Download or read book American Mafia The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime In Las Vegas written by Mark W. Curran and published by Nmd Books. This book was released on 2021-11-10 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research journalist Mark W. Curran tells the story of how organized crime built the town of Las Vegas into the glittering mecca it is today. Learn how the mob built the most dazzling and decadent city in the West before being dismantled by federal prosecutors hell-bent on taking them down. Through archival photos and first hand accounts from those who participated, American Mafia: Las Vegas takes you inside the story from the people who know it best. Based on the documentary 'American Mafia: The Rise and Fall of Organized Crime In Las Vegas' Interviews Featuring: Larry Henry - Broadcast Journalist/Columnist 'The Mafia Chronicles' Jeffrey Burbank - Author 'Las Vegas Babylon'/The Washington Post Gary Jenkins - Crime Investigator/Mafia Expert/Host of Gangland Wire Michael Green - Asst. Professor of History - University of Nevada, Las Vegas Dr. J. Michael Niotta, PhD. - Author/Crime Historian/Mob Authority Eric Dezenhal - Author 'The Devil Himself'/Mafia Crime Historian

Download or read book Underworld written by Roman Martín and published by WildBlue Press. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Accurately describes ‘the Life,’ and the pros and cons of becoming a mobster . . . in a very unique manner that will no doubt have you in stitches.” —Frank Cullotta, coauthor of Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness For the first time in history, there is now an easy-to-follow self-help guide on how to join and rise in the most exclusive men’s club in the world—the Italian-American Mafia (aka La Cosa Nostra). Learn everything from loansharking to leg-breaking to corpse disposal, all without leaving the comfort of your mobile home or prison cell. Based on interviews with dozens of former high-ranking Mafiosi and many other hardcore mobsters from across the globe, true-crime auteur Roman Martín has risked life and limb to bring you this spellbinding tour de force. Whether you’re a couch-surfing gangster-wannabe or simply someone who’s watched The Godfather too many times, this breathtaking exposé of “the Honored Society” offers something for everyone. Pushing the bounds of the First Amendment to their breaking point, Don Martín also reveals the FBI’s most closely guarded secrets when it comes to “wiseguys” and “goodfellas.” Wanna know the one surefire way to find out who in your crew is an undercover cop or fed? Or the best way to deal with those annoying witnesses? Then look no further, friends, for all your questions about the outlaw lifestyle shall be answered in Underworld. “I laughed so hard at times that my jaws ached!” —Dennis N. Griffin, award-winning true-crime author of The Rise and Fall of a “Casino” Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story

Download or read book Mob Mayhem Volume One written by Dennis N. Griffin and published by WildBlue Press. This book was released on 2019-12-07 with total page 1339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you liked The Godfather and Goodfellas, you’ll love these three up-close-and-personal true accounts of gangsters and organized crime. THE RISE AND FALL OF A “CASINO” MOBSTER: The Tony Spilotro Story Through a Hitman’s Eyes by Frank Cullota and Dennis Griffin Bestselling “mob expert” Dennis Griffin and former mob enforcer and Spilotro confidant, Frank Cullota, tell the story of the Las Vegas gangster whose quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas—and lost Tony his life. “Sets the record straight about Tony the man and Tony the mobster. It’s an eye-opener.”—Frank Calabrese, Junior, author of Operation Family Secrets SHOTS IN THE DARK: The Saga of Rocco Balliro by Daniel Zimmerman In 1963, Rocco Balliro and a pair of associates stormed an apartment in Boston and were immediately caught in a shootout with Boston police officers, waiting in ambush for him. It was a rescue mission that went downhill in a hurry, leaving his beloved girlfriend and her toddler son dead. “Fascinating . . . a real page-turner for Mob enthusiasts and organized crime history buffs.”—Dennis N. Griffin, bestselling author of The Rise and Fall Of A “Casino” Mobster THE GANGSTER’S COUSIN: Growing up in the Luciano Family by Salvatore Lucania Young Sal navigates the streets of Harlem, experiencing the inherent corruption of the US justice system and discovering the truth about the secret world of outlaw figures—like his cousin and namesake, Charles “Lucky” Luciano. “A wonderfully different take on the usual Mafia story . . . a sometimes exciting, sometimes poignant, and often humorous adventure.”—Thrive Global

Download or read book Casino written by Nicholas Pileggi and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-10-18 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story behind the Martin Scorsese film: A “riveting . . . account of how organized crime looted the casinos they controlled” (Kirkus Reviews). Focusing on Chicago bookie Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and his partner, Anthony Spilotro, and drawing on extensive, in-depth interviews, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Mafia classic Wiseguy—basis for the film Goodfellas—Nicholas Pileggi reveals how the pair worked together to oversee Las Vegas casino operations for the mob. He unearths how Teamster pension funds were used to take control of the Stardust and Tropicana and how Spilotro simultaneously ran a crew of jewel thieves nicknamed the “Hole in the Wall Gang.” For years, these gangsters kept a stranglehold on Sin City’s brightly lit nightspots, skimming millions in cash for their bosses. But the elaborate scheme began to crumble when Rosenthal’s disproportionate ambitions drove him to make mistakes. Spilotro made an error of his own, falling for his partner’s wife, a troubled showgirl named Geri. It would all lead to betrayal, a wide-ranging FBI investigation, multiple convictions, and the end of the Mafia’s longstanding grip on the multibillion-dollar gaming oasis in the midst of the Nevada desert. Casino is a journey into 1970s Las Vegas and a riveting nonfiction account of the world portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film of the same name, starring Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone. A story of adultery, murder, infighting, and revenge, this “fascinating true-crime Mob history” is a high-stakes page-turner (Booklist).

Download or read book American Mafia written by Thomas Reppetto and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2005-01-02 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents an account of the rise of the American Mafia from the 1880s to the 1950s, discussing the political, governmental, bureaucratic, economic, and social conditions that facilitated the success of the crime syndicate.

Download or read book Five Families written by Selwyn Raab and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 810 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Borgata written by Louis Ferrante and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-01-02 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting history of the Mafia from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America—as narrated by a former heist expert and Gambino family mobster. The mafia has long held a powerful sway over our collective cultural imagination. But how many of us truly understand how a clandestine Sicilian criminal organization came to exert its influence over nearly every level of American society? In Borgata: Rise of Empire, former mobster Louis Ferrante pulls back the curtain on the criminal organization that transformed America. From the potent political cauldron of nineteenth-century Sicily to New Orleans, New York and the gangster paradise of Las Vegas, Ferrante traces the social, economic, and political forces that powered the mafia’s unstoppable rise. Ferrante’s vivid portrayal of early American mobsters—Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky—fills in crucial gaps of the mafia narrative to deliver the most comprehensive account yet of the world’s most famous criminal fraternity. Borgata: Rise of Empire—the first in a three-volume epic history—is a groundbreaking achievement from a man who has seen it all from the inside. In this masterful accomplishment, Ferrante takes the reader from the mafia’s inauspicious beginnings to the height of their power as the most influential criminal network in the country.

Download or read book Beyond the Mafia written by Alan Richard Balboni and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Balboni (history and political science, Community College of Southern Nevada) interviews some 150 successful Las Vegan Italian Americans in an attempt to wipe away the notion that every Italian American has Mob connections. He also explores their role in the post-World War II growth of the Strip area, the nature and extent of organized crime in Las Vegas, and relations with Jewish Americans in the gaming industry. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Download or read book Bringing Down the Mob written by Thomas Reppetto and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-10-31 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fascinating sequel to "American Mafia," the author follows the mob from its peak into a shadowy period of decline as the government, no longer able to deny its existence, made subduing the Mafia a matter of national priority.

Download or read book Beyond The Mafia written by Alan Balboni and published by University of Nevada Press. This book was released on 2006-09-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Beyond the Mafia first appeared in 1996 it was hailed as a significant contribution to the history of Las Vegas and of ethnic minorities in America. Author Alan Balboni traces the history of Italians in Las Vegas from the founding of the city in 1905, recording their activities in the fledgling settlement. As Las Vegas grew, Italian Americans participated in every aspect of the city’s society and economy, including construction, retail establishments, hotels, and—after the statewide legalization of gambling in 1931—the casino industry. Basing his research on well over a hundred interviews, as well as the records of Italian American organizations, public agencies, and other sources, Balboni has produced a sparkling and thoroughly documented account of the history of one of Las Vegas’s most progressive and productive ethnic minorities. This new paperback edition includes an afterword by the author that brings the story of Las Vegas’s Italian Americans up to the present.

Download or read book Mafia Dynasty written by John H. Davis and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Among the thousands of Italian immigrants to arrive in New York City in the 1920s were the young Carlo Gambino and John Joseph Gotti. One was a rising star in the Sicilian "Honored Society," the other was a poor laborer." "While John Joseph Gotti and thousands of poveracci like him plugged away at backbreaking, deadend jobs, slick Sicilian hotshots plunged into the illegal liquor business, setting up stills, warehouses, distribution lines, and trucking companies. They recruited battalions of bootleggers and opened up hundreds of speakeasies all over New York." "It was this frenzied competition, writes Davis, that established the foundations for the five Mafia families that to this day run the New York underworld. And the richest and biggest of them all is the Gambino crime family." "Davis depicts the deals that went into the creation of this vast enterprise, a mysterious world of blood oaths, shifting alliances, long-lasting feuds, and larger-than-life - or death - personalities: Salvatore Maranzano, the mafioso from the old school who read Caesar in the original Latin; Lucky Luciano, the ruthless young tough who reorganized the underworld in 1931 and gave it the structure it has had for the past sixty years; Albert Anastasia, the "Lord High Executioner," who, with Luciano, ran Murder Incorporated with a cadre of killers on retainer; Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, whose specialty was murder by ice pick; Frank Costello, the "Prime Minister of the Underworld."" "Mafia Dynasty shows the young John Gotti, raised in poverty, coming to admire the well-dressed, flashy gangsters in his East New York neighborhood, particularly the mighty Albert Anastasia, who was at the height of his power in 1956 when sixteen-year-old Gotti left school." "But while Anastasia swaggered through the streets, Carlo Gambino stealthily built an empire of crime and cemented his control of it by Anastasia's barbershop execution. Davis depicts the remarkable reign of "Don Carlo," during which Gambino tentacles reached into many legitimate businesses even as the Gambino family solidified its control over other mob families. Upon the death of Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano's disputed succession divided the family into two camps, sowing the seeds for Gotti's rise and Castellano's dramatic sidewalk murder." "As the quieter branch of the family, led by Carlo's son, Thomas Gambino, raked in garment district trucking profits, media-conscious Gotti antagonized law enforcement officials with his courtroom success, as well as high-profile activities, such as his annual illegal fireworks display that made him a neighborhood hero. Davis shows Gotti's defiance goading government prosecutors, who finally "turned" Gotti's top lieutenant, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and convicted the "Teflon Don" in a thrilling 1992 trial. Davis covers this trial in detail and analyzes the ramifications of Gotti's life sentence for the Gambino family's future." "From the Gambinos' dramatic Prohibition-era beginnings to their slow strangulation by law enforcement in the nineties, Mafia Dynasty portrays sixty years of history that, until now, only lurked behind yellowed newspaper headlines. Combining street smarts with impeccable research, John H. Davis, who knew Lucky Luciano in Italy, has filled his canvas with unforgettable personalities and unspeakable crimes. Mafia Dynasty is not only an essential source on today's mob, it is also a compulsively readable expose of the Gambinos' unique and ruthless way of life."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Download or read book The Battle for Las Vegas written by Dennis N. Griffin and published by Huntington Press Inc. This book was released on 2006-04-25 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the 1970s through the mid-1980s, the Chicago Outfit dominated organized crime in Las Vegas. To ensure the smooth flow of cash, the gangsters installed a front man with no criminal background, Allen R. Glick, as the casino owner of record, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal as the real boss of casino operations, and Tony Spilotro as the ultimate enforcer, who’d do whatever it took to protect their interests. It wasn’t long before Spilotro, also in charge of Vegas street crime, was known as the “King of the Strip.” Federal and local law enforcement, recognizing the need to rid the casinos of the mob and shut down Spilotro’s rackets, declared war on organized crime. The Battle for Las Vegas relates the story of the fight between the tough guys on both sides, told in large part by the agents and detectives who knew they had to win.

Download or read book The Rise and Fall of a Casino Mobster written by Dennis Griffin and published by Wildblue Press. This book was released on 2017-04-19 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chicago organized crime family known as the 'Outfit' dates back to the reign of the infamous Al Capone and prohibition. As the years passed and prohibition was repealed, Outfit bosses had to adapt and seek new ways to make money illegally. One of those was the expanding gambling and entertainment oasis in the desert: Las Vegas. A lot of cash passed through the Vegas casinos and the mobsters devised a way to get some of it, using a process that came to be known as 'the skim.' To protect their interests, the Outfit sent an enforcer to Sin City in 1971 He was to make sure their casino operations ran smoothly and deal with interlopers, employees who were skimming the skim and other troublemakers, by any means necessary. His name was Tony Spilotro. To help him run his empire Tony imported several heavies from Chicago. Among them was his childhood friend Frank Cullotta, who would function as Tony's street lieutenant. His assignment was to assemble a crew of thieves, arsonists and killers to provide muscle for Tony as necessary, and carry out lucrative burglaries that Tony brought to their attention. Frank and his crew were dubbed by the news media as the Hole in the Wall Gang. The Spilotro era in Vegas was dramatized in the 1995 blockbuster movie Casino, in which Joe Pesci played a character based on Spilotro. Character actor Frank Vincent played 'Frankie' based on Frank Cullotta. The real Frank Cullotta was a technical consultant to the film and appeared in several scenes as a hit man. As screenwriter Nick Pileggi said, 'Without Frank Cullotta there would have been no Casino.' In 'The Rise and Fall' of Tony Spilotro, Frank tells the true story of Tony Spilotro, his rise up the ladder to become an Outfit boss, his subsequent fall from power and murder at the hands of the Outfit. Frank also talks about the many murders Tony committed, ordered or planned. In several instances Frank names the killers in cases that are officially unsolved. It's a story that only Frank Cullotta could tell.

Download or read book Prohibition Gangsters written by Marc Mappen and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master story teller Marc Mappen applies a generational perspective to the gangsters of the Prohibition era—men born in the quarter century span from 1880 to 1905—who came to power with the Eighteenth Amendment. On January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect in the United States, “outlawing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” A group of young criminals from immigrant backgrounds in cities around the nation stepped forward to disobey the law of the land in order to provide alcohol to thirsty Americans. Today the names of these young men—Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz, Legs Diamond, Nucky Johnson—are more familiar than ever, thanks in part to such cable programs as Boardwalk Empire. Here, Mappen strips way the many myths and legends from television and movies to describe the lives these gangsters lived and the battles they fought. Placing their criminal activities within the context of the issues facing the nation, from the Great Depression, government crackdowns, and politics to sexual morality, immigration, and ethnicity, he also recounts what befell this villainous group as the decades unwound. Making use of FBI and other government files, trial transcripts, and the latest scholarship, the book provides a lively narrative of shootouts, car chases, courtroom clashes, wire tapping, and rub-outs in the roaring 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, and beyond. Mappen asserts that Prohibition changed organized crime in America. Although their activities were mercenary and violent, and they often sought to kill one another, the Prohibition generation built partnerships, assigned territories, and negotiated treaties, however short lived. They were able to transform the loosely associated gangs of the pre-Prohibition era into sophisticated, complex syndicates. In doing so, they inspired an enduring icon—the gangster—in American popular culture and demonstrated the nation’s ideals of innovation and initiative. View a three minute video of Marc Mappen speaking about Prohibition Gangsters.

Download or read book The Rise of the Mafia written by Martin Short and published by Kings Road Publishing. This book was released on 2009-07-31 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Murder, violence and corruption are words synonymous with organised crime. Its long and bloody history influences all our lives whether we know it or not. But what lies behind these shadowy organisations? Where did they come from and how did their influence become so widespread? In this extraordinary book, leading crime investigator Martin Short reveals the shocking truth of how the Mafia and other criminal organisations maintain their strength through public demand, as well as extortion and murder. The Rise of the Mafia traces the roots of modern organised crime. Martin Short has met hundreds of people with first-hand knowledge and has interviewed some of the most powerful mob masters and informers in the business as well as speaking with key police and FBI officers.

Download or read book Benjamin Bugsy Siegel written by Larry D. Gragg and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-01-16 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This intriguing biography recounts the life of the legendary Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, revealing his true role in the development of Las Vegas and debunking some of the common myths about his notoriety. This account of the life of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel follows his beginnings in the Lower East Side of New York to his role in the development of the famous Flamingo Hotel and Casino. Larry D. Gragg examines Siegel's image as portrayed in popular culture, dispels the myths about Siegel's contribution to the founding of Las Vegas, and reveals some of the more lurid details about his life. Unlike previous biographies, this book is the first to make use of more than 2,400 pages of FBI files on Siegel, referencing documents about the reputed gangster in the New York City Municipal Archives and reviewing the 1950–51 testimony before the Senate Committee on organized crime. Chapters cover his early involvement with gangs in New York, his emergence as a favorite among the Hollywood elite in the late 1930s, his lucrative exploits in illegal gambling and horse racing, and his opening of the "fabulous" Flamingo in 1946. The author also draws upon the recollections of Siegel's eldest daughter to reveal a side of the mobster never before studied—the nature of his family life.

Download or read book Bugsy s Shadow written by Larry D. Gragg and published by University of New Mexico Press. This book was released on 2023-10 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early in the Prohibition era, Moe Sedway became part of the New York organized crime gang led by Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. A loyal and highly effective operative for Siegel, Sedway eventually gained monopoly control of the race wire service in Las Vegas and also became an effective casino manager of the Las Vegas Club, El Cortez, and the Rex Club. A breach in their relationship led to rumors that Sedway had gained Lansky's approval for a "hit" on Siegel. The unsolved mystery of who murdered Bugsy in 1947 has spawned numerous theories about the identity of the hitman, but regardless of who pulled the trigger, Bugsy's death opened the way for Moe to flourish as his own man at last. Long overshadowed by Bugsy in the annals of organized crime in America, Moe Sedway is now at last brought out into the light in this riveting tale of the sensational life and times of one of Vegas's most mysterious and little-known figures.