The Mob and Me

The Mob and Me PDF Author: John Partington
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439167761
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
This revealing first-person narrative, by one of the founders of the Witness Protection Program and a personal protector to more than five hundred informants, offers an eye-opening, dead-on authentic perspective on the safeguard institution. How did law enforcement’s frustration with the criminal underworld and a serpentine series of hit-or-miss rules and mistakes give rise to one of the most significant and endlessly fascinating government-run programs of the 20th century? In 1967, U.S. Marshal John Partington was given the task of overseeing the protection of the wife and young daughter of renowned mobster Joe “The Animal” Barboza, now an informant with a bounty on his head. It wasn’t Partington’s first time guarding underworld witnesses. But this time was different. It was at the behest of Senator Bobby Kennedy that Partington became the architect of a new high- threat program to get the bad guys to testify against the worse guys. Lifelong protection in exchange for the conviction of the upper echelon of organized crime would require a permanent identity change for every member of the witness’s family, a battery of psychological tests for re-assimilation, and a total, devastating obliteration of all ties with the past. With no blueprint for success, it created a logistical nightmare for Partington. He would have to make up the rules as he went along, and he did so without the luxury of knowing whom he could really trust at any given time. And so, the Witness Protection Program was born. The account John Partington tells of the next thirty years of his life is a never-before-seen portrait of members of the underworld and law enforcement—from Joe Valachi, the first mobster to violate the “omerta,” the sacrosanct code of silence, to high-profile informant and NYPD narcotics detective Bob Leuci, immortalized in Prince of the City. He reveals the details of the protection provided such significant figures as Watergate players to Howard Hunt and John and Maureen Dean. Ultimately, Partington delivers the unvarnished truth of the Program, from the heavily-shielded delivery of witnesses to trial, to countless death threats, to managing an ever- rotating crew of U.S. Marshals, to the step-by-step procedure of reinventing his sometimes dangerous, sometimes terrified charges and their families as uncomplicated suburbanites. These would be the guarded new neighbors just across the street bearing secret histories—uncomfortable actors in a play that would run for the rest of their lives. Lifting a cloak of confidentiality and controversy, The Mob and Me immerses readers in the rarified, misunderstood world of Witness Protection—at once human, dangerous, intimate, surprising, and stone-cold violent.

The Mob and Me

The Mob and Me PDF Author: John Partington
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439167761
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
This revealing first-person narrative, by one of the founders of the Witness Protection Program and a personal protector to more than five hundred informants, offers an eye-opening, dead-on authentic perspective on the safeguard institution. How did law enforcement’s frustration with the criminal underworld and a serpentine series of hit-or-miss rules and mistakes give rise to one of the most significant and endlessly fascinating government-run programs of the 20th century? In 1967, U.S. Marshal John Partington was given the task of overseeing the protection of the wife and young daughter of renowned mobster Joe “The Animal” Barboza, now an informant with a bounty on his head. It wasn’t Partington’s first time guarding underworld witnesses. But this time was different. It was at the behest of Senator Bobby Kennedy that Partington became the architect of a new high- threat program to get the bad guys to testify against the worse guys. Lifelong protection in exchange for the conviction of the upper echelon of organized crime would require a permanent identity change for every member of the witness’s family, a battery of psychological tests for re-assimilation, and a total, devastating obliteration of all ties with the past. With no blueprint for success, it created a logistical nightmare for Partington. He would have to make up the rules as he went along, and he did so without the luxury of knowing whom he could really trust at any given time. And so, the Witness Protection Program was born. The account John Partington tells of the next thirty years of his life is a never-before-seen portrait of members of the underworld and law enforcement—from Joe Valachi, the first mobster to violate the “omerta,” the sacrosanct code of silence, to high-profile informant and NYPD narcotics detective Bob Leuci, immortalized in Prince of the City. He reveals the details of the protection provided such significant figures as Watergate players to Howard Hunt and John and Maureen Dean. Ultimately, Partington delivers the unvarnished truth of the Program, from the heavily-shielded delivery of witnesses to trial, to countless death threats, to managing an ever- rotating crew of U.S. Marshals, to the step-by-step procedure of reinventing his sometimes dangerous, sometimes terrified charges and their families as uncomplicated suburbanites. These would be the guarded new neighbors just across the street bearing secret histories—uncomfortable actors in a play that would run for the rest of their lives. Lifting a cloak of confidentiality and controversy, The Mob and Me immerses readers in the rarified, misunderstood world of Witness Protection—at once human, dangerous, intimate, surprising, and stone-cold violent.

Me, the Mob, and the Music

Me, the Mob, and the Music PDF Author: Tommy James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439142645
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
The sensational ’60s music memoir—part rock & roll fairytale, part mob epic—that “reads like a music-industry version of Goodfellas” (The Denver Post). Tommy James was the 60’s pop icon behind timeless hits like “Hanky Panky,” “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Crimson and Clover,” and more. These songs helped define the era, and they have been covered by artists ranging from Billy Idol to Tiffany to R.E.M. But just as compelling as the music itself is the life Tommy James lived while making it. In Me, the Mob, and the Music, James reveals his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with Roulette Records and Morris Levy, the legendary Godfather of the music business. It is a fascinating portrait of this swaggering era of rock ‘n’ roll, when concerts were wild and the hits kept coming—while, just backstage, payola schemes and mafioso tactics were the norm.

Mob Daughter

Mob Daughter PDF Author: Karen Gravano
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250015200
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
From Karen Gravano, a star of the hit VH1 reality show Mob Wives, comes a revealing memoir of a mafia childhood, where love and family come hand-in-hand with murder and betrayal. Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, once one of the mafia's most feared hit men. With nineteen confessed murders, the former Gambino Crime Family underboss—and John Gotti's right-hand man—is the highest ranking gangster ever to turn State's evidence and testify against members of his high-profile crime family. But to Karen, Sammy Gravano was a sometimes elusive but always loving father figure. He was ever-present at the head of the dinner table. He made a living running a construction firm and several nightclubs. He stayed out late, and sometimes he didn't come home at all. He hosted "secret" meetings at their house, and had countless whispered conversations with "business associates." By the age of twelve, Karen knew he was a gangster. And as she grew up, while her peers worried about clothes and schoolwork, she was coming face-to-face with crime and murder. Gravano was nineteen years old when her father turned his back on the mob and cooperated with the Feds. The fabric of her family was ripped apart, and they were instantly rejected by the communities they grew up in. This is the story of a daughter's struggle to reconcile the image of her loving father with that of a murdering Mafioso, and how, in healing the rift between the two, she was able to forge a new life.

Surviving the Mob

Surviving the Mob PDF Author: Dennis N. Griffin
Publisher: Huntington Press Inc
ISBN: 1935396382
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
What do you do when the law wants you behind bars and the New York crime families want you buried? Surviving the Mob is a cautionary tale of the harsh reality of a criminal, inmate, fugitive, and witness who -- so far -- has lived to tell the tale.

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse PDF Author: Michael Franzese
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc
ISBN: 1595554270
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
What can a one-time mob boss teach you about how to run a business? I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse, written by a former member of the Colombo crime family, promises an insider's view of the mob that will change the way you do business forever. The first thing you'll learn? Get a plan, work it hard, be smart, and surround yourself with people who know how to help you reach your goals--people like Michael Franzese. At the height of his involvement in the mafia, Franzese ran rackets that earned him millions of dollars every week. After serving his time, Franzese quit the mob and dedicated his life to making a positive impact on the world by sharing what he's learned along the way. Now, he's a consultant who has helped everyone from high-powered executives to small business owners learn how to make the most out of their businesses--and, more importantly, how to do it honestly. As one of the few who quit the mob and lived to tell his story, Franzese has a unique perspective on how the mafia does business. Packed with hard-won experience, street smarts, and just a pinch of philosophy, I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse shares the professional advice (and the life lessons) that Franzese learned firsthand, including: The importance of cutting to the chase The value of having a good crew How to start learning from your failures The danger of bending the rules How to come out ahead in your negotiations Why you should lead with your brain instead of your mouth How to think about real success Business is business. Let your friend Franzese give you a tip or two about how to run yours better.

Son of the Mob

Son of the Mob PDF Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1423141253
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Vince Luca is just like any other high school guy. His best friend, Alex, is trying to score vicariously through him; his brother is a giant pain; and his father keeps bugging him to get motivated. There is just one thing that really sets him apart for other kids—his father happens to be the head of a powerful crime organization. Needless to say, while Vince''s family''s connections can be handy for certain things (like when teachers are afraid to give him a bad grade), they can put a serious crimp in his dating life. How is he supposed to explain to a girl what his father does for a living? But when Vince meets a girl who finally seems to be worth the trouble, her family turns out to be the biggest problem of all. Because her father is an FBI agent—the one who wants to put his father away for good.

Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob

Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob PDF Author: Russell Shorto
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393245594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2021 Family secrets emerge as a best-selling author dives into the history of the mob in small-town America. Best-selling author Russell Shorto, praised for his incisive works of narrative history, never thought to write about his own past. He grew up knowing his grandfather and namesake was a small-town mob boss but maintained an unspoken family vow of silence. Then an elderly relative prodded: You’re a writer—what are you gonna do about the story? Smalltime is a mob story straight out of central casting—but with a difference, for the small-town mob, which stretched from Schenectady to Fresno, is a mostly unknown world. The location is the brawny postwar factory town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The setting is City Cigar, a storefront next to City Hall, behind which Russ and his brother-in-law, “Little Joe,” operate a gambling empire and effectively run the town. Smalltime is a riveting American immigrant story that travels back to Risorgimento Sicily, to the ancient, dusty, hill-town home of Antonino Sciotto, the author’s great-grandfather, who leaves his wife and children in grinding poverty for a new life—and wife—in a Pennsylvania mining town. It’s a tale of Italian Americans living in squalor and prejudice, and of the rise of Russ, who, like thousands of other young men, created a copy of the American establishment that excluded him. Smalltime draws an intimate portrait of a mobster and his wife, sudden riches, and the toll a lawless life takes on one family. But Smalltime is something more. The author enlists his ailing father—Tony, the mobster’s son—as his partner in the search for their troubled patriarch. As secrets are revealed and Tony’s health deteriorates, the book become an urgent and intimate exploration of three generations of the American immigrant experience. Moving, wryly funny, and richly detailed, Smalltime is an irresistible memoir by a masterful writer of historical narrative.

Quitting the Mob

Quitting the Mob PDF Author: Michael Franzese
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780517111529
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Mob Rules

Mob Rules PDF Author: Louis Ferrante
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780241972601
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The average Mafia don knows more about effective leadership than a trunkful of Fortune 500 CEOs. For all the mob's well-deserved reputation for violence and immorality, its most successful members have always been remarkably astute businessmen. Former mobster Louis Ferrante reveals their surprisingly effective management techniques and explains how to apply them in any legitimate business.As an associate of the Gambino Family, Ferrante pulled off some of the biggest heists in U.S. history before the age of twenty-one, netting millions of dollars. His natural talent for management led bosses like John Gotti to rely on him. Now he offers time-tested Mafia wisdom, such as:* Three can keep a secret (if two are dead): Build trust with your colleagues.* You don't always need a gun to hit a target: Lead people without force.* It's never personal: When circumstances demand it, never hesitate to pull the trigger.Ferrante brings his real-life experience to the book, offering fascinating insights into Mafia behavior and sharing behind-the-scenes episodes almost as outrageous as those occurring on Wall Street every day.Louis Ferrante is a former Mafia associate and heist expert who served eight and a half years in prison after refusing to incriminate members of the Gambino family. He now lectures around the country to at-risk teens and other groups, and hosts an American TV series called Inside the Gangsters' Code.

Boston Mob

Boston Mob PDF Author: Marc Songini
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1250021316
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
The New England Mafia was a hugely powerful organization that survived by using violence to ruthlessly crush anyone that threatened it, or its lucrative gambling, loansharking, bootlegging and other enterprises. Psychopathic strongman Joseph "The Animal" Barboza was one of the most feared mob enforcers of all time, killing as many as thirty people for business and pleasure. From information based on newly declassified documents and the use of underworld sources, Boston Mob spans the gutters and alleyways of East Boston, Providence and Charlestown to the halls of Congress in Washington D.C. and Boston's Beacon Hill. Its players include governors and mayors, and the Mafia Commission of New York City. From the tragic legacy of the Kennedy family to the Winter Hill-Charlestown feud, the fall of the New England Mafia and the rise of Whitey Bulger, Mark Songini's Boston Mob is a saga of treachery, murder, greed, and the survival of ruthless men pitted against legal systems and police forces.