That actually looks pretty good bostonmob.

I recently picked up "Made Men" by Greg B. Smith. Pretty compact little read, and actually not bad. It basically offers a crashcourse on Sam "The Plumber" DeCavalcante and the DeCavalcante Family, while chronicling the exploits of former rising mob star Ralph Guarino by way of main narrative. Starting with his independant schemes and leading to his eventual reporting to Vinny Ocean, all the while wired for sound.

I realised very early on, like most of us,, that the vast majority of mob-lit was centred around New York, so when I come across books dedicated to any Family other then the Five, I snap it. I know the DeCavalcante's are not really all that removed geographically from NY, but the book is still distincly focused on NJ. Cool if thats what you're after.

One of the more interesting characters detailed in the book IMO was low level DeCavalcante associate Joseph "Joey O" Masella. In hock to something like three out of the Five Families, including his own, and forever running around on either mob errands or his own schemes, this guy was the epitome of the mob gopher, the guy always on to this or that, rich one day off a rare win, but always pretty much broke. The guy left behind twenty years after all the guys he grew up with were either made or moved away. His pathetic claims that "They offered to make me, I just didnt want it" just dont hold water with me. What other reason has this guy been hanging round for decades if not vying for a place in that secret boys club, La Cosa Nostra...?

Anyway, also some great info on guys like Vinny Ocean, Tin Ear Sclafani, Anthony Capo, Anthony Rotondo and other guys around them at the time. It even details the sad-but-true occasion when a car full of DeCavalcante wiseguys were recorded wondering aloud if that new television show The Soprano's wasn't just based on them and guys they knew in the neighbourhood.

Incidentally, this may or may not have been entirely true. And though it wasn't mentioned in the book, I believe these recordings were later used against said wiseguys in court, by way of "What do you mean they're not gangters from New Jersey? We have them on tape comparing themselves to gangters from New Jersey!"

All in all, well worth the Twelve Bucks I paid for it. smile

Last edited by Mickey_MeatBalls_DeMonica; 07/29/11 08:19 AM.

(cough.)