Just started to read Joe Pistone's latest Donnie Brasco book -

"Unfinished Business"

So far so good.


Don Cardi

I hope you'll favor us with your review of that book, DC.

I most definitely will.



Don Cardi

I'll get it whether you like it or not.

So there!

Well I guess that you never got the first book because you didn't know that I was quoting a line from the book and thought that I was really asking what fughettaboutit meant!




Don Cardi

suuuuuuuuuure you were...

I can read Donnie Brasco over and over, it's never gotten boring or old when I've picked it up again.

I agree. The first Donnie Brasco book is one of those books that you can read several times and still enjoy.


As for UNFINISHED BUSINESS, I'm about 100 pages into it. A good read that keeps you interested, BUT, there are times, so far, that I feel that Pistone is just rehashing many of the things that he's already told us about in his first book. Only with a little different spin this time. Perhaps I need to give it a chance before passing judgement on it. But so far I just can't help feeling that Pistone is just cashing in on what's basically the same story that he told us in his first book, only a bit more embelished this time around.



Don Cardi

I still feel it's better than WAY OF THE WISEGUY, DC. That book was a total rehash.

Is it me or is Pistone's ego actually getting bigger as he gets older ?

Funny how he ducks the topic of his dear friend Lin DeVecchio, the agent accused of tipping off Greg Scarpa, leading to several murders. It's mentioned in the preface but not in great detail. Just, of course, that he's innocent.
What'd you expect ?

A dirty cop is no better than a rat wiseguy. If you're gonna be a cop, be a cop.

Sorry for the rant, it's a pet peeve of mine.

Yes it is. And as I said I really should finish it before jumping to any conclusions.

As for Pistone's ego? It definitely has gotten bigger and bigger over the years.

Hey, what Pistone did took a lot of balls. What Pistone did was a great thing. And there is no question that he put his life in jeopardy from the moment he went undercover. What he did and how deep he got took a lot of guts and was amazing. I admire the man for that.

In truth though, I cannot blame him for his inflated ego and his continual efforts to cash in on his story. The goverment gave him an plaque and a shitty $500 check for his accomplishments! That's a slap in the face. So why not try to capitolize on this as long as he can?

After all he knows that suckers like us who love this shit will just keep buying what he comes out with anyway!

And yes, I agree. A dirty cop is just as bad as a wiseguy.


Don Cardi

I'll take the stand-up wiseguy over the dirty cop, any day.

Even though he's a criminal, at least he's true to himself within the parameters of his own world.

Unlike the cop who takes the oath to protect and serve, then sells out, like the "mob cops", or the possibly corrupt federal agent, who allegedly sold out to Greg Scarpa.

However, I'll refrain from passing judgement on him until all of the evidence is in.

I agree. I'm sure Pistone embellished his story in many places to aggrandize his role and to sell books (and movie rights). But I also think the basic substance of his story is true. And yes indeed, he really did have coglioni to do what he did.

One story I don't believe is that the Mob put a half-million-dollar bounty on his head. First, it leads us to believe that the Commission has some kind of slush fund and standing army that can be used to attack common enemies. BS! The only thing Dons have in common are greed and distrust of each other. Why would any Don contribute a dime to an effort to "get" Pistone in retaliation for a supreme screwup caused by the Bonannos? The attitude would be: "It's their problem, let them solve it." Second, if Pistone had such a huge price on his head, why would he be running around giving interviews and presiding over book signings?

You beat me to the punch on that one TB !

I've always felt that the contract on Pistone was exaggerated, at the very least. It's been suggested that Paul Castellano, before his own murder, assured federal agents that Pistone was never in any danger.

It's been one of the most vehemently enforced "rules" wthin the US mafia, to never kill cops, reporters or prosecutors. Although I'm sure there have been exceptions, Pistone was just way too high profile to take a chance on killing.

Ordinary "victimless" crimes, such as bookmaking, would have become the focus of major investigations as a result and the wiseguys knew this. They hardly would have cost themselves so dearly in order to kill a guy who was really just doing his job.

As far as Pistone's balls ? Like bocces ! Bruno Kirby makes a great point on the DONNIE BRASCO dvd, that they all listened to hours and hours of wiretaps in studying their roles and all concluded that they, as ACTORS, couldn't have done the job that Pistone did under the constant fear of death that he was under.

I agree about that being BS. The only potential danger that I think he maybe could have faced in getting killed was from some half cocked up and coming soldier in the Bonnano family who may have been looking to make a name for himslef and a quick climb up the ladder. Someone who could turn around to his cohorts and say "See, look what did! I took out Joe Pistone!"

And even then, if I was some mob boss, I don't think that I would want one of my people taking out a known FBI agent who was now in the public eye.

Perhaps that is the reason Pistone has constantly stood in the public spotlight.


Don Cardi

Don't the mob pretend not be around anymore, if they do why would they come out of the shadows to kill a man protected by he FBI?

I'm sorry, but the deeper I get into this 'Unfinished Business' book, the more I feel that I'm just re-reading 'Donnie Brasco,' only with a different spin. Pistone is extremely repetative in his story telling. It's as though he took the stories from his first book and just added a few more details to them.



Don Cardi

Although I enjoyed UNFINISHED BUSINESS, especially the second half of it, I know where DC is coming from.

I'll tell you one thing I'm totally convinced of now - Pistone's insistence that he should have been left undercover, until he got made, had more to do with the fact that he's a bit of a wannabe himself, than anything else.

Is he an American hero ? Yes, no doubt. Does he have balls like bocces ? Yes, no doubt. But the more I read about what a tough guy gangster he would have made, that he did in fact make, the more I'm convinced that he enjoyed the power that went along with the lifestyle.

At the end of the day, was he a cop ? Yes, he was, and a damn good one. But if you read this latest book, I think you'll agree, he's a bit of a wannabe as well.

That's a very astute observation, PB! Pistone was obviously getting sucked into the Mob life big-time. That came through loud and clear in his writing about his relationship with Sonny Black. But even if he weren't getting sucked in, what good would have come of his being made? At minimum, he'd have been asked to be involved in more big-time felonies than he admitted to during his "unmade" career.
I got the feeling that his FBI superiors pulled him out precisely because they saw the danger of his becoming a real Mob guy.

Turnbull, have you read the book yet?


Don Cardi

Yup, that's the impression I got. If they left him in to get made, then he'd say, "just think of the possibilities if I make capo" and on and on.

There are no real spoilers because much of the book is a re-hash, so I'll mention one part.

Pistone claims that after the infamous 3 capos hit of 1981, Sonny Black sent him to Florida to sit down with 2 made guys to put their minds at ease about getting whacked themselves.

The idea of an old school capo sending a mere associate to assure 2 made guys that they wouldn't be hit is implausible. Actually, it's a serious breach of mob protocol, and I don't believe it.

So, it reflects what TB stated about Pistone's relationship with Sonny Black. He often comes across as a kid bragging about his ties to the mob, especially when he brags about how close he was to Sonny Black.

Check out Capeci's column this week.

This agent makes Joe Pistone look like Barney Fife !

http://www.ganglandnews.com/column.htm

Ok PB, as you said, the book is getting better as it moves along, but the self praise and the repetative paragraphs are just getting to me. A chapter starts with an interesting story that pulls you in, and then he just re-hashes the same shit that he talked about in his first book and sometimes even rahashing events that he's mentioned earlier in the same book. I'm just having a hard time picking it up again.


Don Cardi

FUHGEDABOUDIT!

"I got cancer of the prick" LOL Poor Lefty

"Punch of salt"

When I saw the A&E episode about Joe Pistone/Donnie Brasco, I found it really interesting that at the end when Pistone was asked if there was anything he regretted or would've changed, he said "I wish could of done more" meaning that he wished he could've taken down more wiseguys. But from what I remember, the movie leaned towards Pistone sympathizing more with the wiseguys than the feds. Anyone else see this?

He's said on numerous occasions that his sympathy towards the wiseguys was strictly the brainchild of Hollywood, in hopes of making a more dramatic movie. In real life he had no qualms about men being jailed or even murdered due to his role as "Donnie Brasco".

I was watching this again last night and caught a Godfather parallel I never caught before.

Right after Lefty asks Donnie what he knew about "the life," Donnie replies "it's like the army, chain of command, etc..." Lefty turns around and laughs "the army, it's nothing like the army, my friend."


It just reminded me of part 1, when Sonny says "you think this is the army..." Maybe I'm stretching here, but it's something I never caught before.

I don't think Depp played as being seriously sympathetic. Oh sure he maybe got along barely with Lefty sometimes, but most of the time, I got the impression it was Pistone having to tolerate him....and since Lefty was the desperate low-ranking soldier willing to show Depp the life and get him "in," thats how the relationship happened.

At least that was the impression I got.

If anything, the dramatic story of DONNIE BRASCO, and in Pistone's book itself, you know what I always saw it as?

You all read HEART OF DARKNESS or seen APOCALYPSE NOW....really, Pistone is Kurtz going away on a mission/job, and really coming close to going up the river for good, establishing his own kingdom in this foreign land....except the superiors pulled Pistone off before he could pull a Kurtz.

Did you say Pinch or Punch?

"I got cancer of the prick. You didn't know that? It's in the medical books."