Review: Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D’Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia

Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D’Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia by Jerry Capeci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this excellent. Part guilty pleasure reading of the mob, part goodfellas, part informative as to how various aspects of organized crime work. 

I should specify that I've read a number of books about the mafia, both American and Italian (hence the guilty pleasure), but much of this was new (or at least I didn't remember it). This is basically an inside look into the Lucchese family throughout the 80s and 90s, as well as a biography of a second generation Italian immigrant turned Acting boss of that family. And obviously it helps that it was written by Jerry Capeci, whose Gangland News I used to read pretty regularly (what ever happened to it?). 

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Review: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires by Selwyn Raab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is pretty much the definitive book about the history of the mafia, so it will hit the spot for any mafia fix you may have, at least as regards the New York families. I do wish it had more about other families in the country, and I wish there were a follow-up edition discussing what has been happening in recent years.

I read some complaints that this was pretty much a summary of law enforcement tactics against organized crime. On the other hand, by definition the Cosa Nostra has been secretive, so the only reliable source is usually what the police can uncover. So I'd much rather have this than rumors and speculation by others. Even with Joe Valachi, we saw how an insider can get many of the facts wrong about things that don't concern him directly. Or the Bonanno soldier who didn't know that Costa Nostra meant Our thing (he thought it meant Friends).

After reading this my respect for Al Capone and John Gotti has plummeted, while that for Chin Gigante and Joseph Massino has increased. It has remained the same for Lucky Luciano and Carlo Gambino.

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