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For many years, the FBI, led by J. Edgar Hoover, ignored organized crime, as the Bureau regarded local law enforcement as best equipped to handle it. That changed when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (in the 1960s) and New York City's Rudy Giuliani (in the 1980s) pursued eradication of the Mafia..
In this book, readers are introduced to several characters in the American Mafia, known as "rats" in the criminal world, whose cooperation with law enforcement resulted in the arrest of Mafia members across the country. Short biographies of each informant detail their crimes and deals made to stay alive or reduce lengthy prison sentences. FBI and CIA records released in 2017, and books written by the criminals themselves, reveal why previously loyal Mafia members and associates became informants. Most of the criminals written about are dead; a few are presumed to be alive and in the witness protection program.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
One.¿Omertà
Two.¿Informants
Three.¿The Bensonhurst Connection
Four.¿Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi
Five.¿Florindo "Florio" Isabella
Six.¿Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso
Seven.¿Peter "Big Pete" Chiodo
Eight.¿Vittorio "Vic" Amuso
Nine.¿Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco
Ten.¿Gregory "The Grim Reaper" Scarpa, Sr.
Eleven.¿Henry "The Celebrity Rat" Hill
Twelve.¿Gregory "The Unintentional Rat" DePalma
Thirteen.¿Michael "The Bogeyman" Blutrich
Fourteen.¿Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano
Fifteen.¿Nicholas "Nicky Crow" Caramandi
Sixteen.¿Leokadya April Martin Rubino DiCaprio Woltemate
Seventeen.¿Charles "Mad Dog" Gargotta
Eighteen.¿Luigi "Cockeyed Louie" Fratto
Nineteen.¿John "Handsome Johnny" Rosselli
Twenty.¿Salvatore "Dago Louie Merli" Piscopo
Twenty-One.¿"Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno
Twenty-Two.¿Tura Satana
Twenty-Three.¿The End of the Wise Guys?
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Larry J. Hausner is a retired businessman living in North Tustin, California. He is the author of eight fiction and two non-fiction books.
Summary
Introduces characters in the American Mafia, known as ‘rats’ in the criminal world, who cooperated with law enforcement, resulting in the arrest of many in their gangs across the country. Short biographies of each informant detail their crimes and the deals they made to stay alive or reduce lengthy prison sentences.
