Gangster Squad
Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robert Petkoff
-
By:
-
Paul Lieberman
About this listen
A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat narrative of murder and secrets, revenge and heroism in the City of Angels - the real events behind the blockbuster Warner Brothers film starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.
Gangster Squad chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after World War II. In 1946, the LAPD launched the Gangster Squad with eight men who met covertly on street corners and slept with Tommy guns under their beds. But for two cops, all that mattered was nailing the strutting gangster Mickey Cohen. Sgt. Jack O’Mara was a square-jawed church usher, Sgt. Jerry Wooters a cynical maverick. About all they had in common was their obsession. So O’Mara set a trap to prove Mickey was a killer. And Wooters formed an alliance with Mickey’s budding rival, Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen. Two cops - two hoodlums.
Their fates collided in the closing days of the 1950s, when late one night “The Enforcer” confronted Mickey and his crew. The aftermath would shake both LA’s mob and police department, and signal the end of a defining era in the city’s history.
In 2008 award-winning journalist Paul Lieberman’s seven-part Los Angeles Times series “Tales from the Gangster Squad” was optioned by Warner Bros. He spent over a decade tracking down surviving members of the real police unit as well as families and associates of the mobsters they pursued.
Gangster Squad is a tour-de-force narrative reminiscient of LA Confidential.
©2012 Paul Lieberman (P)2012 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
L.A. Noir
- The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City
- By: John Buntin
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Midcentury Los Angeles: A city sold to the world as "the white spot of America", a land of sunshine and orange groves, Midwestern values, and Hollywood stars, protected by the world's most famous police force, the Dragnet-era LAPD. Behind this public image lies a hidden world of "pleasure girls" and crooked cops, ruthless newspaper tycoons, corrupt politicians, and East Coast gangsters on the make. Into this underworld came two men - one L.A.'s most notorious gangster, the other its most famous police chief - each prepared to battle the other for the soul of the city.
-
-
A good (but a little corny) history of LA
- By Jimmy on 10-23-12
By: John Buntin
-
The Cigar
- Carmine Galante, Mafia Terror
- By: Frank Dimatteo, Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The son of Sicilian immigrants, Camillo Carmine Galante was raised in Manhattan's Little Italy and by all accounts born bad. By fifteen he was terrorizing the streets of New York's Lower East Side, scoring high marks for the "errands" he was running for his La Cosa Nostra elders. When he turned twenty, Galante was already one of the mob's top enforcers-a sadistic thrill killer and clinically diagnosed psychopath with big dreams.
-
-
Lazy Attempt; Awful Narrator
- By Rich on 05-05-23
By: Frank Dimatteo, and others
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
The Life We Chose
- William “Big Billy” D’Elia and the Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family
- By: Matt Birkbeck
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The “adopted” son of legendary organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, for decades D’Elia had unequaled access to the man the FBI and US Justice Department considered one of the leading organized crime figures in the United States. But the government had no real idea as to the breadth of Bufalino’s power and influence—or that it was Bufalino, from his bucolic home base in Pittston, Pennsylvania, who reigned over the five families in New York and other organized crime families throughout the country.
-
-
Interesting read about mafia
- By J. Frantz on 03-12-24
By: Matt Birkbeck
-
The Last Gangster
- From Cop to Wiseguy to FBI Informant: Big Ron Previte and the Fall of the American Mob
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a cop, Ron Previte was corrupt. As a mobster, he was brutal. And in his final role, as a confidential informant to the FBI, Previte was deadly. The Last Gangster is his story—the story of the last days of the Philadelphia Mob, and of the clash of generations that brought it down once and for all. Convinced that the honor of the "business" was gone, he became the FBI's secret weapon in an intense and highly personalized war on the Philadelphia mob, operating with the same guile, wit, and stone-cold bravado that had made him a force in the underworld.
-
-
Beautifully done! Exceptional.
- By none on 12-15-23
By: George Anastasia
-
The Gotti Wars
- Taking Down America's Most Notorious Mobster
- By: John Gleeson
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Gotti was without a doubt the flashiest and most feared Mafioso in American history. He became the boss of the Gambino Crime Family in spectacular fashion—with the brazen and very public murder of Paul Castellano in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan in 1985. Not one to stay below law enforcement’s radar, Gotti instead became the first celebrity crime boss. His penchant for eye-catching apparel earned him the nickname “The Dapper Don;” his ability to beat criminal charges led to another: “The Teflon Don.”
-
-
Corrupt prosecutors and Defendant
- By Mark on 12-13-23
By: John Gleeson
-
L.A. Noir
- The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City
- By: John Buntin
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Midcentury Los Angeles: A city sold to the world as "the white spot of America", a land of sunshine and orange groves, Midwestern values, and Hollywood stars, protected by the world's most famous police force, the Dragnet-era LAPD. Behind this public image lies a hidden world of "pleasure girls" and crooked cops, ruthless newspaper tycoons, corrupt politicians, and East Coast gangsters on the make. Into this underworld came two men - one L.A.'s most notorious gangster, the other its most famous police chief - each prepared to battle the other for the soul of the city.
-
-
A good (but a little corny) history of LA
- By Jimmy on 10-23-12
By: John Buntin
-
The Cigar
- Carmine Galante, Mafia Terror
- By: Frank Dimatteo, Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The son of Sicilian immigrants, Camillo Carmine Galante was raised in Manhattan's Little Italy and by all accounts born bad. By fifteen he was terrorizing the streets of New York's Lower East Side, scoring high marks for the "errands" he was running for his La Cosa Nostra elders. When he turned twenty, Galante was already one of the mob's top enforcers-a sadistic thrill killer and clinically diagnosed psychopath with big dreams.
-
-
Lazy Attempt; Awful Narrator
- By Rich on 05-05-23
By: Frank Dimatteo, and others
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
The Life We Chose
- William “Big Billy” D’Elia and the Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family
- By: Matt Birkbeck
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The “adopted” son of legendary organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, for decades D’Elia had unequaled access to the man the FBI and US Justice Department considered one of the leading organized crime figures in the United States. But the government had no real idea as to the breadth of Bufalino’s power and influence—or that it was Bufalino, from his bucolic home base in Pittston, Pennsylvania, who reigned over the five families in New York and other organized crime families throughout the country.
-
-
Interesting read about mafia
- By J. Frantz on 03-12-24
By: Matt Birkbeck
-
The Last Gangster
- From Cop to Wiseguy to FBI Informant: Big Ron Previte and the Fall of the American Mob
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a cop, Ron Previte was corrupt. As a mobster, he was brutal. And in his final role, as a confidential informant to the FBI, Previte was deadly. The Last Gangster is his story—the story of the last days of the Philadelphia Mob, and of the clash of generations that brought it down once and for all. Convinced that the honor of the "business" was gone, he became the FBI's secret weapon in an intense and highly personalized war on the Philadelphia mob, operating with the same guile, wit, and stone-cold bravado that had made him a force in the underworld.
-
-
Beautifully done! Exceptional.
- By none on 12-15-23
By: George Anastasia
-
The Gotti Wars
- Taking Down America's Most Notorious Mobster
- By: John Gleeson
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Gotti was without a doubt the flashiest and most feared Mafioso in American history. He became the boss of the Gambino Crime Family in spectacular fashion—with the brazen and very public murder of Paul Castellano in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan in 1985. Not one to stay below law enforcement’s radar, Gotti instead became the first celebrity crime boss. His penchant for eye-catching apparel earned him the nickname “The Dapper Don;” his ability to beat criminal charges led to another: “The Teflon Don.”
-
-
Corrupt prosecutors and Defendant
- By Mark on 12-13-23
By: John Gleeson
-
Wiseguy
- By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese - introduction
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Corey Brill, Hillary Huber, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true crime best seller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds...with Henry Hill’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action.
-
-
Finally unabridged
- By Rodney on 12-16-19
By: Nicholas Pileggi, and others
-
The Bruno-Scarfo Mafia Crime Family
- A Complete History of a Philadelphia Criminal Organization
- By: Mafia Library
- Narrated by: Christopher J. Orlando
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For over a century, the Bruno-Scarfo crime family reigned over Philadelphia before a series of internal and external events led to their downfall. Such was the power that the family possessed that they had close connections with the Five Families of the New York Mafia.
-
-
GREAT STORY
- By Carlos A Hickman on 09-11-24
By: Mafia Library
-
Gangsters vs. Nazis
- How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America
- By: Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Gabriel Vaughan
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Adolph Hitler rose to power in 1930s Germany, a growing wave of fascism began to take root on American soil. Nazi activists started to gather in major American cities, and by 1933, there were more than one hundred anti-Semitic groups operating openly in the United States. Few Americans dared to speak out or fight back—until an organized resistance of notorious mobsters waged their own personal war against the Nazis in their midst. Gangland-style.
-
-
What, you couldn’t find one culturally Jewish narrator?
- By Deborah Bancroft on 12-29-22
By: Michael Benson
-
Band of Brothers
- E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Tim Jerome
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory, Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignments. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. Band of Brothers is the account of the men of this remarkable unit.
-
-
High Expectations Met
- By Audrey on 02-12-13
-
The Irishman (Movie Tie-In)
- Originally published as: I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa
- By: Charles Brandt
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Irishman is an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, Sheeran’s story chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries, and connections to mainstream politics.
-
-
Don't give up!
- By Grace Azul on 05-30-10
By: Charles Brandt
-
The Sixth Family
- The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto
- By: Lee Lamothe, Adrian Humphreys
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 22 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 5, 1981, three rebellious members of New York's Bonanno crime family were gunned down in a Brooklyn social club. One of the gunmen was Vito Rizzuto, a man who would rise to the top of the underworld in Canada and then expand his reign across continents to become a global superboss. The Sixth Family, now revised and updated, reveals the hidden history of the rise of the Rizzuto clan, the alliances it forged around the world, and the bloody events that led to charges against Vito Rizzuto in the United States and Italy for racketeering and corruption.
-
-
The most boring book I ever read
- By D. G. on 01-15-20
By: Lee Lamothe, and others
-
Mob Cops
- The Shocking Rise and Fall of New York's "Mafia Cops"
- By: Greg B. Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
absolutely phenomenal
- By Arthur F. on 10-19-18
By: Greg B. Smith
-
Murder Machine
- A True Story of Murder, Madness, and the Mafia
- By: Gene Mustain, Jerry Capeci
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were the DeMeo gang - the most deadly hit men in organized crime. Their Mafia higher-ups came to know, use, and ultimately fear them as the Murder Machine. They killed for profit and for pleasure, following cold-blooded plans and wild whims, from the mean streets of New York to the Florida Gold Coast, and from coast to coast. Now complete with personal revelations of one of the key players, this is the savage story that leaves no corpse unturned in its terrifying telling.
-
-
stop browsing and just get it.
- By Patrick on 04-20-21
By: Gene Mustain, and others
-
Hollywood Godfather
- My Life in the Movies and the Mob
- By: Gianni Russo, Patrick Picciarelli
- Narrated by: Gianni Russo
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, and he didn't have to act - he knew the mob inside and out: from his childhood in Little Italy, where Mafia legend Frank Costello took him under his wing, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club. Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Liza Minelli....
-
-
If everything in this book is true; F-n-A!
- By Anonymous User on 04-15-19
By: Gianni Russo, and others
-
Among the Bros
- A Fraternity Crime Story
- By: Max Marshall
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Max Marshall arrived on the campus of the College of Charleston in 2018, he hoped to investigate a small-time fraternity Xanax trafficking ring. Instead, he found a homicide, several student deaths, and millions of dollars circulating around the Deep South. He also opened up an elite world hidden to outsiders. Behind the pop culture cliches of “Greek life” lies one of the major breeding grounds of American power: 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but four presidents since 1825 have been fraternity members.
-
-
Great Book-Not so great reading
- By Hannah Earp on 11-30-23
By: Max Marshall
-
The Black Dahlia
- By: James Ellroy
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 15, 1947, the tortured body of a beautiful young woman was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood. Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, a young Hollywood hopeful, had been brutally murdered. Her murder sparked one of the greatest manhunts in California history.
-
-
Great naration
- By Grasshopper.Craig on 09-10-06
By: James Ellroy
-
The Black Hand
- The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer
- By: Chris Blatchford
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rene "Boxer" Enriquez grew up on the violent streets of East L.A., where gang fights, robberies, and drive-by shootings were fueled by rage, drugs, and alcohol. When he finally landed in prison - at the age of 19 - Enriquez found an organization that brought him the respect he always wanted: the near-mythic and widely feared Mexican Mafia, La Eme. What the organization saw in Enriquez was a young man who knew no fear and would kill anyone - justifiably or not - in the blink of an eye.
-
-
Intense, brutal, and informative
- By E on 07-08-15
By: Chris Blatchford
Related to this topic
-
The Murder of Sonny Liston
- Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
- By: Shaun Assael
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston was found dead in his home - of an apparent heroin overdose. But no one close to Liston believed that his death was accidental. Digging deep into a life that Liston tried hard to hide, Shaun Assael treats the boxer's death as a cold case. The result is a riveting whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas.
-
-
Great read
- By Diane Dodge on 09-14-19
By: Shaun Assael
-
Boston Mob
- The Rise and Fall of the New England Mob and Its Most Notorious Killer
- By: Marc Songini
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Entertaining
- By joeyg1963 on 12-07-19
By: Marc Songini
-
The Last Good Heist
- The Inside Story of the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast
- By: Wayne Worcester, Randall Richard, Tim White
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 14, 1975, eight daring thieves ransacked 148 massive safe-deposit boxes at a secret bank used by organized crime, La Cosa Nostra, and its associates in Providence, Rhode Island. The crooks fled with duffel bags crammed full of cash, gold, silver, stamps, coins, jewels, and high-end jewelry. The true value of the loot has always been kept secret, partly because it was ill-gotten to begin with, and partly because there was plenty of incentive to keep its true worth out of the limelight.
-
-
Interesting but not the greatest story.
- By Russell on 07-21-17
By: Wayne Worcester, and others
-
Get Capone
- The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Jonathan Eig blows the lid off the Al Capone story. Based on never-before-seen government documents and newly discovered letters written by Al Capone himself, Get Capone presents America's greatest gangster as you’ve never seen him before.
-
-
Get this book
- By Jonathan on 05-13-10
By: Jonathan Eig
-
The Last Gangster
- From Cop to Wiseguy to FBI Informant: Big Ron Previte and the Fall of the American Mob
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a cop, Ron Previte was corrupt. As a mobster, he was brutal. And in his final role, as a confidential informant to the FBI, Previte was deadly. The Last Gangster is his story—the story of the last days of the Philadelphia Mob, and of the clash of generations that brought it down once and for all. Convinced that the honor of the "business" was gone, he became the FBI's secret weapon in an intense and highly personalized war on the Philadelphia mob, operating with the same guile, wit, and stone-cold bravado that had made him a force in the underworld.
-
-
Beautifully done! Exceptional.
- By none on 12-15-23
By: George Anastasia
-
The Westies
- Inside New York's Irish Mob
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window.
-
-
Great book
- By Julio on 06-28-18
By: T. J. English
-
The Murder of Sonny Liston
- Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
- By: Shaun Assael
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston was found dead in his home - of an apparent heroin overdose. But no one close to Liston believed that his death was accidental. Digging deep into a life that Liston tried hard to hide, Shaun Assael treats the boxer's death as a cold case. The result is a riveting whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas.
-
-
Great read
- By Diane Dodge on 09-14-19
By: Shaun Assael
-
Boston Mob
- The Rise and Fall of the New England Mob and Its Most Notorious Killer
- By: Marc Songini
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Entertaining
- By joeyg1963 on 12-07-19
By: Marc Songini
-
The Last Good Heist
- The Inside Story of the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast
- By: Wayne Worcester, Randall Richard, Tim White
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 14, 1975, eight daring thieves ransacked 148 massive safe-deposit boxes at a secret bank used by organized crime, La Cosa Nostra, and its associates in Providence, Rhode Island. The crooks fled with duffel bags crammed full of cash, gold, silver, stamps, coins, jewels, and high-end jewelry. The true value of the loot has always been kept secret, partly because it was ill-gotten to begin with, and partly because there was plenty of incentive to keep its true worth out of the limelight.
-
-
Interesting but not the greatest story.
- By Russell on 07-21-17
By: Wayne Worcester, and others
-
Get Capone
- The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Jonathan Eig blows the lid off the Al Capone story. Based on never-before-seen government documents and newly discovered letters written by Al Capone himself, Get Capone presents America's greatest gangster as you’ve never seen him before.
-
-
Get this book
- By Jonathan on 05-13-10
By: Jonathan Eig
-
The Last Gangster
- From Cop to Wiseguy to FBI Informant: Big Ron Previte and the Fall of the American Mob
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a cop, Ron Previte was corrupt. As a mobster, he was brutal. And in his final role, as a confidential informant to the FBI, Previte was deadly. The Last Gangster is his story—the story of the last days of the Philadelphia Mob, and of the clash of generations that brought it down once and for all. Convinced that the honor of the "business" was gone, he became the FBI's secret weapon in an intense and highly personalized war on the Philadelphia mob, operating with the same guile, wit, and stone-cold bravado that had made him a force in the underworld.
-
-
Beautifully done! Exceptional.
- By none on 12-15-23
By: George Anastasia
-
The Westies
- Inside New York's Irish Mob
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window.
-
-
Great book
- By Julio on 06-28-18
By: T. J. English
-
Detroit
- An American Autopsy
- By: Charlie LeDuff
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the heart of America, a metropolis is quietly destroying itself. Detroit, once the richest city in the nation, is now its poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age - mass production, automobiles, and blue-collar jobs - Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, foreclosure, and dropouts. With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark and the righteous indignation that only a native son can possess, journalist Charlie LeDuff sets out to uncover what has brought low this once-vibrant city, his city.
-
-
WOW
- By Avid Reader and Listener on 07-09-13
By: Charlie LeDuff
-
Operation Family Secrets
- How a Mobster's Son and the FBI Brought Down Chicago's Murderous Crime Family
- By: Frank Calabrese Jr., Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman, and others
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Calabrese family of Chicago is a close-knit, middle-class, multi-generational Italian-Irish-American clan. They operate family businesses. They work day and night striving for the American Dream. All three sons forge a bond with their controlling father, Frank Sr., and their soft-spoken favorite uncle, Nick. As a boy, the oldest son, Frank Jr., realizes that his father and uncle are also "made" members of another close-knit family: the outfit.
-
-
Riveting Listen!
- By ahippieadventure on 02-06-13
By: Frank Calabrese Jr., and others
-
A Bright and Guilty Place
- Murder, Corruption, and L.A.'s Scandalous Coming of Age
- By: Richard Rayner
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A Bright and Guilty Place, an exhilarating tale of murder in L.A., Richard Rayner finds the source of the city's darkness in real-life events that unfolded in the 1920s, when the booming early years of L.A. started to shade into the Depression, and the city of sunshine revealed the hidden darkness and corruption at its heart.
-
-
Didn't hold my interest
- By Hopesurvives on 11-03-17
By: Richard Rayner
-
Gotti's Rules
- The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don", John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways, an image perpetuated in popular Mafia mythology. John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell.
-
-
Garbage read
- By Ray on 09-02-15
By: George Anastasia
-
Gangsters vs. Nazis
- How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America
- By: Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Gabriel Vaughan
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Adolph Hitler rose to power in 1930s Germany, a growing wave of fascism began to take root on American soil. Nazi activists started to gather in major American cities, and by 1933, there were more than one hundred anti-Semitic groups operating openly in the United States. Few Americans dared to speak out or fight back—until an organized resistance of notorious mobsters waged their own personal war against the Nazis in their midst. Gangland-style.
-
-
What, you couldn’t find one culturally Jewish narrator?
- By Deborah Bancroft on 12-29-22
By: Michael Benson
-
Storming Las Vegas
- How a Cuban-Born, Soviet-Trained Commando Took Down the Strip to the Tune of Five World-Class Hotels, Three Armored Cars, and Millions of Dollars
- By: John Huddy
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 20, 1998, a Cuban-born former Red Army lieutenant named Jose Vigoa launched a series of raids on the Las Vegas Strip. During a 16-month spree, Vigoa robbed five world-class hotels, three armored cars, and one department store. The casinos hit were the MGM; the Desert Inn; the New York, New York; the Mandalay Bay; and the Bellagio. Lieutenant John Alamshaw, a 23-year-old veteran in charge of robbery detectives, was ordered to stop the robberies at all costs. He knew he was up against a mastermind. What he didn't know was that he was running out of time.
-
-
I loved it..
- By Ed Robertson on 03-31-08
By: John Huddy
-
S Street Rising
- Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.
- By: Ruben Castaneda
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the height of the crack epidemic that decimated the streets of D.C., Ruben Castaneda covered the crime beat for the Washington Post. The first in his family to graduate from college, he had landed a job at one of the country’s premier newspapers. But his apparent success masked a devastating secret: he was a crack addict. Even as he covered the drug-fueled violence that was destroying the city, he was prowling S Street, a 24/7 open-air crack market, during his off hours, looking for his next fix.
-
-
Some good DC history & time travel
- By Marie on 07-12-16
By: Ruben Castaneda
-
The Brothers Bulger
- How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century
- By: Howie Carr
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This fresh account of Massachusetts' infamous Bulger brothers unveils a stunning criminal alliance, and with its dual biography format, goes deeper than the New York Times best-selling Black Mass. For the first time, journalist Howie Carr reveals the real story behind the infamous Bulgers, two brothers from South Boston who grew up to control a state.
-
-
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz
- By Tory on 11-18-06
By: Howie Carr
-
Public Enemies
- America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34
- By: Bryan Burrough
- Narrated by: Campbell Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Public Enemies, Bryan Burrough strips away a thick layer of myths put out by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to tell the full story of the most spectacular crime wave in American history, the two-year battle between the young Hoover and an assortment of criminals who became national icons: John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barkers.
-
-
Need the unabridged version
- By Craig Hansen on 07-28-04
By: Bryan Burrough
-
The Corporation
- An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the mid 1980s, the criminal underworld in the United States had become an ethnic polyglot; one of the most powerful illicit organizations was none other than the Cuban mob. Known on both sides of the law as "the Corporation", the Cuban mob's power stemmed from a criminal culture embedded in south Florida's exile community - those who had been chased from the island by Castro's revolution and planned to overthrow the Marxist dictator and reclaim their nation.
-
-
uncle joey approved
- By Anonymous User on 04-14-18
By: T. J. English
-
Cullotta
- By: Dennis N. Griffin, Frank Cullotta
- Narrated by: Michael Taylor
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it - and in graphic detail. This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro's gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta's was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information - lots of it - about many of the FBI's most wanted.
-
-
Great story, silly narrator
- By Tom Mainella II on 04-20-15
By: Dennis N. Griffin, and others
-
Animal
- The Bloody Rise and Fall of the Mob's Most Feared Assassin
- By: Casey Sherman
- Narrated by: Jim Goad
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Well done. 5 stars.
- By robert price on 03-03-19
By: Casey Sherman
What listeners say about Gangster Squad
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DaveNoID
- 06-24-15
Not the movie
This is the story of the real gangster squad - I really enjoyed this production. It was interesting & very entertaining. Big thumbs up!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Josh Uldricks
- 08-15-17
Gangster Squad
A few good things about this is the writer did an amazing amount of research, he also notes when stories he has can contain hyperbole or be untrue. The characters are all good characters to hear about especially the Whalen family.
Really one of the boring parts was Mickey Cohen sure he was interesting till he went to prison the first time, after that he seems just like a has been and the story could have been better suited towards other things the intelligence division did.
The origins the writer goes back to are excellent he mentions the fruit cart selling black hand people and details how in the early days LA was the wild west and was notorious for corruption. It is a great overall read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark Landsbaum
- 02-14-22
Great fun. How much of it is embellished?
Great fun. How much of it is embellished? Who KNOWS? Who cares? Still get fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KEITH
- 02-21-13
Nothing Like the movie
Would you try another book from Paul Lieberman and/or Robert Petkoff?
It is up in the air. I do not normally listen to non fiction. This book did grab my interest once I got past that the book was a historical narative of the years in LA in the police force.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
It is a well written and well documented book that does not leave gaps in the telling of the LA police forces fight to keep the Mafia out of its City.
What three words best describe Robert Petkoff’s performance?
Easy to listen to. He is very clear in his reading.
Was Gangster Squad worth the listening time?
Initially I was unhappy as it claims to be the basis of the Movie. As with Band of Brothers by by Ambrose as opposed to the HBO series it is not very much alike. Once I started to listen though, the book did catch me and I was not able to stop listening to it. Have truly enjoyed it. If you are interested in early Police history, LA or the Mafia this is a good book for you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robbie Major
- 01-22-21
Great book
Loved it, great narration, great author, and great characters in the book. Hope there's a sequel!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ted H.
- 03-18-18
I read it & felt like I lived it
Very enjoyable story, if you like cops & mobsters. I enjoyed that Lieberman didn't glorify these thugs - especially Mickey Cohen. That's one of the things I hated about "The Sopranos". These are low lifes who ruin the lives of mostly innocent people by praying on the weaknesses. Example: Mickey Cohen owned a florist and he would send out his delivery people with floral arrangements to homes of some of the citizens of Los Angeles. The problem...these people didn't order flowers. Of course Cohen's named would be on the receipt and since he was a well known "celebrity"/gangster (for lack of a better term) and fearing retribution they pay up. Nothing romantic about that unless you're a thug looking for new ideas to scam hard working citizens. It's the police that are the romantic character in this story. It's a wonderful story spanning the late 30's (with main character family stories dating back to the 1880's) thru the early 1960's (again with main characters stories going up until present time). This story goes much, much deeper than the movie. I hope this entices some people get the wonderful audio book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CHRIS
- 09-24-24
Impeccably good 👍🏻
Storyline, facts , and timeline were spot on.
This was a story that involved my family, so it was cathartic to learn some hidden truths.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!