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Top Hoodlum
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Joe Barboza knew that there were two requirements for getting inducted into the Mafia. You had to be Sicilian. And you had to commit a contract killing. The New Bedford-born mobster was a proud Portuguese, not Sicilian, but his dream to be part of La Cosa Nostra proved so strong that he thought he could create a loophole. Barboza’s legacy, buried for years thanks to the murders or deaths of its participants, is finally coming to light and being told in its unvarnished brutality by one of America’s most respected true crime writers.
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Carmine the Snake
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4 out of 5 stars 20
In this blistering street-level account, "Mafia survivor" Frank DiMatteo teams up with true-crime master Michael Benson to take down one of the most notorious figures in the American La Cosa Nostra. This is the real inside story of Carmine "The Snake" Persico, from his crime-filled childhood on the streets of Brooklyn to the long-term jail sentences that didn't stop him from controlling his criminal empire, with the help of his brother - the equally kill-crazy Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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For years, the DeCavalcantes, the most powerful Mob family in Jersey, labored in the shadows of the more famous families in New York - the likes of the Gambinos and the Columbos. Dismissed by the big-city capos, the DeCavalcantes finally came into their own when they found their lives mirrored in the television hit, The Sopranos. Overnight it legitimized the made men of the Garden State. Now they were a familia to be reckoned with. Unfortunately with high profile came high risk.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating! I couldn't put it down...
- By Arthur F. on 10-23-18
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The Mafia Philosopher: Two Tonys
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- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4 out of 5 stars 10
Breaking bones, burying bodies, and planting bombs became second nature to Two Tonys while working for the Bonanno Crime Family, whose exploits inspired The Godfather. After a dispute with an outlaw motorcycle club, Two Tonys left a trail of corpses from Arizona to Alaska. On the run, he was pursued by bikers and a neo-Nazi gang bloodthirsty for revenge, while a homicide detective launched a nationwide manhunt.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Un-put-down-able Due To Two Tonys Voice
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Animal
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- By: Casey Sherman
- Narrated by: Jim Goad
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4 out of 5 stars 6
Joe Barboza knew that there were two requirements for getting inducted into the Mafia. You had to be Sicilian. And you had to commit a contract killing. The New Bedford-born mobster was a proud Portuguese, not Sicilian, but his dream to be part of La Cosa Nostra proved so strong that he thought he could create a loophole. Barboza’s legacy, buried for years thanks to the murders or deaths of its participants, is finally coming to light and being told in its unvarnished brutality by one of America’s most respected true crime writers.
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Mob Cops
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- By: Greg B. Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11
Describes how two highly decorated former detectives, Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, were convicted of murdering eight people on the orders of a vicious mob boss.
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5 out of 5 stars
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absolutely phenomenal
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Boston Mob
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- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
The New England Mafia was a hugely powerful organization that survived by using violence to ruthlessly crush anyone that threatened it, or its lucrative gambling, loansharking, bootlegging, and other enterprises. From information based on newly declassified documents and the use of underworld sources, Boston Mob spans the gutters and alleyways of East Boston, Providence, and Charlestown to the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., and Boston's Beacon Hill. Its players include governors and mayors, and the Mafia Commission of New York City.
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The Vory
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- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police around the world. Now, Western listeners can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a group that has survived and thrived amid the changes brought on by Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, and the end of the Soviet experiment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful, Informative, & Brilliantly Written
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The Sinatra Club
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- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America...until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. As a member of New York's feared Colombo Family, Polisi ran the Sinatra Club, an illegal after-hours gambling den that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters. But the nonstop thrills of Polisi's criminal glory days abruptly ended.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The gangster with a heart of gold...
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The Prince of Providence
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 9
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
Welcome to Providence, Rhode Island, where corruption is entertainment and Mayor Buddy Cianci presided over the longest-running lounge act in American politics. In The Prince of Providence, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike Stanton tells a classic story of wiseguys, feds, and politicians on a carousel of crime and redemption.
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Unbeaten
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story5 out of 5 stars 39
From the best-selling author of The Prince of Providence comes a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: He never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Rocky
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The Rise and Fall of a "Casino" Mobster
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
Tony Spilotro was the Mob's man in Las Vegas. A feared enforcer, the bosses knew Tony would do whatever it took to protect their interests. The "Little Guy" built a criminal empire that was the envy of mobsters across the country, and his childhood pal, Frank Cullotta, helped him do it. But Tony's quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas; and Tony paid for it with his life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A terrific listen. Author and narrator were Great
- By rob on 07-19-17
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Chin
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- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Vincent "Chin" Gigante. He started out as a professional boxer - until he found his true calling as a ruthless contract killer. His doting mother's pet name for the boy evolved into his famous alias, "Chin", a nickname that struck fear throughout organized crime as he routinely ordered the murders of mobsters who violated the Mafia code. Vincent Gigante was hand-picked by Vito Genovese to run the Genovese Family when Vito was sent to prison. Chin raked in more than $100 million for the Genovese Family, all while evading federal investigators.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not as good as others
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Family Secrets
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Even in Chicago, a city steeped in mob history and legend, the Family Secrets case was a true spectacle when it made it to court in 2007. A top mob boss, a reputed consigliere, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Painting a vivid picture of murder, courtroom drama, family loyalties and disloyalties, journalist Jeff Coen accurately portrays the Chicago Outfit's cold-blooded killers.
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1 out of 5 stars
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What a bore!
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The King of Con
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- By: Thomas Giacomaro, Natasha Stoynoff
- Narrated by: Thomas Giacomaro
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story5 out of 5 stars 15
The King of Con is the true story about a smart, streetwise Jersey boy who talked his way to the top and became richer and more successful than his wildest dreams. It offers an unforgettable look into the life of a man who became hooked on living life to thrilling and dangerous excess, rubbing elbows with celebrities and crime bosses, until he was humbled by the FBI, by the US Attorney, and by life itself. Now, Tom Giacomaro is back in his old neighborhood. His mob cronies are calling, his palms are itching to make billions again, and the US Attorney's office is watching.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A life less ordinary
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I: The Creation of a Serial Killer
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
In February 1990, Oregon State Police arrested John Sosnovke and Laverne Pavlinac for the vicious rape and murder of Taunja Bennet. Pavlinac had come forth and confessed, implicating her boyfriend and producing physical evidence that linked them to the crime. Authorities closed the case. There was just one problem. They had the wrong people. And the real killer wasn't about to let anyone take credit for his kill.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The last of Jack Olsen
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Dock Boss
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- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4
Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront is the fascinating account of one gangster's ascension from altar boy to the leader of New York City's violent Irish Mob. Eddie McGrath's life and crimes are traced through the tail-end of Prohibition, the gang warfare of the 1930s that propelled him into the position of an organized crime boss, the sordid years of underworld control over the bustling waterfront, McGrath's involvement in dozens of gangland murders, and finally the decline of the dock mobsters following a period of longshoremen rebellion in the 1950s.
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The Big Heist
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- By: Anthony M. DeStefano
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- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
One of the biggest scores in Mafia history, the Lufthansa Airlines heist of 1978 has become the stuff of Mafia legend - and a decades-long investigation that continues to this day. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony DeStefano sheds new light on this legendary unsolved case using recent evidence from the 2015 trial of 80-year-old Mafia don Vincent Asaro, who for the first time speaks out on his role in the fateful Lufthansa heist.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The story of the unnamed guys
- By John S on 10-28-18
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Confidential Confidential
- The Inside Story of Hollywood's Notorious Scandal Magazine
- By: Samantha Barbas
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4
In the 1950s, Confidential magazine, America's first celebrity scandal magazine, revealed Hollywood stars' secrets, misdeeds, and transgressions in gritty, unvarnished detail. Deploying a vast network of tipsters to root out stars' sexual affairs, drug use, and sexuality, publisher Robert Harrison destroyed celebrities' carefully constructed images and built a media empire. Confidential became the best-selling magazine on American newsstands in the 1950s, surpassing Time, Life, and the Saturday Evening Post. Confidential's spectacular rise was followed by an equally spectacular fall.
Publisher's Summary
The press nicknamed him "The Prime Minister of the Underworld". The US Treasury's Bureau of Narcotics described him as "one of the most powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S." But to friends and associates, he was simply "Uncle Frank". Who was Frank Costello really? That's the question Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano sets out to answer in this definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime....
Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up, from small-time bootlegging and gambling to a nationwide racketeering empire. Sometimes shocking, sometimes amusing, and always riveting, these are the stories that have inspired American crime classics like The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation's history. This is Top Hoodlum.
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- Jeffery D. Giuliani
- Sterling Heights, MI United States
- 08-14-18
Excellent look at Frank Costello
I am a serious fan of this genre. This book gives a great overview of Frank Costello. You don't have to have previous knowledge and it doesn't assume you do. Narrator does a pretty good job.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arthur F.
- 07-13-18
Great book!
I usually don't like books that are not first person. I think that they are redundant and often misinform. From everything I know about Frank Costello This Book is pretty spot-on. I think that the narrator does a great job as well. In fact if you like this narrator you should read Philip Leonetti's book Mafia Prince. if you are into mafia books then I would highly advise this one. It was a great read.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful