
King of the Godfathers
“Big Joey” Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family
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Narrated by:
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Danny Campbell
About this listen
The Last of the Old-World Mob Bosses - and the Ultimate Betrayal
For more than 20 years, Joseph "Big Joey" Massino ran what was called the largest criminal network in the US, employing over 250 made men and untold numbers of associates. The Bonanno family was responsible for over 30 murders, even killing a dozen of its own members to enforce discipline and settle scores. He would be brought down by Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale, the underboss who was not only Massino's closest and most trusted friend but also his brother-in-law. In the end, facing the death penalty and the prospect of leaving his family penniless, Massino started talking to the FBI - the first Mafia Godfather to break the sacred code of omerta, and the end of a centuries-old tradition.
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony DeStefano, who interviewed Massino's family and friends as well as law enforcement officials and confidential sources, King of the Godfathers is the story of the brutal mob war that made Massino head of the Bonanno family and the most powerful gangster in America.
©2006, 2008 Anthony M. DeStefano (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano presents the rise and fall of Vito Genovese in this first comprehensive biography of the legendary mafioso - from his childhood in Naples, Italy, and the beginnings of his bullet-ridden criminal career on lower Manhattan's mean streets, through his self-exile in the mid-1930s back to his homeland where he ran a black market operation under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, and his return to New York where Genovese made a fortune as the head of an illegal narcotics empire.
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Borderline fiction
- By Luke Murphy on 07-31-21
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Gangland New York
- The Places and Faces of Mob History
- By: Anthony M. DeStefano
- Narrated by: Gary Galone
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Bowery Boys and the Five Points Gang through the rise of the Jewish "Kosher Nostra" and the ascendance of the Italian Mafia, mobsters have played a major role in the city's history, lurking just around the corner or inside that nondescript building. Bill "the Butcher" Poole, Paul Kelly, Monk Eastman, "Lucky" Luciano, Carlo Gambino, Meyer Lansky, Mickey Spillane, John Gotti - each held sway over New York neighborhoods that nurtured them and gave them power.
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nicely detailed
- By Belinda Barnes on 09-04-15
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Gotti's Boys
- The Mafia Crew That Killed for John Gotti
- By: Anthony M. DeStefano
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano takes you inside John Gotti's inner circle to reveal the dark hearts and violent deeds of the most remorseless and cold-blooded characters in organized crime. Men so vicious even the other mafia families were terrified of them. Meet Gotti's Boys....
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Great Book
- By Arthur F. on 09-20-19
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Mob Boss
- The Life of Little Al D'arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia
- By: Jerry Capeci, Tom Robbins
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Alfonso "Little Al" D'Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese crime family, was the highest-ranking mobster to ever turn government witness when he flipped in 1991. His decision to flip prompted many others to make the same choice, including John Gotti's top aide, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and his testimony sent more than fifty mobsters to prison. In Mob Boss, award-winning news reporters Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins team up for this unparalleled account of D'Arco's life.
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Well written, accurate information, great narrator
- By Lisa on 12-01-13
By: Jerry Capeci, and others
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The Original When The Mob Ran Vegas
- Stories of Money, Mayhem and Murder
- By: Steve Fischer
- Narrated by: Todd Belcher
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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THE ORIGINAL (with 2024 updates)“My Uncle Al would have loved this book.” – Deirdre Capone
Vegas like you’ve never seen, tales you’ve never heard – until now. Sizzling, behind-the-headlines stories about the men, the Mob, movie stars, and missing money that made ’50s and ’60s Vegas such a hot spot in the Nevada desert. Those were the days... When Frank Sinatra threw a chair at the casino boss of the Sands and stormed out. When all the Mob bosses decided to kill Bugsy Siegel and take over the Flamingo. Did you see the front cover? Look again.
By: Steve Fischer
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Blood and Honor
- Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the critically acclaimed inside story, now in an expanded edition, about the rise and fall of Philadelphia's notorious Scarfo organization. Blunt and unsparing, it is a firsthand account of murder, money, and corruption told by wiseguy-turned-witness Nick Caramandi, whose testimony put Nicky Scarfo and many of his associates behind bars for the rest of their lives. In this updated edition of Blood and Honor, author George Anastasia picks up the story where he left off, filling us in on the fates of all the characters - major and minor - in recent years.
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So So
- By The Timahawk on 05-05-21
By: George Anastasia
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The Five Families of New York
- 5 Books in 1: The Complete History of America's Notorious Mafia Organizations
- By: Mafia Library
- Narrated by: John Raynar, Lee Sterry, Daniel Winski, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In "The Five Families of New York," Mafia Library presents a gripping account of the ascension and decline of New York's foremost crime syndicates, from the legendary Lucky Luciano to the notorious Paul Castellano and John Gotti, and beyond. Through vivid storytelling, the book chronicles the relentless assault waged against these five families over two decades, a campaign that stands as the most successful law enforcement effort of the last century.
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Excellent book
- By Jason P. on 08-14-24
By: Mafia Library
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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
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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.
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stop browsing and just get it.
- By Patrick on 04-20-21
By: Gene Mustain, and others
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Double Cross
- The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America
- By: Sam Giancana, Chuck Giancana, Tim Newark - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most feared Chicago mobsters, Sam Giancana, clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task.
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Kennedy Assassination Solved
- By Darlene A. Geloso on 05-30-20
By: Sam Giancana, and others
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The Gotti Wars
- Taking Down America's Most Notorious Mobster
- By: John Gleeson
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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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.”
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I spoke to soon.
- By Ductman on 04-20-24
By: John Gleeson
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Giovanni's Ring
- My Life Inside the Real Sopranos
- By: Giovanni Rocco, Douglas Schofield - contributor
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Giovanni's Ring is the story of "Giovanni Rocco," a New Jersey police officer, known undercover as "Giovanni Gatto," who was the mysterious agent at the epicenter of Operation Charlie Horse, a federal undercover operation that ultimately brought down ten members and associates of New Jersey's DeCavalcante Mafia family, the criminal organization known as "the real Sopranos." The book is not simply a chronicle of Giovanni Rocco's adventures in the murky and dangerous Mafia world he inhabited, but also a fascinating window into the psychological struggles that such a life entails.
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Second tier in every sense
- By Nicholas on 11-25-22
By: Giovanni Rocco, and others
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The Quiet Don
- The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino
- By: Matt Birkbeck
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Secretive - even reclusive - Russell Bufalino quietly built his organized crime empire in the decades between Prohibition and the Carter presidency. His reach extended far beyond the coal country of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and quaint Amish farms near Lancaster. Bufalino had a hand in global, national, and local politics of the largest American cities, many of its major industries, and controlled the powerful Teamsters Union. His influence also reached the highest levels of Pennsylvania government and halls of Congress, and his legacy left a culture of corruption that continues to this day.
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Important But Edited By Lawyers?
- By Ted on 04-03-14
By: Matt Birkbeck
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Borgata
- Clash of Titans: A History of the American Mafia
- By: Louis Ferrante
- Narrated by: Louis Ferrante
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The first serious external threat to the mafia's existence in America comes from U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who repeatedly expresses his desire to eradicate organized crime in America. Kennedy unleashes the full force of the U.S. Justice Department to the apparent dismay of long-time FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The mafia's unforgiving response is executed by Louisiana don Carlos Marcello along with Florida don Santo Trafficante, who together take aim at the attorney general's brother, the president of the United States.
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Spectacular
- By Rcalore on 03-25-25
By: Louis Ferrante
Crime doesn’t pay
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King of the Godfathers
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Very good
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a great book
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Good Start, Bad Finish
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