Anthony M. DeStefano

Man, this book suffers from false advertising. MOB KILLER: THE BLOODY RAMPAGE blah blah blah -- you'd think this book was about Kuklinski, or at least his equal. Alas, Charlie Canigs is hardly the larger-than-life character that is The Ice Man. We're pretty sure he killed four people (possibly five, but he wasn't convicted of the fifth), and I know it's a horrible thought, but -- that's it? Really? Four people over 10+ years is a bloody rampage? Of course, body count isn't everything. A show more wiseguy doesn't have to number his victims on two hands to be myth-worthy. For all we know (and we're certainly told it over and over in this book), Charlie Canigs really is a bloodthirsty, sadistic, morbid, sociopathic mobster with few equals in the personality disorders department. The problem is that the book tells us this, but it doesn't show us. And this is largely because Charles Carneglia declined to be interviewed by the author, and the subsequent lack of personality completely cripples the book. MOB KILLER fails to bring Charlie Canigs to life, and I think the author knows it, which is why most of the book isn't even really about Charlie. It's about Gotti, Alite, McMahon, Zuccaro -- all of whom are much more present personalities. We get lots of quotations from these guys -- words straight from the mobsters' mouths -- but I can recall maybe three quotations attributed to Charlie (and even those are hearsay). The guy who supposedly made Gotti dangerous just seems absent from his own book, and that's a real shame. show less

More of a case of the author providing a central figure around which to delve into the history of the period rather than the other way around. Jazz Age New York is the star and Vivian Gordon is the understudy.

However, it is a highly compelling look at the huge amount of graft and corruption taking place in all levels of government, as well as an insight into some of the legendary characters of the period - gangsters, cops, politician and madams. The reader will not be failed to be show more entertained.

Nice wrap up at the end with a chapter dedicated to what happened to those key players mentioned in the book. show less

An excellent look into the life and times of one of the original Mafioso's, Vito Genovese. The author seems to leave no stone unturned, as he delves deeply into Genovese's story. You will witness his coming up in the Mafia, as well as the tactics and strategies he employed to rise and to stay in power. A incredibly ruthless man!
I was impressed with the author's research. He even managed to unearth information about Genovese's history and duplicity in Italy during World War II. All in all, a show more very thorough biography.
If you are interested in the "golden age" of the Mafia, this would be a good book to read! show less

An interesting book about the boys who surrounded John Gotti on his ascension to the throne if you will, in taking control of the Gambino family. Probably the most well know being Sammy Gravano who ultimately was his undoing. The mob is always a good read for us the real life drama of the premiere bad guys. Many of these good fellows end up either dead or dead in serving out their terms behind bars. So all's well that ends well; or maybe.