Gangland New York

The Places and Faces of Mob History

By: Anthony M. DeStefano

Narrated by: Gary Galone

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Bowery Boys and the Five Points Gang through the rise of the Jewish "Kosher Nostra" and the ascendance of the Italian Mafia, mobsters have played a major role in the city's history, lurking just around the corner or inside that nondescript building. Bill "the Butcher" Poole, Paul Kelly, Monk Eastman, "Lucky" Luciano, Carlo Gambino, Meyer Lansky, Mickey Spillane, John Gotti - each held sway over New York neighborhoods that nurtured them and gave them power.

As families and factions fought for control, the city became a backdrop for crime scenes, the rackets spreading after World War II to docks, airports, food markets, and garment districts. The streets of Brooklyn, swamps of Staten Island, and vacant lots near LaGuardia Airport hosted assassinations and hasty burials for the unlucky. The bloodlettings, arrests, and trials became front-page fodder for tabloids that thrived on covering Mulberry Street. Chinese, Russian, and Greek mobsters rose to prominence and wrought bloody havoc as well.

Each of Gangland New York's five sections - one for each borough - traces criminal activities and area exploits from the 19th century to now. Everyone knows about Umberto's Clam House in Little Italy, but now you can find Scarpato's restaurant in Coney Island, where Joe Masseria was killed by henchmen of Salvatore Maranzano, who in turn died in a Park Avenue office building at the hands of "Lucky" Luciano a few months later. From the Bronx to Brighton Beach, from New Springville to Ozone Park, here is a comprehensive, on-the-ground guide to mob life in the Rotten Apple.

©2015 Anthony DeStefano (P)2015 Tantor

Average

You read one mob book you read them all same stories different author
Not much difference.

Interesting but just fair

A Wiki-like condensed history. Some interesting tid-bits but the the narrator must be on a double expresso shot. Kind of breathless narrative. Too fast to savor and in a rush to cram in 100+ year history of the 'mob'

Too Blah

Just snippets about the mob. Nothing special. Not enough information on each mobster. Not the worst book on organised crime but far from the best.

Plenty of places to check out but..

The narrator mispronounced several names & places of famous mafioso and their crime’s that it was a little annoying. Especially calling Carmine Persico Perseeco . But otherwise a good listen. Might be handy to have a map of NYC on hand to pinpoint all the places. Would recommend a listen.

nicely detailed

this was a detailed study of the mob; from it's fledgling beginnings to modern day. I found this to be an enjoyable listen. being a native new yorker, the narrator irritated me by butchering many of the street name pronunciations. narrator aside, it was a great history lesson.

A great way to pass the time.

Lots of information here - but not too much time spent on any one story. Informative, but also casual.

short but great

This book serves as a history of organized crime in New York including the major players going back to the 19th century. I loved it.

Same Ole, Same Ole.

There was nothing mentioned that hasn’t been written before. I also wish narrators should actually take the time to learn how to pronounce names. It takes away so much from audiobooks.