Mafia Prince

Inside America's Most Violent Crime Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra

By: Phillip Leonetti, Scott Burnstein, Christopher Graziano

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Mafia Prince is the first-person account of one of the most violent eras in Mafia history - "Little" Nicky Scarfo’s reign as boss of the Philly family in the 1980s - written by Scarfo’s underboss and nephew, "Crazy" Phil Leonetti.

The youngest-ever underboss at the age of 31, Leonetti was at the crux of the violent downfall of the traditional American Mafia in the 1980s when he infiltrated Atlantic City after gambling was legalized, and later turned state’s evidence against his own. His testimony directly led to the convictions of dozens of high-ranking made men including John Gotti, Vincent Gigante, and his own uncle, Nicky Scarfo - sparking the beginning of the end of La Cosa Nostra.

Just as The Godfather and Boardwalk Empire defined the early 20th century Mafia, and Wiseguy and Casino depicted the next great era through the ’70s, Mafia Prince concludes this epic genre revealing the Mafia’s violent final heyday of the 1980s straight from the horse’s mouth.

©2012 Phillip Leonetti, Scott Burnstein and Christopher Graziano (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Honest and predictable

Narrator did an excellent job with his spot on accent. Book itself is nothing shocking or revealing for anyone who has read about the mafia in the past. However, on a deeper note, it is fascinating to learn about internal working of organized crime. The depiction of treachery and deceit between phil and his no good uncle is what makes this a worth while listen. Also enjoyed the mafia lingo and the related terms. Especially the "sign of the gun", which I now use during safety briefs to warn my troops to either behave "or else it's this....".
God bless Phil for changing his ways, wish him all the luck.

Goodfellas sucks compared to this

This makes goodfellas or any other crime novel seem terrible. Great story, great narrator and outstanding performance.

Wow

Never a dull moment. Excellent book & narrated well too. Very good choice if you want to know all about how the mafia works.

My favorite mafia informant autobiography.

Very good story telling elements used to bring together autobiographic details with some fiction and revisionism mixed in here and there. One moment present in every single mafia informant story is the point where they decide their gang is no longer looking out for them. It just so happens in every single one of the stories is that this moment occurs when a cop threatens them with 50+ years in prison. Then all of a sudden their morals and conscience change drastically. So dumb.

It's still very entertaining. It was free to listen to a for a long time on Audible and I liked it so much I bought it bc I know I'll listen more than once.

ONE OF THE BETTER BOOKS ON THE MAFIA

I really enjoyed this book as is beautifully narrated and the story flows really well. Unlike so many books on the Mob this one carries you along in an organised and easy to follow timeline. The story of Leonetti is told with passion hence this book comes across as though the guy is sitting opposite you telling his story, and the story he tells is amazing.

Everything from murders to loan sharking as his tells of his day to day life, sometimes is amusing other times horrifying but is always interesting, never a dull moment. What he really does best is convey his feelings as he gets sucked deeper into 'this life'. The stunning on going theme is the story of his uncle who was The Boss of the family, he is an utter scum bag and pure evil, it is amazing how anyone can be so devoid of any human emotions, apart from anger & rage.

If you like true crime books this one is for you.