Top Hoodlum

Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia

De: Anthony M. DeStefano

Narrado por: L.J. Ganser

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.

©2018 Anthony M. DeStefano (P)2018 Tantor

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.

Slow burn . Great ending

For me, the book can get a little boring and hard to follow in the middle, particularly the descriptions of his trials or those trials related to him in someway. The book is best once the hearings begin. The famous hands, the “chin” incident etc...
Last part of the book really shines! Worth the effort to get there .

Very good. Well read by narrator

It was informative. But lots of legal courtroom talk not about Costello I thought.

Great Info

I love this type of read; even though they were criminals they are part of this country’s rich history

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.

mediocre.

the charechter is interesting and legendery, but the book is flat. not a lot of juicey stories. i axcpected more.