I was actually going to buy this book. After reading this, I am going to pass. This sounds like total bullshit. What a self serving jerkoff.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/read...ticle-1.3002222

I wondering what excuse he makes to why bruno didnt induct him when they opend tue books 1977. Bruno inucted a few guys that year the old man chang i think sindone. Natale didnt go to prison to 1979.

I'm sure he's got a grand self serving excuse. He thinks he is Vito Corleone but in reality he's Fredo.

he was in his 40's by that point and had gotten his hands pretty dirty for those guys too.

Exactly why he most likely he should've gotten his button then, but didn't. There has to be a reason for that. He was responsible for multiple murders which was said to be linked back to the Bruno Family, and was knee deep in the unions. Always with these families you tend to see a made guy with similar union positions that Natale had. But I guess it made no difference since he was operating on behalf of Bruno anyway. Still, I think Natale is full of shit, I sincerely doubt that he was ever Bruno's "Right hand man", or that he met and operated on behalf of Carlo Gambino as well. Which is something he also claims in the book.

Natale is terrible

He's full of shit. This book is a pile of lies and garbage.

I would buy it hoping it would talk about when he was Boss more than when he was younger or in jail

If you listen to the Scarfo congressional hearings from 1982, Natale is mentioned along with a few other names. So he wasnt insignificant.

Because he was in the unions, which is what a lot of those hearings that Scarfo were in, were about. Well not about, but a lot of the questions dealt with. Anywho, it appears Natale & Scarfo had the same "mob mentor" in Skinny Razor DiTullio, with that said, I dont know how we don't hear more about him and his younger days from a guy like Leonetti. Who could often tell you what Scarfo did from stories from his uncle. Strange we don't hear anything about Natale, from those days. No second hand information, or anything.


It can't be disputed that he was boss, and was made, as we know he was made by Merlino after coming home from prison, and not too long after that was made boss. His importance however in Bruno's era can be easily disputed and questioned.

My guess he'll say since i was in such a postion in the union bruno didnt want me to have a button cause it will look bad but at the same time that genovese capo who killed hoffa was like the biggest union official in america forgot his name.

He was out of new jersey to. Another thing i read in think blood n honor and phils book bruno didnt want to induct new members that being said i forgot were i read he made chang. Sindoe and monte or was it narducci.

Because he was a classic associate and not a big earner but had value but not enough to be made plain and simple.

And the guy never stops running his mouth , I am sure there was red flag with Bruno .

Fast forward and the picking was slim real slim and that's why he was brought into the fold.

he is a legend in his own mind ..why these guys make themselves more important than what they were is so typical..he should start by getting some teeth..

Yeah, that's the first thing I thought when I saw him on Trevor McDonald. Thought that was really strange, because in all the stories I've read about Natale he's always described as a very vain individual so why didn't he address the situation before he was interviewed? Can't imagine he's so broke that he even can't afford decent dental care.

Angelo Lutz description of Natale was pretty funny, he said he called all the guys in every week or so and then gave these long motivational speeches like he was Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday or something. He was so full of himself, that it became comical in an unintentional way.

Just reading this now.

Was clearasil not invented when Testa and Sindone were alive? It looks like they stuck their head in a deep fat fryer.

Freddy Krueger must have sued them for copyright infringement.

Ironically the jury didn't buy Ralph Natale's testimony on the witness stand in 2001. He tried to give off the Don Vito Corleone vibe and the jury knew it was b.s. Natale didn't do as much damage to the Philly mob as the feds hoped. He got the Merlino crew nailed on racketeering and drug charges, but not for murder (and they already had enough evidence from Ron Previte to nail them on the former two charges). Natale was forbidden to go into Philly on terms of his parole, so he couldn't manage the Merlino crew very well. He ordered murders but Merlino either ignored them or did them in ways Natale did not intend. George Anatasia made a comment saying that he never understood why the feds made the deal with Ralph, because Ralph was not a good witness, period. They probably just wanted to say that they got the first American Mafia boss to flip. Natale just doesn't want to admit that he was used like a fiddle by the Merlino guys. To quote George again, he was "more like Uncle Junior."

If it's under 10 bucks on kindle I will read it. I might get the Gotta book, nor the Alite one,the one by the kid. Last really good mob book was Leonetti's. People talk shit about Phil Carlo but his Gaspipe book was great,the writing wasn't Pulitzer worthy and the stories were embellished, but man, it was an awesome read. It got me interested in the mafia again.

he claims.carlo gambino and ang made him lololol.

So I read most of Ralph's book last night just sitting in a corner at Barnes & Noble, which by the way, it's a very quick read- you can probably get through it in 2-3 hours tops. I skimmed or skipped several chapters but read all of the Merlino years. He does claim that he was made by Bruno and Gambino and was only re-made by Merlino to "keep the peace", which didn't make any sense to me. He provided nothing new or insightful about the Merlino years quite frankly. There were some interesting tid-bits from the Bruno/Testa era, however, it's hard to say if they're true or not. For instance, he goes into detail regarding Casella and Narducci and now they found out about Testa and Scarfo in AC and how they were hogging it for themselves and the Casella/Narducci found out via the Gambinos, etc. How would Ralph Natale know all these details about what happened in that party with the Gambinos and what not. That's just one example. Another funny example is some meeting with Carlo Gambino at San Gennaro where Carlo Gambino supposedly hand picked Natale via Bruno to run AC and the unions with Chicago. Give me a break. Carlo Gambino didn't barely spoke to his own underboss in his own house let alone to Ralph Natale in Little Italy at San Genaro. Glad I read/skimmed it, glad I didn't pay $25 for it though.

carlo Gambino made him...... cmon Ralphie dont u think anyone with some knowledege would c question that u could me up with a btterr lie than u old toothless bastard......and there is no federal prison in homestead flroida you old fuck ......

He also says he had Ronnie Turchi killed and not Merlino/Ligambi, which I think is comical. Natale claims he killed Turchi because he was scheming to kill Ralph and take the boss spot by paying the Gambinos $10k. No one was killing Turchi for Natale that was eel after he ratted and it was clearly Merlino and Ligambi killed him because he was trying to make moves for he boss spot plus he was Ralph's guy who had just ratted. Natale claims Turchi was lured under the auspices that he was going to a making ceremony but they killed him once he walked into the "making ceremony". Turchi was made by Stanfa and secondly Ralph, how was Turchi previously your consigliere if he wasn't made? Good story I've seen Goodfellas too, but come on, none of this timeline makes and sense amongst other discrepancies. I wonder if Merlino and those guys read this and just laugh at the all the lies and non-sense.

I just finished this. It was awful. There's actually a point where McShane, the ghostwriter, telegraphs that he knows Natale is lying through his nonexistent teeth--and its exactly what was mentioned above: the "making ceremony" where only Gambino and Bruno were present. The whole fucking thing beggars belief, but McShane politely says "in a highly unusual move..." which I read as "I know this guy is making this shit up." Natale comes across--in a book that HE co-wrote--as a narcissistic, histrionic creep.

Thanks for saving me some money. After reading that, I would never buy it.

Wasn't Gambino even sick during the time Natale claims to have been made by him? I know Gambino was sick over his last years but I have no idea when Natale claims he was made. Or am I way off?

Lol at Gambino even knowing who Natale was. Highly unfucking likely. This guy is unreal

do any of these writers even try to fact check any story? isnt that responsible journalism? if not, label it a work of fiction...natale is the lowest of the low

Lol @ Carlo Gambino & Angelo Bruno being the only two whom were supposedly at his "initial making ceremony". In other words, there's absolutely no way to fact check his bullshit story since both parties are long dead. Who the hell does Natale really think he is. He'd literally be the only one in the LCN underworld, whom had his making by two bosses, with two of those bosses being the among the biggest names, in LCN history, if not the biggest. The fact that he even suspects someone to buy that load of shit is quite hilarious.

Isnt there somerule that NO ONE from another family is allowed to a making ceremony?...this guy's a fuckin' trip 2 think he can fool all the ppl all the time but probably only fools some of the ppl some of the time.