Cosa Nostra News

Excerpted from I Pity the Poor Immigrant: A Novel  by Zachary Lazar (Fiction; April 8, 2014). The Bomb magazine published this first proof. Lazar is the author of three books, most recently the novel Sway , about the Rolling Stones' early days, and the memoir Evening’s Empire: The Story of My Father’s Murder , which may be of interest to regular readers.  When he was just six years old, Zachary Lazar's father, Edward, was shot dead by hit men in a Phoenix, Arizona parking garage. The year was 1975, a time when, according to the Arizona Republic, "land-fraud artists roamed the state in sharp suits, gouging money from buyers and investors." How did his father fit into this world and how could his son ever truly understand the man, his time and place, and his motivations? In Evening's Empire, Zachary Lazar brilliantly attempts to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to his father's murder. Lazar's writing has appeared in t...

Louis Ferrante: TV host, best-selling author, lecturer, former gangster. In preparation for Cosa Nostra News  correspondent Charley DeLucca 's upcoming review of the debut episode of Lou Ferrante 's new television series, Inside the Gangsters' Code , which focused on the Camorra , we thought we'd provide you with some insight into this particular group that makes up Italy's three Mafias (well, four maybe ). 1: The Camorra is one of Italy’s oldest criminal organizations, dating back at least to the 18th century. (Ed. Note. The original Camorra was the oldest, but the group dissipated and reformed following WWII.) 2: The name Camorra comes probably comes from a combination of “capo” (boss) and “morra” (an old Neapolitan street gambling game). Control of gambling houses may have been the gang’s first business.

La Cicciolina, sans exposed breasts. The following was written by Charles DeLucca , our itinerant journalist, who occasionally files reports with Cosa Nostra News based on his observations and thoughts regarding organized crime, Italian-style, in all its various guises and locals. Most of the time, when I mention I am of Italian nationality, people ask me about every single issue relating to Italy. From Berlusconi to La Cicciolina (a Hungarian-born Italian porn star, politician and singer, famous for delivering political speeches with her breasts exposed). They also ask my about the dynamics of organized crime. Certain topics are off limits because it’s really, really difficult to explain the truth about certain groups. For instance, most of what we know about the American Cosa Nostra is from the movies, TV and pentitis (plural for “those who repent”; rats, turncoats, in other words). Nobody knew much about la Camorra until Robert Saviano published Gomorrah ...

COSA NOSTRA NEWS EXCLUSIVE In an effort to help this blog expand its horizons, Charles DeLucca will be writing an ongoing series of articles about his observances and thoughts regarding organized crime, Italian-style, in all its various guises and locals. My name is Charles DeLucca and I’m a semi-retired member of the Neapolitan Camorra. Born and raised in Naples, I have spent more than 20 years living and breathing for the structure of clans that make up the so-called Camorra. I was a member of the ruthless Casalesi Clan.