adam Streisand, who met with Britney on Wednesday after she got out of a mental ward, said Thursday he was off the case because the court “had issued orders that prevent Ms. Spears from retaining counsel of her own choosing.”

A day earlier, after Spears, 26, left the mental ward at UCLA Medical Center, her parents said their daughter was in the middle of a mental crisis, and they believe her life is at risk.

“As parents of an adult child in the throes of a mental health crisis, we were extremely disappointed…to learn that over the recommendation of her treating psychiatrist, our daughter Britney was released from the hospital that could best care for her and keep her safe,” said the joint statement released on behalf of the singer’s father and her mother, Lynne Spears.

Actress Kirsten Dunst, who starred in the hit “Spider-Man” movies, has checked into a rehab center in Utah for undisclosed reasons, celebrity Web sites reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.

Dunst, 25, was said to have checked into the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center that in recent days has been home to another popular actress, Eva Mendes. Lindsay Lohan also spent time at Cirque Lodge last year when she was experiencing troubles.

People.com cited one source as saying Dunst “is not doing well” and that people around the movie actress had been pushing her to check into a rehab clinic. Web sites for Star magazine and the TV show Entertainment Tonight also carried reports of Dunst checking into the Cirque Lodge.

A spokesman for Dunst was not immediately available to comment.

Dunst is widely known for her role as Mary Jane Watson, the love interest of Spider-Man alter ego Peter Parker, in the box office smash movie franchise.

She rose to fame as a child actress in films such as “Interview With the Vampire,” and recently played French queen Marie Antoinette in director Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette.”

Lawyers for Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, were back in court on Thursday, along with Britney’s co-conservator, however, what exactly went on behind closed doors is unknown.

Court spokesperson Allan Parachini told reporters after the hearing that “everything about this matter is sealed.”

The one thing Parachini did reveal was a motion was filed today by Spears’ co-conservator, attorney Andrew Wallet, which went unopposed.

The nature of the motion is still unknown.

While all of the documents from Thursday’s hearing will remain sealed, court-appointed attorney Sam Ingham told reporters afterwards that what went on this afternoon was “just a small part of the puzzle.”

Amy Winehouse will not be performing at this year’s Grammy Awards because her request for a visa has been turned down by the U.S. Embassy, her publicist said Thursday.

“Amy has been progressing well since entering a rehabilitation clinic two weeks ago and although disappointed with the decision has accepted the ruling and will be concentrating on her recovery,” The Outside Organization, which counts the troubled retro-soul sensation among its clients, said in a statement.

Winehouse shot to fame with the autobiographical single “Rehab.”

The 24-year-old singer and her acclaimed “Back to Black” album are nominated in six categories for at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Her potent blend of blues, jazz, pop and soul has won praise from critics and fans, but Winehouse has become as famous for her chaotic personal life as for her music.

Since the album’s U.S. release last year, she has canceled a slew of appearances amid reports of drug use.

Her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is in jail awaiting trial on charges of assault and lying to police.