i have just ordered this book, Cullotta (The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness) by Dennis Griffin and Frank Cullotta sounds like a pretty good book to me ill let you know what it was like.

Has anybody else read this? if so what are your thoughts?

NIAGARA FALLS — A book that showcases the exploits of criminals like the late mob boss Stefano Magaddino and killer William Shrubsall might not be everyone’s idea of the best way to interest tourists in Niagara Falls.

But the authors of “Niagara Falls Confidential: Murder, Mayhem and Madness in the Honeymoon Capital of the World” think visitors will enjoy it.

“We went for the kind of stories that you won’t find in any other history book about Niagara Falls,” said Mike Hudson, who wrote the book with his wife, Rebecca Hudson.

“There’s a big feeling in the Falls that stories like this will discourage tourism. I disagree. I think people who visit a new city like to read about things like this. I think people who live in the Falls will be interested, too.”

According to Hudson, Niagara Falls has a disturbingly rich history of crime and corruption.

Among the characters whose stories are detailed in the 120-page book:

• Magaddino, who died in 1974, by far the most powerful Mafia boss ever to operate in Western New York.

• Shrubsall, an honor student who bludgeoned his mother to death with a baseball bat in 1988 and later faked suicide and fled to Canada to avoid prosecution for rape.

• “Big Ed” Delahanty, a hard-drinking major league baseball star who went over the Horseshoe Falls and died in 1903.

• James A. “Jimmy” LiBrize, a colorful attorney whose gruesome 1969 murder remains a mystery.

• Frederick E. Toy, an Army sergeant from Niagara Falls who was decorated in 1891 for taking part in the massacre of an estimated 300 Indians at Wounded Knee, S.D.

The book, published by a small new company called Tuscarora Books, went on sale Friday for $19.95.

A Niagara Falls tourism official said she isn’t exactly thrilled about the book but isn’t upset about it, either.

“It’s not what we would focus on,” said Kate Scaglione, director of marketing and communication for the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. “We’d rather focus on tamer things, like our city having the oldest state park in the United States, the Maid of the Mist being the oldest tourist attraction in North America, and Niagara Falls being the northernmost stop on the Underground Railroad.

“But there are odd little tidbits that have happened over the years, and I can see people having some interest. It’s part of the folklore, like Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio coming here.”

Hudson, 51, editor of the Niagara Falls Reporter weekly newspaper, is no stranger to the concept of stirring things up. In the 1970s, he toured nationally and recorded as the lead singer of the Pagans, a punk rock band.

He later became a writer, starting the Reporter in 2000 with publisher Bruce Battaglia. The newspaper has battled publicly with politicians — notably Mayor Vince Anello — and Hudson said he was once beaten up by a group of Laborers Local 91 supporters after writing a series of articles that criticized the union.

He and Battaglia hope to publish at least nine other books, including some about local sports and one detailing decades of corruption involving Laborers Local 91

Could be a great book

Picked this up at Barnes & Noble while I was in California:

The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial ,by Ellen Poulsen

I read this book after it was mentioned several times on this board (thank you, PB and others).
Most people who are familiar with Charlie Luciano's life know that his conviction and 30-50 year sentence for "compulsory prostitution" (Mann Act, so-called "White Slavery") was a trumped-up deal, managed by DA Tom Dewey (later Governor of New York, later twice GOP Presidential candidate) to get Luciano personally. Ellen Poulsen goes over the case in a rather selective way that adds little new to that conclusion.

More than a third of the book is given over to a description of how the prostitution rackets worked in NYC in the Thirties, It was a vicious but tidily run industry, in which madams paid "bookers" (not pimps, but employment jobbers) to have whores assigned to them. The bookers and madams paid "bondsmen"--busted lawyers and bail bondsmen who corrupted cops and magistrates. If a paid-up madam was raided, the bondsmen would get her and her girls out of jail, or the charges dropped. If they didn't pay, they'd have the charges pumped up and rigged against them. Non-payers also were beaten and abused. The hookers paid most: at a time when the Depression dropped the price per trick to $3 or even $2 a throw, the girls seldom kept more than $1 per john.

It was a big racket, but its operation was too diffused to allow anyone to really run it--the accusation against Luciano. While he undoubtedly profited from prostitution, he was scarcely the "kingpin" that Dewey made him out to be. The testimony against him was offered by drug-addicted hookers and other lowlifes who'd make the witnesses against Gotti look like daily communicants. Quite a few recanted their testimony after the trial. The trial record showed tenuous connections and a lot of hearsay evidence--"my booker said he heard Charlie say that he was going to reduce all madams to employees"--that kind of stuff. Nonetheless, the jury was out for only five hours before convicting Luciano and all his co-defendants.

Poulsen never takes a stand on the "justice" or "injustice" of Dewey's proceedings against Luciano--she just presents selected parts of the testimony, along with selected parts of various characters' bio, in a manner that's so matter-of fact as to be boring at times--an unusual accomplishment given the sensational nature of the case. That piecework approach left me unsatisfied. While she outlined Luciano's life and part of his career, she never invoked the broader context. For example, while describing the bare bones of the assassinations of the "Moustache Petes" Masseria and Maranzano, which Luciano organized with Meyer Lansky's help, she never tells us about the Castellemmarese War--the biggest event in 20th Century US Mob history--or the Commission that resulted.
Not a great read.

The Outfit-Gus Rosso



Just brought this and will be reading soon.Hope its good.Ive heard many good things about this..

excellent mate you will enjoy this book for me this is the best mob book i have ever read let me know what you think mate

Really,I normally only read aboout New York and Italian Mafia.Have you read the Five Families..

Not yet i have heard its good though, when i first statred reading about the mafia it was always about chicago and that how i got in to it i definetly know more about the outfit than any about any of the NY Crime Families

Im vice virsa..

im sure you will find it interesting Gus Russo definetly knows his stuff, have you read double cross by Chuck Giancana?

Nope sorry,i haven't

well once you have read the outfit if your interested your more than welcome to have it off me

That will do cool,probley be a while has i have so many books to read at the moment..

no probs ive just finished reading ice man that was excellent turned my stomach a few times but a great read, jesus what a vicious bastard although ive got to give him credit he was extremelly smart well until he got caught

Thats next on my list for sure...

I was extremely disappointed in THE CASE AGAINST LUCKY LUCIANO by Ellen Poulson, for many of the same reasons that TB mentioned. Being that Selwyn Raab (FIVE FAMILIES) gave it a ringing endorsement, I thought it would have been that much better.

i have just finished reading a book called MAFIA the complete history of a criminal underworld,to be honest when i first bought it i didnt expect anything special from the book but after reading it i recommend it to anybody interested in the sicillian mafia this book provides an in depth look at the sicillian mafia with also references to the american mafia when involved with there sicillian counterparts.excellent book

Just brought this today.



Hope its good

Excellent book DeNiro!

It's one of the best mob related books I've read all year. TB shares my opinion, as well. I think you'll love it!

Cool,ill let you know my views when i finish

Yes, indeed--excellent book!

Thanks Guys..

I was wondering if there was books avaliable on each of the five familes in New York.(not including Five familes Book).

I have books on the Gambino and Bonnono Family.

Is there seperate books for- Genovese/Colombo/Luccashe.

Any help you be great..

Just brought this .

Just brought this also.Looking forward to this one.

The two books pictured above are pretty good.

Check out another thread (that I think Turi started some time ago) here recommending Mob books (I'm too lazy to dig up a link now).

EDIT: Never mind... THIS is the thread.

Pretty good book DeNiro. If Costello interest you (he fascinates me) you may want to check out UNCLE FRANK by Leonard Katz.

PB: Of the two Costello books, which would you recommend?

Honestly TB, I'd go with UNCLE FRANK. I thought George Wolf white-washed his account, due to his his close friendship with Costello. It was still entertaining, though.

I was wondering if there was books avaliable on each of the five familes in New York.(not including Five familes Book).

I have books on the Gambino and Bonnono Family.

Is there seperate books for- Genovese/Colombo/Luccashe.

Any help you be great..

Not a "history of," type of book, DeNiro. None that I can think of, anyway. However, ther are some notable books that cover certain eras.

For the Lucchese family, you might pick up THE BOYS FROM NEW JERSEY by Robert Rudolph and/or GANGBUSTERS by Ernest Volkman.

They both concentrate on the 70's and 80's.

THE BOYS FROM NEW JERSEY was the basis for the film FIND ME GUILTY.

Cool PB thanks alot..

Mafia Book "wishlist"

Accardo:The Genuine Godfather by William F Roemer

The Big Bankroll:The life and times of Arnold Rothstein by Leo Katcher

Crime Boss Killing: The castellammare war by Art Montague

The Dutch Schultz Story by Ted Addy

Gangster City: The history of the underworld 1900-35 by patrick Downey

The Last Testament Of Lucky Luciano by Martin A Gosch & Richard Hammer

The Man Who Invented Murder Inc:Bugsy Siegel by David Hanna

Murder Inc; The Story of the syndicate by Burton turkas & Sid Feder

Revolt in the Mafia- Raymond V Martin

Uncle frank by leonard katz

Westies by TJ English

You can find a few books on Crazy Joey Gallo.... they have some good info on the Profaci Family (now known as Colombo). Three that come to mind (and are in my own library) are:

"Joey" by Donald Goddard
"The Killing of Joey Gallo" by Harvey Aronson
"The Sixth Family" by Peter Diapoulos & Steven Linakis

The Genoveses (especially) are covered best in "The Valachi Papers" by Peter Maas. Their early years are covered in books about Lucky Luciano (of which there are many).

The Lucchese Family was the basis for "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi (and became "Goodfellas" on the silver screen).