A vain man of good looks but no family ties to the Mob, Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano worked his way up to acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, becoming its leader when official boss Joseph Massino went to prison in 2003. When the Mafia was crawling with secret operatives and informants caving to government pressure to flip, Basciano steadfastly obeyed the code of La Cosa Nostra. “I got faith in one guy,” he said during a secretly taped meeting. That man was Massino, head of the Bonanno borgata. But for all his loyalty, Basciano was still a hot-headed, cold-blooded killer, which ultimately led to his arrest and downfall. Then in a remarkable betrayal that rocked the Five Families to their foundations, Massino secretly cooperated with the FBI—the first head bossever to roll over. As a result, Basciano faced the death penalty, but a federal jury, disturbed by the prosecution’s use of deadly criminal informants, reached a surprising verdict. Here from veteran crime author Anthony M. DeStefano comes the riveting story of the last true believer in the Mob’s cult of brotherhood and his betrayal at the hands of the only man he ever trusted.

One a Sicilian Hell's Kitchen gang leader, the other a sickly but brilliant Orthodox Jewish boy who lives next door, Vinny Vesta and Sidney Butcher meet on a fire escape during the blistering New York City summer of 1950. Their friendship develops over the course of a summer that will change Vinny's fortunes forever, at a cost he could never have imagined. Based on a true story, Mafia Summer brilliantly captures a pivotal moment in Mafia history and in the lives of the teenagers caught up by the Mob. "Influenced more by Billy Bathgate than by The Godfather...Sweet, affectionate, and bloody: a glance backward to a well-spent youth."-Kirkus Reviews "E. Duke Vincent hits the target dead center with this first novel set on the bloody streets of Hell's Kitchen. A mini-epic, complete with a full-scale crime war, Mafia Summer remains a detailed tale of friendship and of the best kind of loyalty. A masterful performance."-Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers and Paradise City "One of the best books on the mafia I have ever read. Right up there with The Godfather."-New York Times bestselling author Jack Higgins

Newly edited and revamped edition of this True Crime Story: What does a real-life Mafia enforcer actually do on a day-to-day basis? Born in the Life illustrates Gene Borrello's profound treachery in the Bonanno crime family and the penalties he was forced to live with. Gene Borrello's story is not something that everyone has already heard or read about or has seen on various documentaries and dramatic cable shows on the history of the Mafia. Borrello's story is current day, not something from the days of Bugsy Siegel, Albert Anastasia, and Mayer Lansky or a Mario Puzzo compilation of the old days. The Borrello saga is about a thirty-six-year-old mob enforcer who was born into the life with the true nitty gritty, unglamorous street life that led to his being locked up for a third of his life until he finally said... enough.

A Crazed Killer He dissolved the bodies of some of his victims in acid and poured them down the sewer. He hung grisly souvenirs on nails in his junkyard. La Costra Nostra Charles Carneglia was a stone-cold killer who fell in with the bloodthirsty John Gotti crew. As the infamous crime family rose to power with their murderous trail of sex, jealousy, greed, and revenge, Carneglia rose with them. Mafia, Madness And Murder This is the horrifying story of a misfit who fit perfectly into the New York mafia. In a harrowing journey inside a ruthless criminal underworld, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano chronicles one man's life in a world of depraved acts of violence and the horrors that went with being a member of the Gambino family. "Thrilling American crime writing." -Jimmy Breslin on King of the Godfathers Includes 16 Pages of Shocking Photos

It was at this time that reputed mobster Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano walked into my life. Vincent swaggered into EJ's with the subtle grace of a man without a care in the world. He was wearing spotless white sneakers, a light blue tailored running suit, a diamond and gold encrusted watch, and designer glasses. His full head of hair was perfectly cropped. On his arm was a most gorgeous brunette, also elegantly dressed with a body only the gods could partake of. This particular Sunday was even busier than normal at EJ's and the wait was going on forty-five minutes for seating. I noticed Vincent from the moment he slipped a fifty-dollar bill into the manager's hand. The "commoners" would wait, but Vincent wouldn't. I knew where he would be seated as a table was opening in my section on the porch. Strangely, I felt some sort of a connection to Vincent from the moment I saw him. I whisked away the busboy and set the table myself, giving particular care to every detail. I wanted to subtly demonstrate my respect for this man who carried with him such an aura of power. www.nicejewishfelon.com

Get a taste of New York’s underworld by seeing where mobsters lived, worked, ate, played, and died. From the Bowery Boys and the Five Points Gang through the rise of the Jewish “Kosher Nostra” and the ascendance of the Italian Mafia, mobsters have played a major role in the city’s history, lurking just around the corner or inside that nondescript building. Bill “the Butcher” Poole, Paul Kelly, Monk Eastman, “Lucky” Luciano, Carlo Gambino, Meyer Lansky, Mickey Spillane, John Gotti—each held sway over New York neighborhoods that nurtured them and gave them power. As families and factions fought for control, the city became a backdrop for crime scenes, the rackets spreading after World War II to docks, airports, food markets, and garment districts. The streets of Brooklyn, swamps of Staten Island, and vacant lots near LaGuardia Airport hosted assassinations and hasty burials for the unlucky. The bloodlettings, arrests, and trials became front-page fodder for tabloids that thrived on covering Mulberry Street. Chinese, Russian, and Greek mobsters rose to prominence and wrought bloody havoc as well. Each of the book’s five sections—one for each borough—traces criminal activities and area exploits from the nineteenth century to now. Everyone knows about Umberto’s Clam House in Little Italy, but now you can find Scarpato’s restaurant in Coney Island where Joe Masseria was killed by henchmen of Salvatore Maranzano, who in turn died in a Park Avenue office building at the hands of “Lucky” Luciano a few months later. From the Bronx to Brighton Beach, from New Springville to Ozone Park, here is a comprehensive, on-the-ground guide to mob life in the Rotten Apple.

This story is going to tell how and why destiny had a man with no literary talent or writing skills, along with a very limited vocabulary, become an author of five best-selling books. This book will be the culmination of all the books the author has written. According to the FBI and New York Organized Crime Task Force, he is a high-profile member of the Mafia. Never before has this man talked or written about the Mafia. In each of his five books, he is evasive when it comes to the Mafia allegations brought upon him by law enforcement. During the writing of this book, he became inspired to be completely truthful about his involvement in the Mafia. He says that he will do this without being a snitch, which he refers to as a rat. During his admission, he only speaks of people who are deceased or people who have become rats. The author is going to show how one man becoming too powerful within our political structure would be able to jeopardize the democracy of the greatest nation on the face of the earth. This fascinating man's story is thrown off the rails when his insight tells him that our nation is under siege. He goes on to tell how and why our nation has been recently threatened to have its democracy overthrown. Could it be possible that one sick, deranged man with too much power could jeopardize the future of our great nation? The book offers some humor and many messages, but most of all, it shows that with an unbreakable determination in one's belief, your destiny will be fulfilled. This story has one incredible, unexplainable event that takes place, which will keep you on your toes throughout. You will read about this phenomenal occurrence in depth when the story from "Beyond the Beyond" is told. So strap on your seat belts because you are about to take an incredible journey of an old man's quest to bring forth the message from "Beyond the Beyond" and fulfill his destiny.

The epic inside story of Joseph Massino, the mob boss of New York's Bonanno crime family for more than 20 years, who was betrayed by his closest friend, underboss and brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale. Based on interviews with Massino's family and friends, as well as law enforcement officials and confidential sources, The Last Godfather reveals the truth behind incidents made legend in gangster films like Donnie Brasco and The Godfather.

A KILLER LINE-UP In his bloody reign as the head of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti wracked up a lifetime of charges from gambling, extortion, and tax evasion to racketeering, conspiracy, and five convictions of murder. He didn’t do it alone. Surrounding himself with a rogues gallery of contract killers, fixers, and enforcers, he built one of the richest, most powerful and violent crime empires in modern history. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano takes you inside Gotti’s inner circle to reveal the dark hearts and murderous deeds of the most remorseless and cold-blooded characters in organized crime. Men so vicious even the other Mafia families were terrified of them. Meet Gotti’s Boys . . . * Charles Carneglia * Gene Gotti * Angelo “Quack-Quack” Ruggiero * Tony “Roach” Rampino * “Sammy the Bull” Gravano * Frank DeCicco * Vincent Artuso * Joe “The German” Watts * THE ULTIMATE MURDERER’S ROW “DeStefano explores John Gotti’s rise to the head of the Gambino family . . . Aficionados are sure to relish the finer, exhaustively researched details.” —Publishers Weekly “A thrilling ride . . . DeStefano has written another excellent biography of a memorable group of gangsters and an excellent addition to the history of the Teflon Don.” —Booklist

From the author of the star reviewed Garden State Gangland comes an in-depth exposé on East Harlem's notorious Purple Gang whose murderous exploits became a media obsession and Mafia lynchpin. In the late 1970s, a string of seemingly unconnected murders had Harlem police and federal authorities at their wits’ end until they realized several commonalities. The victims were all either Mafia members or potential witnesses of Mafia activity and they’d all been shot from .22 pistols traced back to a single private sale in Florida. From these details, the FBI and police were able to build a profile of a rogue sect of Mafia hitmen known as the East Harlem Purple Gang. Starting on the fringes of Mafia families, the Purple Gang members became indispensable and installed members in the highest ranks of the Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families. Often serving as freelance hitmen, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, the Purple Gang’s exploits quickly crossed into mythology as media outlets scrambled to keep up with new murders and the law’s crusade to bring the gang members to justice. Sifting through the mystery and mythos, author Scott M. Deitche brings readers into Harlem’s gritty streets to experience the Purple Gang’s reign of terror, the investigators who tried to bring them down, and the gang members who either suffered violent ends or are still at large today.