Wiseguys and the White House

Gangsters, Presidents, and the Deals They Made

De: Eric Dezenhall

Narrado por: Graham Halstead

“Wiseguys and the White House is an eye-opening, authoritative, remarkably detailed exposé of the interplay between organized crime and our presidents, shockingly revealing how close we have come to Mob rule.”—Ronald Kessler, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets of the FBI and The First Family Detail

“Mobsters and presidents? The ties aren't just in pulp fiction. Eric Dezenhall tracks down the startling deals and deceptions that both sides might prefer to keep secret—from FDR to JFK to Trump.”—Susan Page, New York Times bestselling author of Madam Speaker

A “connected” account of how the Mob has worked with America’s Commander in Chiefs and have influenced the presidency for nearly a century.

Gangsters and presidents have long captured the American imagination, but how much does the underworld actually affect presidential power? How deep are their “connections”? As Eric Dezenhall reveals in this eye-opening history, in some instances, one couldn’t have functioned without the other. From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Richard Nixon to Joseph R. Biden, the mob has done presidential dirty work, including attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, harass America’s enemies, and put our chief executives in office.

Wiseguys and the White House documents when mobsters and presidents have traded favors—and double-crossed each other, including:

• The deal cut with Lucky Luciano to protect the waterfront during World War II.
• How the Chicago Outfit (and Frank Sinatra) got one Kennedy elected, only to be pursued by another.
• How LBJ and the FBI used a mob hitman to hunt down the killers of Civil Rights activists in Mississippi
• Reagan’s association with Lew Wasserman, the powerful and influential Hollywood mogul
• Trump's blatant ties to construction and gambling cartels
• Biden’s early links to “the Irishman” Frank Sheeran, the labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino.
• And more

Combining exhaustive research, including newly released government records and the private recollections of leading gangsters, Wiseguys and the White House offers insight into the myths about the power in America and the drive for recognition and respectability that unites consiglieri and commanders-in-chief alike.

©2025 Eric Dezenhall (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers

Bias narratives

Bias narratives , selective descriptions of events. Opinions offered as facts. Many known relative events not presented.

Well-researched and fascinating!

Well-researched and even-handed. Relative of Meyer Lansky and employee of the Reagan administration. Sources include Lansky's journals. Fantastic and fascinating! A truly great read.

Heavily biased, especially against republican presidents

Spends inordinate amounts of time talking about how you cannot possibly call Joe Kennedy a bootlegger due to his completely totally not bootlegging of Canadian and UK liquor into the USA during prohibition… But because Reagan new a guy in Hollywood in the 50’s working for MCA or since Trump had to buy concrete in the 80’s in NYC (both places backed/owned by the mob) or he talked to a guy who knew a guy who’s brother’s cousin’s uncles dog knew a guy in the mobbed up union, break out the guillotine…. Save your credit for absolutely anything else. Something worthwhile like Murder machine, Detroit Mob Chronicles, or mafia prince.

Bias

I couldn’t finish this book. It was so biased. Why didn’t they talk about Clintons with all the dead body count and no mention of Obama

Dumbest book ever

Author strings together and endless run of innuendo and speculation in a desperate attempt to tie everything and everyone to the mafia. National Enquirer-level “investigative journalism “. Where do I go to get my 1 credit back?