Steel City Mafia

Blood, Betrayal and Pittsburgh's Last Don

By: Paul N. Hodos

Narrated by: Justin Price

Pittsburgh's small but lucrative Cosa Nostra mafia family was on the rise in 1985 with a newly crowned Don . . . The men who came to dominate the rackets in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia opened the family to massive profits from drug trafficking and a street tax on other criminal activities. At the same time, the Youngstown, Ohio, faction of the family launched a brutal mob war against the weakening Cleveland mafia and the Altoona, Pennsylvania, crew violently clamped down on their city. Discover gritty stories of a made member who controlled who a local police department hired, an informant who betrayed his own mafia grandfather and father, numerous unsolved murders and a mob mole in the Pittsburgh office of the FBI. This is the tale of a mafia family at the pinnacle of its power, willing to do anything to hold on to that power and its downfall in the criminal underworld.

©2023 Paul N. Hodos (P)2023 Tantor

Tell the facts. small sketches of their actual lives.

not a lot in the book other than the negative and court cases. it does tell a bit about them but not lot. lots of information. goes very fast.

Good Overview of late years of Pittsburgh Mafia

This was a good overview of the Pittsburgh Mafia in the late twentieth century. After a brief overview of the early years, he picks up under the reign of John LaRocca. Mike Genovese runs through the entire story like the ghost he was in real life. There are chapters on the players that saw the Pittsburgh Family through its peak and into its dissolution-Chuckie Porter, Lenny Strollo, Sonny Ciancutti, Nick Gesuale, etc. It covers the crews in Youngstown, West Virginia and other satellites, as well as Pittsburgh proper.
I found the book thoroughly engrossing. It was extremely well researched. Fans of LCN content will find this engaging and informative.

Enjoyed, but was irritated

The Mispronouncing of Sonny Ciancutti’s last name was very disappointing. Every time it kind of ruined it for me

fantastic book

amazing book with tons of info on a seriously below the radar mob family that punched way above it's weight