Organized crime is perhaps the most infamous phenomenon of our time. Forged during Prohibition and strengthened by Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover’s 30-year denial of its existence, the Mafia has become a catalyst for corruption in our society. Despite increasingly tough laws and the ever more successful efforts of law enforcement, it continues to thrive today.
From A1 Capone, who boldly claimed his bootlegging activities were a public service, to John Gotti, the “Teflon Don” now serving a life sentence in prison, these criminals have garnered headlines and captured the public imagination with their flamboyant lifestyles and colorful attitudes. Immortalized in books and movies, gangsters, godfathers, hitmen and dons have taken their place in criminal mythology. But the true story of their underworld endeavors is something entirely different.
The Mafia Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive survey of the mob’s most influential perpetrators and personalities, including their hangouts and hideaways, their plays for power, their schemes and crimes, and their unique culture and jargon. More than 95
illustrations and more than 450 entries bust the Mafia myths with an unflinching look at the brutal, nefarious and bizarre culture and characters of organized crime. Entries include:
• Louis “Pretty” Amberg, the savage Brooklyn gangster believed to have committed more than 100 murders
• Donnie Brasco, codename for the FBI agent who infiltrated the mob to become the greatest Mafia informer, sending more than 100 mobsters to prison
• Charles “Lucky” Luciano, the gangster who, together with Meyer Lansky, united multiethnic criminal gangs into a national crime syndicate
• Mafia Social Clubs, such as the Gotti hangout, The Ravenite, where mobsters meet between jobs
• RICO, the 1970 Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, which enabled authorities to imprison convicted mafiosi for long terms by proving a connection to a criminal enterprise
The Mafia Encyclopedia is an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to know the truth about organized crime and understand the violent forces that have shaped it.