I've raised the same questions over the veracity of some of D'Arco's claims.

When he wasn't self-aggrandising - and remember, before he was promoted to head the old Vario crew he didn't really carve out any niches for himself - he was making some heady claims such as of his knockaround pals bitch slapping Venero Mangano without retribution.

It's been a while since I read his book but he did seem to overestimate his own importance in the grand scheme of things; you have to remember his rise in the eighties was a dramatic one. You have to question just how much he was privy to.

I'm sure everyone would agree in hindsight that giving D'Arco so much power was not one of Amuso and Casso's better moves. And it's not like he was an anomaly. They installed Joseph De Fede as acting boss not long after he flipped.