Alite is sort of wrong (obviously just bolstering his opinion) that Gotti Sr "brought down" the entire mob. No, he really didn't but he is right about how Gotti JR isn't being labeled a rat by the newspaper headlines even though he should be accused as a rat like everyone else that has been a CI or testified. Perhaps Junior has some inside connection to some newspaper media?

I agree 100%. The notion that gotti brought down the mafia by being high profile is a myth. You mean to tell me had gotti been low key, the fbi wouldnt be just as vigilant? I think not. He may have had a few more hours on the street . Its ridiculous. Tell that to chin Gigante or Tony ducks. They were as low key as you get.
Can Alite blame himself for all his indiscretions and not mention the name Gotti for two fuckin minutes?

The Alite book was staring at me at the library and despite the warnings here... I took it out and read it.

What a piece of fucking shit! George Anastasia should be ashamed to have put his on that-- lazy lazy lazy and poorly written also.

Did he even go to Woodhaven once, let alone try to half-confirm Alite's abundant line of bullshit?

Undoubtedly Alite has some stories to tell and I was especially interested to hear the Queens and Brooklyn ones but this book is 90% trash.

Compare to the Al D'Arco book which-- whatever one's opinion of Al-- at least the co-authors set his story in reasonable context of place/time.

re: myth of Gotti Sr. 'bringing down,' etc, I totally agree.

Gotti only accelerated the inevitable. If it wasn't him, it would have been the next flamboyant guy who grabbed the top spot in his family. And there were A LOT of flashy mob guys back then, it wasn't just Gotti.

Even the Westside had their share. If you think they didn't, then you never saw Rudy Santobello or Joe Dente stroll Arthur Avenue during the summer. They're both dead, rest in peace, so I don't mind saying it. But they walked the neighborhood like they fucking owned it. And they did. Rudy in his loud pastels and Joe in his quadruple xl camp shirts. But most of you haven't, so you can't be held accountable for believing everything that you read or see in a Youtube video.

As far as Alite and Junior. They're both thugs, and now they're both rats. Those 302s are real. If you didn't grow up around it, and you're unfamiliar with the Gottis and the New York mob of the '80s, and you feel that you have to read those books, keep in mind that the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. And that's when two honest people are doing the recollecting .

Could't have said it better. I bought Alite's book on hardcover, would have got Gotti's too but it's only on ebook format.
From what I've heard up till now both books have exaggerations and contain discrepancies.
You can't really side with one or the other all the way. At first I liked Gotti Jr, all based on his 60 mins interview, he gave me a genuine and halfway intelligent sorta vibe, but now after reading some of Alite's book's pages and his version, I believe he paints a more realistic picture of Jr.. but yeah, the truth is obviously somewhere in the middle, but not all of the truth. I bet there's a lot of stuff both of them have kept hidden.

well said...

we need a third party who knew them both if we want a clear depiction of what they were both like.. no doubt alite was close to jr on one side of the fence..when you take picture after picture half naked you know a lot about someone. they both now hate each other probably because they are very much alike..

Thanks, brother. You know I do some of my best thinking down here. And you're one of the few guys who understands what I meant about Rudy and Joe D. What a pair .

Speaking of which, I hear it was close to sixty in New York yesterday? I was back for a week and it was close to single digits every day. Crazy weather .

how is your father doing?

Hanging tough. Thanks. I'll open my pm and message you later on or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I just asked for you in the Kentucky Derby thread at RD. Trying to shake the rust off that memory of yours with some memories of the old spots on Boston Road.

It's the last post up right now.

It would have been perfect to have somebody else who knows both of them. We know Jr still has friends inside the family, but we also know that Alite pretty much hangs around NYC wherever he wants to and says he's not afraid of any retribution since even after ratting he claims guys still respect him, especially guys who know Junior for who he is. That might be true but I wonder what the Carneglia's friends and family think of him.
Been looking at Ed Scarpo's website and he seems to be obsessed with the Alite/Junior feud, with Alite especially. Apparently they've met and had interviews and Alite WANTED him to post publicly where he hung around, because he wasn't scared of nobody. Who knows how true it is, but whatever.

Yeah PB, I sent you a message a few days ago but you didn't get back so I hope all's well with your pop.