and tim newark wrote 3 books about luciano?? wtf! guess all of em stuffed with the same facts, just different cover??

I'm going to check into that book you mentioned but the Luciano books I heard are n/g. Burn em on a cold day so you get your moneys worth. Just kidding.

Just finished Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business.

Not the best book by Mr Pistone in my opinion. This book was full of personal attacks and unprovable innuendo against any and all enemies of one former agent namely Lindley Devecchio. In my humble opinion there might be a very high likelihood that the charges against Devecchio had a basis in fact and that he may indeed have been in league with Gregory Scarpa.

Other than that, the book was supremely entertaining almost throughout. Pistone's own natural dialect comes through. You feel like your old friend is telling you the best stories in the world while sitting at a bar or by a campfire. Enlightening about the corruption in our society. This book highlights the fact that organized crime has tentacles into the federal government and police departments, but only to certain corrupted individuals. The closest organized crime comes to merging with the federal or local governments is when the highest official of such protects the bosses of the syndicates or if that boss is a confidential informant themselves with a degree of immunity against prosecution from other law enforcement agencies. But there was never an omnipotent all seeing Mafia fully merged with government.

Recommended

Alfa, didn't Pistone also say this in his book?

On the orders of his own capo, Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano, Pistone headed out to find Indelicato - with a .25-caliber automatic.

It turned out the caller had bum information, but the former lawman admits he would have pulled the trigger on Indelicato before jeopardizing his life or the operation. "If Bruno's there, he's gone," Pistone writes.

"If I have to put a bullet in his head, I will, and I'll deal with the federal government and the Staten Island DA later. ... There's no doubt they both would charge me for murder. The Bureau would brand me a rogue agent and hang me out."

During his six years infiltrating Sonny Black's vicious crew, Pistone dug up enough evidence to put away nearly 200 mobsters, all while making life-or-death decisions on how far to take his role-playing.

http://www.thechicagosyndicate.com/2007/01/joe-pistone-confesses-to-crimes-as-mob.html

Yes Bean, that is almost a word for word quote, and it's profound.

He said something similar on the Arsenio Hall Show, and that is on video. Arsenio nodded when he heard the comment, but seemed disgusted in some way that he didn't want to show. At least that's what I saw.

Throughout Joe's bibliography, he describes how hits go down, as if he was in the room.

I don't intent to besmirch the good name of this mighty FBI agent, a member of New York City's first SWAT team, but I think the reason the FBI pulled the plug on his operation was because they didn't want any allegations of wrongdoing against Joe Pistone from Mobsters to have any validation. What do I mean by that? What I mean is, is that if Joe would have become a made member of the Bonannos, anyone who accused him of participating in hits would be able to embarrass the FBI by pointing to the fact that he was made as circumstantial proof. So they pulled the plug to cover their tracks in advance. But then again, what do I really know? I am a conspiracy theorist.

I think what we need to understand is that Joe Pistone wasn't infiltrating the Mafia because what they did was "wrong", nor was his mission to protect the "bad guys". His mission was to protect the victims of organized crime, and that he did.

It is interesting that Pistone defended DeVecchio are you also aware that he aslo defended Connoly?

Yes.

The way I see this, is that Joe Pistone truly believes that unless these men are proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, that their badges and honor should not be questioned.

You have to remember that he was one of 45 FBI agents who showed their brotherhood and support toward Devecchio when he was on trial.

Is there a possibility that Pistone knew Devecchio was guilty as sin and yet still tried to unravel his friend from being convicted with the enemy (Scarpa)? It's possible. It's possible he felt Devecchio went too far and got caught up in the gangster thing accidentally, unintentionally. It is even possible that he felt that his friend sinned but did not commit an unforgivable sin and that lying to society on his friend's behalf to justify his misdeeds and clear his name was his duty as a brother law enforcement officer. My own opinions on the matter are evolving. I would be lying if I told you I almost didn't buy a copy of "Deal with the Devil" a short while ago. That would not be true because I almost did.

Hey Bean, Connoly was convicted, wasn't he?

I've gotta do more homework. But Joe Pistone shouldn't be putting his name behind characters like that.

alfa romeo great book review, thank you for it, haven't read the book, but, don't think piston should take the side of these guys in the fbi who have done wrong. especially these two connoly, devecchio, how can anybody excuse what they did, with connoly it seemed as though he worked for whitey bolger. and devecchios dealings with scarpa are inexcuseable.

I agree with you Binnie. Obviously I am a Pistone fan and supporter. I am being as generous with him as I possibly can.

Alfa yes John Conolly is serving a big sentence in Florida for being a part of a murder plot. He was one of the dirtiest FBI agents EVER.

This is just Pistone "blindly" supporting one of his own.

got today my copy of "uncle frank - the czar of the underworld" /leonard katz. you can smell that 40years that book has under its belt..

I think the murder sentence has recently been overturned, and the racketeering sentence he has already served, so does it mean he has already been released? I still think he is guilty of the murder as well though.

Just reading The Outfit by Gus Russo, Excellent book..

deniro, those that haven't read that book may be surprised as to just how much influence the outfit had over Chicago, was there ever another city where the hoods were that dominant?

anything a bout frank Costello is a great read. he no doubt was the smartest one of all the gangsters.

Probably not..

did anyone here read gus russo's "supermob"?

mickey2 yes, I read i,t its about Sidney korshak, the Chicago outfits man in Hollywood. korshak answered to murray Humphreys.he was a very powerful guy, the Chicago mob also controlled lew wasserman another powerful figure in Hollywood.

Yes it was overturned because there was a 4 year statute on 2nd degree murder with a weapon in Florida, his lawyer wanted him released and the State wanted to appeal it and keep him inside while they figure it all out. There has been no word since then I don't think. I can't find him on the Florida inmate search though, so I imagine his case is still in limbo while they await further rulings.

It's okay if you want some info about Gravanos and Milito's early years and a made guys life from the POV of a wife. Otherwise it's just ranting about Milito's family, about Gravano (though that be can understood-he whacked her husband) and Lydia's own mental health problems.

i'll definetely read it in near future. sidney korshak is a very interesting character, as well as the whole hollywood-outfit connection

Hey guys, I was recently given a copy of "Inside The Dark Heart" by A.G.D Maran; Anyone know anything about this guy? How accurate can I expect his book to be?

Is Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was The Mob worth a read out of perverse curiosity?

I remember it to be mildly entertaining. But that was before their allegations broke, before they were busted.

Don't buy it. Borrow it from the library. Don't spend a dime towards the Epillito and Caraccapa families.

The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia is a much better book..

http://www.amazon.com/The-Brotherhoods-Story-Murdered-Mafia/dp/1416523383

Just finished reading Making Jack Falcone by Joachin Garcia for the 2nd time. Very entertaining.

This book should be included with many others that suggest FBI corruption at the highest level. Like in Murder Machine, like in Donnie Brasco, this story is about how a massive sweep and wiretapping operation got cut short by shadowy bureaucrats at the top with piss poor excuses as to why. A must read for anyone wearing the rainbow glasses of the false notion that the Mafia is dead or that corruption doesn't exist at the highest levels of law enforcement to protect said Mafia.

After reading this book, one will suspect that the big mafia busts wherein scores of hoods are paraded down the perp walk for all the media to see are nothing but PR stunts and a distraction engineered to protect the king pins at the top of organized crime.

A few organized crime related books I've been reading as of late include: Off Color: The Violent History of Detroit's Notorious Purple Gang by Daniel Waugh. I'm only 90 pages into Off Color. So far its been a fascinating book on Detroit's Purple Gang. Another book I'm reading on my Kindle Fire is The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York by Alexander Hortis. This book is providing fresh insight into the inner workings of organized crime in NYC.

Just read Murder Machine and found it a great read,it was through reading posts on this forum that i became aware of the book so decided to join,i have learnt so much from this site and look forward to reading more!

im just finishing [ five families ] great read.