The definitive book on the ultimate mob boss—featuring new FBI revelations, rare family photos, and never-before-published material. To authorities, Frank Costello was “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” and “one of the most powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S.” To friends and associates, he was simply “Uncle Frank.” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano sets out to answer who Frank Costello really was in this definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime . . . Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up. These are the riveting stories and stunning revelations that have inspired American crime classics like The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation’s history. The man who refused to admit his crimes long after he retired. This is Top Hoodlum. Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano and his books on the Mafia “Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin on King of the Godfatherss “Terrific . . . A fitting end to the murderous story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy on The Big Heist “The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, creator of the website GangLandNews “DeStefano tells Costello’s story well.” —Kirkus Reviews “A master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia.” —Publishers Weekly

For fans of Percy Jackson comes a high-adventure retelling of the classic Robin Hood tale featuring a diverse cast of characters and a kick-butt heroine . . . Robyn Hoodlum.

Joseph Valachi was a special figure in the history of American crime. Noteworthy as a rare primary source into Mafia events of the Castellammarese War-era (1930-1931), Valachi's documented memories also provide a window into the early gangland of East Harlem, Manhattan and the Bronx. Through his recollections, historians gain a unique soldier-level view of New York-area organized crime families between Prohibition and the Mafia convention at Apalachin, New York. As an early Mafia turncoat and a celebrated informant for J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, Valachi became the focus of a best-selling book, a popular motion picture, many hours of televised Senate testimony and a detailed but never published autobiography (The Real Thing) of more than a thousand pages. Despite all that attention, a great deal of the true Valachi story has remained untold for decades. And some of the information provided by Valachi and repeated through many years has been inaccurate. Much of his life and many of his associates have been largely ignored by crime historians. Neglected subjects have included the impact of Valachi on the FBI, the government stresses related to the Kennedy Justice Department's desire to publicize the Valachi story and the painful birthing of The Valachi Papers in book and movie forms. Now, sixty years after Valachi put pen to paper to compose his memoirs, a team of historians has assembled a collection of carefully researched articles in an effort to correct Valachi's flawed recollections, to reveal long hidden aspects of his life and to identify and flesh out the individuals who influenced him. This Informer issue features standalone articles on various phases of Valachi's existence in and out of the Mafia society he called "cosa nostra." It includes dozens of separate biographies of Valachi contacts on both sides of the law, and background information on his time and place. The issue is illustrated with photos, documents and maps. In addition to this EPUB ebook format, the issue is available in Kindle ebook, hardcover, paperback, magazine and emagazine formats. Contributors to the issue: Thomas Hunt (U.S.), Steve Turner (U.K.), Fabien Rossat (France), Jon Black (U.K.), Thibaut Maïquès (France), J. Michael Niotta PhD (U.S.), Thom L. Jones (New Zealand), Patrick Downey (U.S.), Ellen Poulsen (U.S.), Justin Cascio (U.S.), Scott Deitche (U.S.).

"Johnny Washington, a black teenager in Los Angeles, knows the freight yards like the back of his hand. He and his pals, Josh and Buddy, hit them often, stealing for a fence. They have to. They're the sole support of their families. But when Josh is killed by a security guard, they are forced to look for other work. They find it with the underworld kings in Elliot Davis." -- Back cover.

Much has been written about U.S. intelligence operations. However, intelligence, as it is conducted in the U.S. domestic environment, has usually been treated in a fractured and sensationalistic manner. This book dispassionately assesses the U.S. domestically oriented intelligence enterprise by first examining its individual components and then sho

Top-notch street lit...one of the top urban fiction novels of the year." - Library Journal All he ever wanted to be was a Good Son ... Shai Clark was an all-American basketball player with aspirations of one day making it to the NBA, but that all changed when his father was viciously murdered and he found himself thrust into the role of the new head of his family's criminal enterprise. After waging a war on the streets of New York that lasts nearly three years, it seems like peace is finally being restored to the land and Shai can get back to focusing on continuing his father's mission to legitimize the Clark family— but little does he know it was only the calm before the storm. Not everyone respects his claim to the Clark empire, and when new and old enemies start to come out of the woodwork, Shai will find that inheriting the throne was one thing, but holding onto it will prove to be a far more difficult task.