Alright finished darcos book. Nothing new. Find out alittle bout his son everything he tells has been written in the papers over 20yr. I thought al was gonna have stories nope he had a cousin,uncle who was a old powerfull soldier in the garment district. All rode his coattail.. Nepotism the guy told vario to put his name in 74 when the books open. All he did was arson for hire the guy never killed somone till 89 an he hit the guy wit a pipe neck shot guy. His kid was a dope fiend got made in 88 with the gemini twins senter n. Tester. Guy was weak so gas n vic killed bruno and mike salerno cause they were threats, stuck lil al in as acting boss and that was the end of brooklyn holding the power. Wish he talked more about the prince st guys they were the drug guys joe beck.

One side note - not one mention of Salvatore Clemente - the guy in Manhattan Mob Rampage that was originally listed as an Luchese associate, and on the most recent version I saw, is now listed as a Captain.

Any real good upcoming mafia books? Preferably about the New York mafia families? Or even the NJ families or philly families.

Any real good upcoming mafia books? Preferably about the New York mafia families? Or even the NJ families or philly families.

Can anybody tell me about Before bruno volume 3 1946-1959? i just ordered it even though i didnt read the first two but did anyone else enjoy it?

I have finished the Al D'Arco book and enjoyed it, and yes, as PMAC has said, there are things in there we've already seen, but overall it's a good book and I would recommend it to others.

Bill Bonnano's book "The Last Testament" was a good read .

Really interested in west coast activity of Cosa Nostra. Going to pick up The Last Mafioso, about L.A. mobster Jimmy The Weasel Fratianno. Any other books about California cosa nostra anyone could recommend?

I'm struggling to finish this book. It seems that a large amount of the book is from before he was appointed acting boss. And personally, my interest is during the time he was promoted to acting boss to when he flipped.

I like to hear what is the best choice (both from Bill Bonanno):
Bound By Honor or The Last Testament or are they complementary to each other?

Definantly Mafia Dynasty. Being a luchese guy i didnt meant much to me, but gambino was one powerhouse

Bound by honor is an autobiography, while The Last Testament deals in detail with commission meetings Bill Bonanno attended, description of the history of the Mafia, the structure of a Mafia Family etc. One chapter deals with hitmen, another with initiation into the Mafia, the ritual used and the oaths taken. I´d say that The Last Testament is actually more of a scholar book (but with some holes, especially on the early history). They are both good reads. Two different kind of books, I´d say.

I finished the book, and it ended up being a very good read. D'Arco was painted as a somewhat sympathetic figure, as they all are. But he seemed believable.

I wish the book went into more detail about his relationship with Paulie Vario. He worked with Paulie and even took over his crew....there must have been a lot of stories left out.

Also, the story relating to the Beck-Cuomo Ray's Pizzeria was very interesting. It was famous for their pizza, and it was surprising to read about how it was a front for drugs.

It was interesting that Little Davey Petillo was one of D'Arco's earliest mentors in the crime business. Petillo was the guy convicted with Luciano in the prostitution case.

Also, the book pulls no punches about the mob's heavy involvement with drugs. However, as usual, our hero gets pinched for narcotics despite getting a very raw deal from the judge and jury. We have the main character claiming that he wants nothing to do with narcotics... despite spending prison time for dealing H, having a son addicted and also dealing, and a daughter in law addicted. Reminded me a bit of Lucky Luciano insisting he had nothing to do with drugs despite having nobody believe him.

There were also contracting stories between Capeci and Carlo's books. Carlo's book accused D'Arco of lying on the stand, using Casso's stories as his own- in particular, claiming to be in commission meetings with the Chin. Capeci's book described D'Arco as being honest to a fault and was a star witness, who was highly sought after by prosecutors.