Who Wrote Bugs, Bull & Rats? I Think I Know...

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It was surprising enough that Gangland News hawked a nonfiction book about the mob's doings written under a pen name, but now the New York Daily News went and interviewed this fella too.

"Frank Palmeri" is the pseudonymous author of Bugs, Bull, & Rats, which the Daily News describes as "an anecdotal recounting of some of the mob’s most notorious hits and hit men." (Note to Daily News: you misspelled the guy's name -- it's Palmeri not Palmieri. I am seeking work if you need a proofreader...)

As for the inducted mobster who wrote the book:
Palmeri is not my real name because even though I make my living now by legitimate means, I'm still a member of the Mafia. I always will be. As I said, I swore the oath. The Mafia is more than a crime organization; it's the life you live. I served time because of a wire-wearing rat. Now I'm writing this book and sharing information about a secret organization that is no longer secret because the rats have spilled everything. So you understand, this book is not written by an informant who wants to look good now that he has cooperated with the government... ...I never cooperated."




I am pretty certain I figured out who "Frank" is. Let's say I am 95 percent certain. I can't explain to you how I know (let's just say I hear about mob-related books and screenplays on a near-daily basis; sometimes inquiries are sent about interviewing this or that guy.) In this case, it was a simple exercise in deductive reasoning.

But here's the catch -- I am not going to name the guy.

  1. I am not certain it's him (though I am pretty certain); 
  2. If it's who I think, I like him; 
  3. I think it was actually pretty ingenious to launch the book this way, using the pseudonym....Then again if I am correct about him, he really had no choice....


In case his identity ever comes to light, I will offer now a few lame hints for any of you keeping score: He's not in the Bonannos or Gambinos; he's a New York guy but he didn't necessarily work in New York his entire life. And the Daily News notes that he is in his 70s.

Palmeri was "very close" friends with Vinny Asaro, the Bonanno wiseguy who shocked the Feds when he walked out of court a free man having been acquitted on all charges. Asaro told "Frank" that he was involved in the Lufthansa robbery.

“I don’t know how much Vinny got... but he hit the jackpot winning the case,” Palmeri said.

He added: “Vinny is a serious guy, a respectable guy. He wasn’t bloodthirsty." Frank also knew Gaspare Valenti, the guy who tried to hand over cousin Vinny on a silver platter. Palmeri never liked him...

"Frank Palmeri" said he's very good friends with Vinny Asaro.


Bugs, Bulls & Rats  manages to "implicate a Genovese mobster in a Brooklyn social club murder in which he was twice acquitted." and Palmeri also "predicts the Mafia will be gone in 15 years if wiseguys don’t wise up."

Palmeri decided to write the book to "set a few things straight about the mob and also make a few extra bucks." Also, he "doesn’t have any use for rats like Henry Hill, whom he knew slightly, saying the late hood’s popularity, as portrayed in the film Goodfellas, was exaggerated."




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