Andrea Giovino breaks the Mafia's code of silence and describes the life of a woman born and bred into the Family, and her inspirational escape. Her defiant struggle to break free of her family's criminal legacy is by turns horrifying and heartbreaking. As a child in Brooklyn, Giovino watched her brother become a hit man and helped her mother host card games for local mafiosos. As a sexy, street-smart woman, she earned a seat at nightclub tables next to John Gotti, and took an emotional and bloody ride through organized crime that no HBO series could match. At home, she fought to keep her children safe—keeping the guns out of reach, washing bloodstains out of her husband's clothes—and maintain the household's front as a model of American domesticity. Murders, a DEA setup, and FBI wiretaps finally brought Giovino to the brink of prison. Defiantly, she chose to retain her identity, facing down threats against her life and courageously separating herself and her children from the world of organized crime.
The author describes growing up in a family that was part of the Mafia, discussing her relationship with John Gotti and other members of the underworld and her eventual escape to build a new life far from the world of organized crime.
The world called him a killer. She called him Dad . . . “A riveting look at life inside a Mafia family.” —George Anastasia, New York Times–bestselling author. “We were always worried. Always looking over our shoulders . . .” Linda Scarpa had the best toys, the nicest clothes, and a close-knit family. Yet classmates avoided her; boys wouldn’t date her. Eventually she learned why: they were afraid of her father. A made man in the Colombo crime family, Gregory Scarpa, Sr. was a stone-cold killer nicknamed the “Grim Reaper.” But to Linda, he was also a loving, devoted father who played video games with her for hours. In riveting detail, she reveals what it was like to grow up in the violent world of the mob and to come to grips with the truth about her father and the devastation he wrought. “An amazing story of jealously, duplicity, hatred and betrayal.” —Sal Polisi, author of The Sinatra Club “Touching, shocking, revealing—Linda Scarpa’s memoir is more than a mob book; it’s a family book.” —John Alite, subject of Gotti’s Rules “An edge-of-your-seat page turner—jaw-dropping, raw, and real.” —Andrea Giovino, author of Divorced from the Mob INCLUDES SIXTEEN PAGES OF DRAMATIC PHOTOS [color photo inserts for ebook editions]
Behind every good man is a good woman. But what lies behind every bad man? Gangsters' Wives tells the side of the story you didn't know--what it's like to live with Britain's most lawless men, from the women who married them. Devoted mum-of-three Judy Marks was imprisoned alongside her husband, notorious drug smuggler Howard Marks; while Flanagan, the first ever Page Three girl, found herself splashed across the papers as the fiancee of legendary East End villain Reggie Kray. Jenny Pinto, wife of gangster Dave Courtney, has given the police keys to their house to stop them breaking down the front door. In ten funny, moving, searingly honest first-person accounts, Gangsters' Wives tells you all you ever wanted to know about the lives and loves of the women who are, quite literally, married to the mob.
The signs and signals of criminal communication How do criminals communicate with each other? Unlike the rest of us, people planning crimes can't freely advertise their goods and services, nor can they rely on formal institutions to settle disputes and certify quality. They face uniquely intense dilemmas as they grapple with the basic problems of whom to trust, how to make themselves trusted, and how to handle information without being detected by rivals or police. In this book, one of the world's leading scholars of the mafia ranges from ancient Rome to the gangs of modern Japan, from the prisons of Western countries to terrorist and pedophile rings, to explain how despite these constraints, many criminals successfully stay in business. Diego Gambetta shows that as villains balance the lure of criminal reward against the fear of dire punishment, they are inspired to unexpected feats of subtlety and ingenuity in communication. He uncovers the logic of the often bizarre ways in which inveterate and occasional criminals solve their dilemmas, such as why the tattoos and scars etched on a criminal's body function as lines on a professional résumé, why inmates resort to violence to establish their position in the prison pecking order, and why mobsters are partial to nicknames and imitate the behavior they see in mafia movies. Even deliberate self-harm and the disclosure of their crimes are strategically employed by criminals to convey important messages. By deciphering how criminals signal to each other in a lawless universe, this gruesomely entertaining and incisive book provides a quantum leap in our ability to make sense of their actions.
Divorce is hard, but it doesn’t have to be so painful. Collaborative Divorce offers a different, more peaceful path to ending a marriage; this book shows you how to do it. Divorce is like a death in the family, except no one is bringing you food. This book is a myth buster, and an antidote to the negative messaging about divorce. It offers hope and encouragement for the reader to choose a divorce process that aligns with their own core values. Values such as dignity, mutual respect, integrity, and compassion. It offers the reader an introduction to Collaborative Divorce, both the mindset and the process, as it has been established and practiced for the past thirty years. Collaborative divorce is an interdisciplinary, non-adversarial divorce model. It is like mediation on steroids. Divorce is a complex process. It involves legal, psychological, and financial considerations. Collaborative divorce uses an interdisciplinary approach, and it is not dominated by the lawyers and is more cost efficient. A skillful mental health coach addresses emotional issues such as anger, sadness, rage, betrayal, guilt, shame, excitement, relief, and acceptance for everyone in the family. The financial neutral will collect, organize, analyze, and present the financial resources of the couple in a way to ensure an equal understanding of what can often feel like overwhelming amount of data. The lawyers provide legal advice. The core focus of the book is to reframe divorce from a shame and blame game to a paradigm where divorce is viewed through the lens of grief. It offers each reader an opportunity to show up for their divorce and present their best selves, even if they don’t feel like it. It emphasizes honor and respect for everyone involved. This book is an open and honest portrayal of divorce from the perspective of a veteran divorce attorney, who has also been divorced. We live in a time of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. A divorce is just like that, and the antidote to those conditions include concepts like collaboration, deep listening, innovation, flexibility, and an ability to pivot. Collaborative divorce is the best kept secret of family lawyers. It is an opportunity to emerge from a divorce, healthy and wholehearted, not bitter, and resentful. Learn how to do it here.
The "post-classic" era of American gangster films began in 1967 with the release of Bonnie and Clyde, achieving a milestone five years later with the popular and highly influential The Godfather. This historical study explores the structure, myths and intertextual narratives found in the gangster films produced since The Godfather. The intense relationship between masculinity and ethnicity in the gangster film, especially within the movie-generated mythology of the Mafia, is carefully analyzed, and the book tracks the trends in the genre up to and including the landmark HBO television series The Sopranos (1999-2007). A selected filmography is included. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Growing up in Chicagos South Side was not easy for author Aetius D. Harris, who went by Columbus George, or Colo, in the story, Poke Dog in his youth. Born in 1968, he chronicles his struggles to fit in among his peers and stay on a righteous path. In his memoir, Harris details tales of his childhood and his experiences with the criminal life. He also recalls the spiritual fight that ensued for his soul. He is focusing on a period in his life from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In that time, his god-fearing mother did her best with raising him. That being; he still found himself drawn toward the Black Disciples organizations love, structure & protection, in that order! This autobiography explores his progression from child to young adult. A journey driven by a will to survive, succeed and achieve goals. His obstacles are his skin color and his intellect. He uses his wits to maneuver the South side of Chicagos wickedness!
A female Goodfellas—the true story of A supermodel turned getaway driver for the mob. All-American beauty Georgia Durante was one of the most photographed models in the country when she married mobster Joe Lamendola. It plunged her into a world she never dreamed of—and one she feared she’d never survive—as a getaway driver for the Mafia and an eyewitness to unspeakable violence, brutality, and murder, as she came to understand the terrifying risk of being married to the Mob.
From its earliest days, the Mafia has sought to make a fast buck from the American film industry. Stories of intimidation, threats and violence mingle with those of glamour and excess. In this stunning story of infamy and ballsy enterprise, Tim Adler tells the secret history of Al Capone, Sam Giancana and John Gotti's attempts to infiltrate the studio lots. However, although they have controlled the moguls and the money, the Mob learned how to be cool from classic films like The Godfather and characters like Tony Soprano, leaving them forever intertwined in both fact and fiction.
