Mob Boss

The Life of Little Al D'arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia

De: Jerry Capeci, Tom Robbins

Narrado por: Michael Prichard

Alfonso 'Little Al' D'Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese crime family, was the highest-ranking mobster to ever turn government witness when he flipped in 1991.

His decision to flip prompted many others to make the same choice, including John Gotti's top aide, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and his testimony sent more than fifty mobsters to prison. In Mob Boss, award-winning news reporters Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins team up for this unparalleled account of D'Arco's life and the New York mob scene that he embraced for four decades.

Until the day he switched sides, D'Arco lived and breathed the old-school gangster lessons he learned growing up in Brooklyn and fine-tuned on the mean streets of Little Italy. But when he learned he was marked to be whacked, D'Arco quit the mob. His defection decimated his crime family and opened a window on mob secrets going back a hundred years.

After speaking with D'Arco, the authors reveal unprecedented insights, exposing shocking secrets, and troublesome truths about a city where a famous pizza parlor doubled as a Mafia center for multi-million-dollar heroin deals, where hit men carried out murders dressed as women, and where kidnapping a celebrity newsman's son was deemed appropriate revenge for the father's satirical novel.

Capeci and Robbins spent hundreds of hours in conversation with D'Arco, and exhausted many hours more fleshing out his stories in this riveting narrative that takes listeners behind the famous witness testimony for a comprehensive look at the Mafia in New York City.

©2013 Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins (P)2013 Tantor

All Criminal Minds Are Not The Same

Great read. Fascinating stories. In the search for understanding the criminal mind, I am left with a new understanding. All criminal minds are not the same. Someone can be parked in treason along some dynamics and not others and therefore, think treason is normal.

it was really good!

it did not seem over-the-top and exaggerated like a lot of Mafia stories. The narrator can get a bit mundane at first and it did start out a bit slow but overall it was a very good read. One of the better Mafia stories. I think the best is Mafia Prince then second is the Sinatra Club and this is third. I personally prefer first-hand Stories versus a mob historian or a reporter writing the story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in this genre.

Amazing

Right up there with The Godfather and Wiseguy. I am amazed I had never heard of this book before seeing it in my recommendations. The story is fluid, detailed, and well told. The protagonist is relatable and admirable (if one can view a mobster as such) with redeeming qualities. For those from New York (especially Brooklyn), you'll find a bit of nostalgia within as various neighborhoods and their establishments, dating back to the mid-20th century, are referenced. The book brings to life a lost city as much as it does the former glory of the mob. A must read for anyone, but especially those who love a good Mafia story.

Research

the narrator mispronounced the Italian surnames of the various mafioso over and over again some of them are well-known how to pronounce so it was a little off-putting but great story

Goodfellas

I looked forward to finding time to listen to this after I started it. It was like listening to Goodfellas. In fact a lot of those characters are in this book.

Mon boss

Great to listen to with Audible app. A telling tale of how, in my opinion...the old ways (rules & code of conduct) have been set aside & forgotten. Drugs, greed, and lack of respect have led to the demise of the life.

captivating story

I loved the book and the narration. One of the best mob books I've read.

Well written, accurate information, great narrator

If you could sum up Mob Boss in three words, what would they be?

Accurate, honest, in depth.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mob Boss?

Al D'arco's memory is like an encyclopedia of the mob!

Have you listened to any of Michael Prichard’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes- as stellar as the rest

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me gasp at some points.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended- I've listened to almost every mafia book on audible.com and this one definitely ranks up with the best.

Good listen

Great story telling...good mix of narration and first person accounts. I would recommend this.

Good story but it made Al into a lot more than he was.

The book tries to make it out that Al was a big Mafia boss he wasn't he was put in his position because he was easy to control and he was terrified of Gaspipe. One thing the book seems to gloss over is just how scared Al was when he thought he was going to get hit this has been confirmed by the agents who delt with him and other mobsters who turned. According to Gaspipe Al wasn't even going to be hit they were just changing things up and Al got very scared and took off. Guys like Al are the reason the Mafia imploded on itself.