KING OF THE GODFATHERS by Anthony M. DeStefano.

This biography of Joe Massino's reign over the Bonanno Family is a rarity among Mob books--it's well written, meticulously researched, and avoids the lurid, tabloid prose that infects most Mafia bios. It's a bit short on the details of Massino's early life and his entry into the Bonanno Family. But once he got in, he rose through a combination of good judgment, good luck and (initially) restraint. Massino had a knack for choosing the right sides and rackets. He apparently avoided the drug-trafficking that was so rampant in the Bonannos, and the Sicilians ("Zips") who were pushing it. When he made captain, he stayed loyal to boss Philip (Rusty) Rastelli, and allied himself with Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano against three rival captains who were plotting to unseat him. Then, after the Donnie Brasco revelations, he moved against Sonny Black. Then he eliminated Cesare Bonventre, leader of the Zips. Then he was alone at the top. Massino also avoided arrest until he was about 40 years old--pretty good for a full-time gangster. Once he became Don, the temptations of excess, combined with rampant disloyalty, undid him. Almost all his close campari, starting with brother in law "Good Looking Sal" Vitale, turned rat. Facing a death sentence after two convictions, Massino himself turned rat. He was forced to turn over $10 million in assets--more than $7m in cash. He now lives by himself in a federal prison.
Lest you think he was a pretty "smart" Don, consider this "Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" stuff:
--Early on, he and a buddy planned to rob the Shah of Iran's sister of several million in jewels. They bluffed their way into her NYC residence by lugging an empty box and claiming they were delivering a TV. The security guard let them in. Then Massino's accomplice pulled a gun and shouted, "Hands up." Problem was, he pulled the trigger, too--wounding the guard, whose cries forced them to drop the box and leave empty-handed.
--He and Sonny Black brought off the massacre of the three rival captains successfully. But then Massino, anxious to show comradeship with the Gambinos and his pal John Gotti, farmed out the burial to two Gambino dunces (one of whom was Gotti's brother Gene). The dimwits buried one of the victims, Alfonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato, with his hand sticking out of the ground. Instead of disappearing forever, he was found in less than a week, setting in motion the entire chain of investigations and prosecutions that led to Massino's downfall.
--Sensing that indictments would be coming down on him, Massino asked an associate if he could hide out in his father's place in the Poconos. The father agreed. Massino hid out successfully. But then this mighty and wealthy Mafia Don shoplifted a bottle of aspirin and was caught. He used his fake name, Joe Russo, and was actually let go by the police. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Many thanks to PB for tipping me to this excellent book, which I highly recommend.