The book offers a gripping exploration of the modern American mob, detailing its violent ascent and eventual decline. Through insider accounts and shocking revelations, the author, a highly regarded crime reporter, provides a compelling narrative that uncovers the inner workings and dynamics of organized crime in America. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships and events that shaped the mob's influence over time.
The Philadelphia Mafia is depicted as a deeply dysfunctional family, marked by betrayals and violent rivalries. In 1993, a fierce conflict erupted between traditional mobsters and the ambitious Joey Merlino, leading to unprecedented brutality. This power struggle was uniquely documented, as the FBI captured the unfolding drama on tape, revealing the inner workings and treachery of mob life in a way never seen before.
The narrative centers on Ron Previte, a former New Jersey mobster who transitioned from a corrupt cop to a deadly informant for the FBI. Over 35 years, he navigated the brutal underworld of the Philadelphia Mob, engaging in various crimes. As he faced a new generation of reckless mobsters, Previte became disillusioned with the changing culture of organized crime. His collaboration with the FBI led to significant convictions, capturing the violent realities and personal betrayals within the mob, all while he recorded their activities covertly.
The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don," John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways. John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell. An Albanian-American from Queens, Alite was an unlikely ally to the Italian mob, but with his street smarts he was eventually recruited to be Junior Gotti's muscle. Although he reaped the benefits of working under the powerful mob figure, Alite discovered firsthand that the legendary American Mafia-- an organization that claimed to be built on honor and loyalty-- was nothing more than a façade for hypocritical, manipulative, and greedy criminals. Following a harrowing sentence in a Brazilian prison, Alite was extradited to the United States in 2006 and agreed to help the Feds put the crime family behind bars. In this book, veteran true-crime writer and prize-winning reporter George Anastasia gains unprecedented access to the Gotti family's stories and secrets, demystifying the larger-than-life legend.-- From publisher description
Dr. James Kauffman and his wife, April, were the perfect a respected endocrinologist and a beautiful radio host. But under the surface lurked a world of drugs, sex, and biker gangs. A world Dr. Kauffman would kill to keep secret.In May 2012, April Kauffman, a well-known local radio personality and staunch advocate of military veterans rights, was found shot to death in the bedroom of the home she shared with her husband, Dr. James Kauffman.Six years later, in the fall of 2018, Freddy Augello, a leader of the notorious motorcycle gang the Pagans, went on trial for drug dealing and murder. He was charged with arranging the death of April Kauffman in exchange for $50,000 from her husband, who, in addition to practicing medicine, was one of the area’s most prolific drug traffickers. Told by two accomplished reporters and authors with exclusive insights and details provided by two principal players, this is the story about one man's descent into evil and the people he took with him. It's a story about a doctor who helped flood the streets with opioids, about a husband who hid dark secrets from his wives, and about a man so consumed with greed and arrogance that he thought he could get away with murder.