An author only remains an author if his work brings in money for his publishing company. When it comes to Mob stories,experience has shown that people prefer the validation of their stereotypical impressions over any actual facts.

There is little financial incentive for an author to leave out the egomaniacal ramblings and B.S. that comprises many Mob books,and instead to give the public what it wants,whether it is true or not.

We see this a lot in movies as well. If the main roles in Goodfellas,Casino,and Donnie Brasco would have been played by actors who actually looked like the characters,I would bet that not only would ticket sales have been bad,but the psychological envy and fantasizing about being in that lifestyle would not have taken root. It's one thing to want to be a handsome,smooth, sexy gangster like Ray Liotta but who wants to be a semi-retarded,ugly,stammering dope addict and drunk like the real Henry Hill?

My point is that the whole measure of success(at least sales-wise) for Mob books and movies comes from allowing people to live vicariously through the characters. Deviate from the romanticized notions,and you lose potential income.

What sells better,the thrill-a-minute saga of the Teflon Don,the man who lived life on his own terms,stood up to the Feds,and paid the price for his code of honor,or the story of John Gotti,the scumbag whose heroin trafficking business ruined (and ended) countless lives?