Review: A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno

A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno by Joseph Bonanno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An entertaining read which, despite everything, has quite a lot of interesting information. Revealing to hear about Sicily when he was a child, and about the old names (Maranzano, Masseria, Terranova, etc.). Also revealing to hear that Luciano had a "street accent", while it seems like most of the other dons of the period, including the "young turks" like Anastasia and Gambino, had thick italian accents. 

Some obvious lies and possible self-deception going on. I very much doubt he would pick the moment Magliocco died, and the liberal faction took over the commission, to travel the world with his wife. Much more likely he'd try to escape to Canada, as the feds believed he was doing. 

Also, interesting to note how many of these original old-timers ended up telling all. Bonanno and Luciano both wrote autobiographies. Costello was about to. Luciano died on his way to have a movie made of his life. I guess the concept of omertà was pretty ambiguous even back then. Bonanno does try to justify this, but I doubt his definition would hold in the commission. 

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Review: Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia

Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia by Anthony M. DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I appreciate the old-time mobsters who prioritized laying low, going legit, and trying to blend into society. So obviously Frank Costello was pretty high on the list (as is Carlo Gambino, so I'm itching for a good biography of him). 

The book itself was actually better than I imagined it would be. The research conducted by the author was extensive, even though there were still some seemingly elementary mistakes (including calling Vito Genovese a Sicilian, when his being Neopolitan was what kept him from being part of the commission initially). 

However, as with any of these old-timers, there is unfortunately not that much about his youth, and the kids he ran with, how he initially met Luciano, Lansky, Adonis, etc. 

Still, probably the best book about him. And a great book for those who see him as quite underrated (he hardly ever appears in movies or in any cultural references, as opposed to Capone or Luciano, etc.)

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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: Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic

Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic by Alexander Stille
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably the definitive book on the Sicilian Mafia in its heyday, including the Corleone uprising, Luciano Leggio, Toto Riina, Bernardo Provenzano (although not much on him), etc. And obviously tons on Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and how they had to struggle to achieve their results, more so against other politicians than against the mafia itself (even though the mafia was definitely trying to dissuade them, and succeeded in killing them in the end). 

Incredible how the mafia had taken hold in Sicily. The stories about the priest killer who would give last rites to men after killing them, or the politicians, judges, police officers involved, or just how ordinary citizens were all involved (middle aged ladies from Torretta were used as mules to bring heroin to the US), or how the imprisoned Mafia bosses all got leave to stay in the hospital for 'tests' that continued on and on; the hospital being owned by the brother of a corrupt politician, they had run of the mill there, had people visit them, and even had underlings moved there to act as servants. 

Particularly unnerving was also reading about "fake turncoats", like Pellegriti. Already serving life in prison, he suddenly confessed to various conspiracies involving a (corrupt) politician, which turned out to be false. Turns out he was spreading disinformation, trying to muddy the waters of the other information obtained. 

Cosa Nostra would also spread disinformation about important people they murdered, both before and after murdering them. This was because if an upstanding member of society is murdered, people are outraged, but if there are rumors and newspaper articles about that person being corrupt, having affairs, making deals with criminals, etc., then they will be much more accepting of his murder. 

5 stars. Also I see a movie was made with the same name. I should probably check it out. 

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Review: The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia: Corn Sugar and Blood

The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia: Corn Sugar and Blood by Rick Porrello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been enjoying reading about the mob in peripheral cities (Milwaukee and Denver/Pueblo), and Cleveland was no exception. The author is a former policeman who is descended from one of the original Cleveland mafia families, so he seemed to have some good insight. 

I was amazed I hadn't heard more about the Cleveland Mafia, to tell the truth, seeing as how Capone, Luciano and others had dealings with it, and that Profaci, Mangano and others were arrested there for what seems like a precursor to the Appalachian conference. 

Regardless, if you're interested in reading about the Cleveland Mafia this will be a great book for precisely that. It could possibly do with an update, since Angelo Lonardo has died and presumably there have been further changes in the Cleveland Mafia. 

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Review: The Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee

The Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee by Wayne Clingman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was meticulously researched on the one hand, but seemed to be lacking so much on the other. At one point the author(s) point out that obtaining some documents via the FOI act would take too long so they didn't' do so (granted, this was ancillary to Balistrieri, but could have still helped a bit). Also there seems to be no mention of his sons. Wikipedia says they were quite involved and, in fact, were arrested along with him. There is no mention of any of this in the book. 

It is also interesting that, after Balistrieri's death, his son, then his brother, then his consigliere, all became bosses of the Milwaukee Mafia. Of course, this may be because there weren't that many people in this faction to begin with. Unfortunately none of this was addressed in the book either (I got it from Wikipedia again). 

Also, apparently Frank Balistrieri's daughter is suing her brothers and sister for part of the family fortune (again, not mentioned in the book): https://www.milwaukeemag.com/DaughteroftheDon/

Don't get me wrong. There was plenty of information in this book. Especially interesting were the section on Skimming, Rosenthal's car bombing, and the killing of Sam Cesario.

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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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Review: The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano

The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano by Martin A. Gosch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm amazed at how much of what Luciano did would have gotten him kicked out of the mafia today. Maybe it's a statement on how bureaucratic anything can get after some time. Between having a Jewish consigliere (and encouraging having non-italians as part of the outfit in general), to not only ratting out, but delivering Lepke to the police (and technically setting up Vito Genovese as well, although he had some the same thing to Luciano), to choosing to retire (which Frank Costello did as well).

Obviously all of this is from Luciano's point of view, also filtered through Gosch's retelling, so the facts should be taken with a grain of salt. But regardless, it doesn't disappoint.

I thought this would become boring once he was arrested (and his rise had basically stopped), but the book kept me interested throughout. This is highly recommended for anyone interested in the Italian mob in general (all you Sopranos and Goodfellas fans out there). I find it strange that it's so difficult to find this book these days.

5 stars because it is one of a kind (don't even try mentioning "underboss")

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