Issue focuses on Nicola "Nick" Gentile, Mafia leader in U.S. and Sicily, author of 1963 tell-all autobiography. Informer provides Gentile's entire life story, building on original research by Mafia history experts, balancing Gentile's self-serving and self-aggrandizing autobiographical work with verifiable history, correcting misinformation and filling in wide gaps left in his personal account. In addition to studying Gentile's life and career, Informer provides biographical information for dozens of individuals who contributed in interesting ways to his life story. Also in this issue: - 1900s Mafia feuds in Los Angeles, - Book excerpts, - Book announcements, - COVID-19's impact on Mafia, - Obituary. Contributors: Thomas Hunt, David Critchley, Steve Turner, Lennert van't Riet, Richard N. Warner, Justin Cascio, Sam Carlino, Michael O'Haire, Jon Black, Margaret Janco, Bill Feather, Christian Cipollini.
This Informer issue focuses on the mafiosi of California, particularly those who relocated to the Golden State after launching criminal careers in other regions. California-related articles include: - Trail of blood: Mafia murder of Barnett Baff linked Corleone, East Harlem and the ghettos of Los Angeles; - Sam Streva and the 'San Pedro gang'; - Was DeJohn a victim of Cheese War? - Golden State often unfriendly to transplanted mobsters; - San Francisco boss Lanza held key role with Colorado's Mafia; - New Orleans connection to San Francisco Mafia. Other articles in this issue: - Reinhold Engel: Forgotten leader of a big-time robbery gang; - Another, other Gentile family; - Police rarely appear on U.S. postage; - New York revolutions in policing and crime.
From 1922 to 1931, Pete and Sam Carlino controlled the flow of Prohibition alcohol from southern Colorado to Denver before their empire suffered a gruesome, bloody demise. The brothers battled their own kin in the Danna family to secure southern Colorado's bootleg liquor territory. Dozens perished in their rise to power. Eventually, mafia boss Nicola Gentile intervened to settle a dispute involving the brothers' associates. Pete Carlino's grandson, author Sam Carlino, uncovers intimate photos and new revelations, including confirmation that Pete Carlino met with Salvatore Maranzano in New York and that the death of both men on September 10, 1931, may not have been a coincidence.
The Youngstown story often is told with a beginning in iron and steel and ending in decay with a subplot driven by violent mobsters and corrupt politicians. Aiming to provide a more well-rounded examination of Youngstown, this collection of essays provides an authentic look at the city through a diverse set of experiences from the perspectives of those who have lived there. Readers will gain a sense of the past, present, and future of the city.
The New York Times bestseller chronicling the history of NYC’s infamous five mafia families is now the basis for the upcoming The HISTORY® Channel documentary series American Godfathers: The Five Families. Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals and generational changes that produced violent and unreliable leaders and recruits. A twenty year assault against the five families in particular blossomed into the most successful law enforcement campaign of the last century. Selwyn Raab's Five Families is the vivid story of the rise and fall of New York's premier dons from Lucky Luciano to Paul Castellano to John Gotti and more. The book also brings the reader right up to the possible resurgence of the Mafia as the FBI and local law enforcement agencies turn their attention to homeland security and away from organized crime.
Through a combination of brains, cunning and daring Legs Diamond became one of the top gangsters in the East, but because of his stubbornness, treachery and poor decision making he lost it all; his friends, his money and finally his life. Legs Diamond is the most comprehensive biography yet written on New York's most famous Prohibition era gangster. The book covers Legs' youth in Philadelphia, his ascension through the New York underworld, which resulted in his becoming an international celebrity, and his inevitable demise in a cheap rooming house. Along the way, the many myths and untruths that have been written about Diamond over the years are corrected. Detailed in the book are: - Full accounts of all four attempts on his life. - The war between Diamond and his one time protégé Dutch Schultz, which resulted in the almost assassination of Legs' brother Eddie.-The famous Hotsy-Totsy murder case.- Diamond's ill-fated trip to Europe to purchase drugs.-His bid to monopolize bootlegging in New York's Greene County.-The death of his brother Eddie.-New information on Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll and his possible partnership with Diamond.-Jack's final night.-The origin of the nick name Legs.-His relationship with Ziegfeld showgirl Kiki RobertsAnd much more.
Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men is a collection of short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, personal narratives, critical essays and visual art produced by 61 cisgender and transgender bisexual, pansexual, polysexual and fluid men from the United States, Canada, Chile, India, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
"Crimetown, U.S.A." is a narrative of organized crime in Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding Mahoning Valley during the years 1933 to 1963. It begins with the Valley's participation in the Midwest Crime Wave of 1933-34, describing the demise of the legendary bank robber "Pretty Boy" Floyd. This is followed by the demise of one of the Valley's own in the brutal slaying of "Happy" Marino, which also happens to be one of the Valley's few gangland murders in which all the participants were tried, convicted and sent to prison. The mid-to-late 1930s is chronicled showing the dominance of the ethnic-based lottery houses, which operated in Youngstown. These operations came to end after a run-away grand jury created enough interest to draw the governor's attention. The late 1940s saw the height of popularity of the infamous Jungle Inn gambling den, located just over the Mahoning County line in Trumbull County. The history of this establishment is chronicled in "Welcome to the Jungle Inn," also by Allan R. May, and is a companion book to "Crimetown U.S.A." describing the history of organized crime in Warren and Trumbull County, Ohio. By the end of the 1940s the citizens of Youngstown put a new mayor in City Hall. Charles Henderson ran on the platform of "Smash Racket Rule" in the city. The man he brought in to do the "smashing" was Edward J. Allen. The feisty and fearless police chief began by chasing out two-thirds of the Valley's "Big 3," including Mafia member Joe DiCarlo, who muscled into the race wire service and controlled the local bookmaking. This period was followed by what was known as the "bug" craze, which was the Valley's nickname for the numbers game or policy, as it was also known. The battle for dominance resulted in a bombing war throughout the 1950s for supremacy in this field by the city's top policy racketeers, Sandy Naples and Vince DeNiro. By the end of the 1950s, Youngstown had become known as "Bomb Town." In the early 1960s, the bombs that were used to scare the competition were now being used to eliminate it. A wave of vicious killings took place, some taking the lives of innocent people. No murder was more notorious than the November 1962 car-bombing that took the lives of "Cadillac Charlie" Cavallaro and his 11-year old son. The senseless killing shocked the country and brought national attention to Youngstown. It also brought the city an everlasting and despised nickname, "Crimetown, U.S.A."
Second Edition: Set in the Gilded Age of New Orleans, this historical biography conveys J.P. Macheca's epic life story, as it finally sets the record straight on the 1890 assassination of Police Chief David Hennessy and the 1891 Crescent City lynchings. A longtime street warrior for the corrupt and ruthless New Orleans Democratic machine, Macheca was also the patron of the fledgling American Mafia in southern Louisiana. His underworld connections brought him into conflict with Hennessy and ultimately cost him his life. Macheca and ten other men implicated in Hennessy's assassination were killed while held within Orleans Parish Prison. The incident is remembered as the largest lynching in American history. However, the authors argue that Macheca's life was ended not through the spontaneous rage of a lynch mob but through a calculated act of betrayal by Macheca's former friends and allies. As Macheca's life story unfolds, Deep Water examines the many momentous events of his time and place, including Civil War, federal occupation, Reconstruction, violent political and racial division. The authors illustrate the deliberate influence of the Democratic "Ring" on the growth of the Mafia criminal society, and they underline the inextricability of organized politics and organized crime in the period. Comments on the book's First Edition: "Deep Water is a worthy addition to the organized crime canon and the greater body of books on Civil War-era America." - Scott M. Deitche, author and Blogcritics reviewer. "Deep Water is a memorable reading experience... This book will force a reassessment of a famous event in the history of American organized crime." - Dr. Peter Dale Scott, author. SILVER MEDAL winner, regional nonfiction category, 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards.
