Scores

How I Opened the Hottest Strip Club in New York City, Was Extorted out of Millions by the Gambino Family, and Became One of the Most Successful Mafia Informants in FBI History

By: Michael D. Blutrich

Narrated by: Michael D. Blutrich

Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Michael Blutrich, mild-mannered New York lawyer and founder of Scores, the hottest strip club in New York City history, funded by the proceeds of an insurance embezzlement scheme.

All Blutrich wanted was to lay low, make the club a success, and put his criminal acts behind him. But the Mafia got involved, and soon the FBI came knocking.

Scores became wildly popular, in part thanks to Blutrich's ability to successfully bend the rules of adult entertainment. It was the first club in Manhattan to feature lap dancing by ignoring existing requirements. He also sidestepped statutes requiring topless dancers to wear pasties. His formula worked, and Scores grew into the hottest club in Manhattan, frequented by sports superstars, Oscar-winning actors, television icons, Grammy-winning singers, and political notables alike.

Unfortunately for Blutrich, it would all soon implode.

Scores was located in a neighborhood controlled by the Gambino crime family, and it became a hotbed for illicit mob activity, culminating in a double murder of two of his employees. When federal prosecutors started sniffing around for potential crimes, he went from carefree club owner to undercover spy in a heartbeat.

To obtain maximum leniency for his insurance fraud, Blutrich became an unlikely but highly successful undercover FBI informant. He wore body wires and placed ceiling cameras in his offices, and he was eventually credited with more than 30 Mafia convictions, including a crime-family head and associates from multiple international families.

For his cooperation, the Department of Justice and the FBI assured him he would avoid any significant jail time - or so they said.

Here, Blutrich tells it all: recording armed gangsters in the act of committing felonies, stealthily evading discovery, living with death threats, revealing long-covered-up celebrity doings, enduring a psychotic break from the pressures, and losing everything in his life in the name of earning redemption.

©2017 Michael D. Blutrich (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Seductive narration about fortunes and betrayals

I love this book because it's part thriller and the performance is artful. The part that really hooked me came a little late though at chapter 20: "Trying to Tame the Mafia Beast."

After coming across as boastful in his descriptions of strip club fame, Blutrich came down to earth when he described what it was like to be a victim of extortion by the mob. This is when he started to seem and remained vulnerable and truly human for the rest of the story.

Once he started dealing with mafia bullies using all his guile, Blutrich turned into a cat with nine lives. Whenever he fell into a tight spot, he improvised. Sometimes he hatched grand plans that seduced the tough guys.

Near the end of the book, I realized that Blutrich so effectively discovered the vulnerabilities of the bad boys with whom he dealt that they effectively turned into teddy bears who apparently didn't deserve long sentences.

If you don't already know what ended up happening to all the players, try not to learn it in advance of reaching the end of the book. I'll say this: it made me question some of my fundamental beliefs.

Entertaining and light despite the heavy subject

Great read but I was left Googling to find out the other side of the story. He's an entertaining weasel!

So crazy it must be true

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to a friend. If you live long enough, you will eventually hear a story from someone that makes you think "You can't write this stuff!. It must be true!". Scores is 300+ pages of this very phenomenon. The captivating narrative combined with Michael's anecdotes about his life during the rise of Scores, and the unforeseen consequences that came with its success, make this book a fantastic read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard for any of the peripheral characters to shine since Michael is the only character we come to understand, but that's fine since Micheal is also the most compelling character is the story.

What about Michael D. Blutrich’s performance did you like?

When you read a story you often have to imagine what the characters sound like. You often grow attached to the voices that make sense in your head. Often when I listen to an audiobook I find myself thinking "that's not what that character should sound like". Scores is a rare case where the reader is the author and also the main character of an absorbing non-fiction story. His voice matches the character on the page. This made the listening less like an audiobook and more like a new friend telling me his life story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I do not want to go into any details about the story. The sub-title of the book is a fine elevator pitch. Instead, I'll simply say that the final act of the story coaxed the most emotion out of me.

Any additional comments?

Some people may ask themselves "If my life were a book, would anyone want to read it?" I've asked myself that question and without hesitation, I've responded to myself "No". I'm happy that Michael D. Blutrich correctly answered to himself "Yes" and thankful that he put this story in a book.

Amazing

You can't put it down or stop listening! A true NYC crime story with such a twist.

Really you got to be kidding

Very much enjoyed listening to the story the bravery the hair raising fear that Michael suffered but most of all it kept my interest and the ending blew me away
Very rarely do I have a problem putting off going to the next chapter in this book I did I wanted to listen to it and not put it down

excellent work, could listen to this guy all day

was a great read story from the man's own perspective, really enjoyed it. For all you Howard Stern fans , this should be your next Listen.

Get past the first few chapters....

Slow in the beginning this book really takes off for a wild ride. I cannot imagine reading this book and getting the same experience as you will with the author reading the tome. He's fantastic and delivers the story and the smart-ass wisecracks with perfect timing - with the authentic accent. It's awful that the US Government didn't live up to their promises. While he was a crook he did move up to his end of the agreement but was summarily screwed (lied to?) by ambitious prosecutors and inept judges.

This book has it all. Action, Drama and Guts!

I was on the edge of my seat while listening through every chapter. This storey is unfathomable and you are so glad it's not happening to you. While the author would claim he had no choice but to live through this, I think he was and is the bravest person I've read about.

blah

"Heeyyyy ohhhhhhhh, I'm a New Yowk-er with an annoying condescending type attitude. I love myself so much I decided not to just write a self gratifying book, but to read it to you as well. Bada-Bing Bada-Boom, you'll wanna shoot yourself so bad while trying to listen to my pompous story that you wont even be able to finish."- there, you've got the basics of this book. Save your money/credits and get something else.

Disappearance of the simple Hand Shake, Mans Word!

Fantastic Read. Suspensful in story line and addictiing as to connecting the publically known dotts!

Best wishes to Michael B.!

Brilliant, a must listen!

A truly amazing story, read by the author with superb skill and humour. A real disappointment that it came to an end.

One of the most mind-blowing stories I ever heard

The author narrates his book with great enthusiasm as though telling it over dinner. I felt connected as though I was his friend and he was confiding in me. When the story ended I felt a touch of sadness that the story had ended and our time as friends was over. I completely recommended this audio book. It is outstanding

Brilliant

Loved this story and am glad the author read it himself, he is lucky to be alive and his story wouldn't make to many people help the FBI from how he was treated.

Excellent listen

One of the best booked I’ve ever listened to, there wasn’t a boring word in the entire book

Fascinating gripping story

Really enjoyed this story, which flows at pace and contains equal parts of comedy, thriller, drama and tragedy.

Really well read by the author too.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Brilliant

Amazing story, but so wrong. Makes you wonder how the judicial system in USA and probably others gets away with it. She should hang her head in shame.

Loved it … the government are the worst criminals

Such an interesting story and quite unbelievable how callous the government are.

Makes you realise who the real criminals are

Really enjoyed this book

What a fascinating story this was. I just randomly chose it to listen to and was pleased I did.

Great read

Great read / Listen
This is much more than a another story about the mafia. This is part New York history, part the story of a victim of the mafia (the tale never told), part FBI infiltrator, part mafia, part the legal system in regards informants. This makes it an original story that is worth listening too for a very wide audience.

Stunning

I won't spoil the plot, but how Michael retained his sanity through this whole process is mind-blowing. He is a true gentleman who is also an excellent narrator of his own book. Despite numerous and very high-level trials and tribulations, he reads with a certain degree of wit and humour which only the best of people could summon up in the circumstances. He comes across as likable, interesting, personable, and somebody I would very much like to meet and have dinner with. Michael, I'm sorry that you were so badly done to and I wish you all the very best in the future. Thank you for the most brilliant audio recording of a brilliant life story.