Cosa Nostra News

Disqus, the comment platform, has been acting funny the past couple of days. This is a Disqus problem that will likely be addressed soon. (We hope.)  The Mob Museum  recently debuted a virtual book series to highlight recent and upcoming mob books, including by top authors in the genre. All events in the series are free and can be accessed via the web. (We include all pertinent links in the story below.) Cosa Nostra News' s own  Nick Christophers has signed on to participate in the event  and, on May 26, will discuss the history of the Greek mob in America, a topic that deserves more attention (in our humble opinion).  Nick will discuss and take questions regarding his recent  Mafia Ties: The Greek Syndicates.  (The book is currently in contract to be republished under the Canadian-based Coastal West Publishing imprint.)  Mafia Ties, which we read and heartily recommend, details the history of these wily Greek criminals who deftly fashioned c...

We recently spoke with Nick Christophers and John Alite about their new book, Prison Rules , which was written to tell first-time offenders what they can expect inside the joint. Nick Christophers, left, and John Alite, authors of Prison Rules .  " John Alite is candid and genuine ," Nick said in a recent interview. (Nick occasionally writes for Cosa Nostra News , and we've been trying to get him to write some more. He's currently shopping what we think is the definitive book about the Greek Mafia .) It's been years since we first wrote about former Gambino associate John Alite . That first story, John Alite Blasts Mob Hypocrisy , was published in Jauary 2015. ( We've always been in awe of his ability to woo some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful women we've quite literally ever seen.) Prison Rules is John's third book -- after Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia , and D...

REVISED  This Life Of Ours: Fairy Tales Of Mob Bartenders  is the first book in a female-centric series. Click book cover for more information. It tells the other side of the traditional mob love story about what it's like for a nice girl from New York to fall for a notorious mobster. D iane Morton-Gattullo  is the author of This Life Of Ours: Fairy Tales Of Mob Bartenders . Available now, the nearly 500-page book details the mobbed-up nightlife scene of New York City circa 1980s-1990s. An excerpt from Life of Ours: " This is an invitation only club and if you’re lucky you might be invited to the VIP section. This life is not for the faint of heart. Remember, you’ll never know if you have a real friend once you enter our world. My name is Dannie and I will be your guide on the Crazy Train Express! We break for no one but stop at fuck me, feed me and paying my bills way, the fun house, mob dens, nightclubs and jail. Please don’t sit near th...

Looking for a good mob-related read? You might want to check out To Be a King , a novel "based on a Detroit organized crime family," as the author, Alan Gunner Lindbloom, said of it. Lindbloom certainly writes with authority, having been an associate of the Detroit Mafia; specifically, the  Tocco crime family . He's actually a member of the Tocco family via his mother. Lindbloom could kick some serious ass, but he's one of the nicest guys I have ever spoken with. Lindbloom was released from prison last year after serving a 13-year stint for extortion, bank robbery, armed robbery, and several weapons violations. He certainly hit the ground running since then, writing, giving interviews, appearing on television. He even launched " Our Thing"  (Cosa Nostra in Italian) apparel.... Lindbloom has been setting the mob-related blogosphere on fire, with major stories running on many key Mafia-related news sites, including The Gangster Report , G...

A federal appeals court dismissed a defamation lawsuit last Monday filed by a convicted murderer serving life in prison. The lawsuit, over the book  The Quiet Don , about the late Cosa Nostra boss Russell Bufalino , had caused the defendant depression, and supposedly made other inmates target him for violence. Coviello was arrested in 1978 for murder. In its order, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Louis Coviello, the convict who filed the lawsuit, had failed to pay the fee on time to have his case heard. Coviello was challenging a lower court ruling that had thrown out the $1 million defamation suit against the book's author and publishers: The Berkley Publishing Group and the Penguin Group.

Anthony Colombo died on January 6 in San Diego of complications from diabetes. Anthony was Joseph Colombo's son. Joseph Colombo, ready to take on all comers. Joseph Bonanno ordered his top gun, Joseph Colombo, to kill two bosses. Colombo, seemingly appalled at the move,  showed fealty to the two bosses, Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese. The Commission took care of Bonanno (though he certainly retaliated decades later, perhaps unintentionally) and as a reward for Colombo's loyalty, they named him, only 41 years old at the time, boss of one of New York's Five Families -- the Profaci family, which was re-christened t he Colombo crime family . It still carries his name to this day. Anthony Colombo recently took the time to answer some questions for the following Q&A. We connected via a mutual friend. Colombo: The Unsolved Murder  by Don Capria and Anthony Colombo is available now, priced at $4.99 for the Kindle version and $16.95 for the paperback. ...

A  Wiser Guy , by Louis DiVita, is the work of a man with a fascinating background. His grandfather was a high-ranking mobster who was associated with Stefano Magaddino, the Mafia overlord of Buffalo, New York, whose dominion extended into Canada. Be a Goodfella and click image. Thanks! His brother, Benedetto Angelo, stayed in Niagara Falls,where he was partnered with Joseph DiCarlo. Paolo "Paul" Palmeri moved to New Jersey and started enterprising with Willie Moretti, who is perhaps best known today for what he didn't do -- namely, he was not around to hunt down Vito Genovese after he sent a young shooter to kill Frank Costello. However, the boss of what became the Genovese crime family survived. Smart enough to retire, he lived out his life puttering around in his garden. Or did he? According to Louis DiVita it was none other than the Prime Minister himself who showed up at his grandmother's doorstep one day with an envelope. Invited inside, they...

Linda Scarpa's memoir about life with the mob hitter known as the Grim Reaper aka Greg Scarpa. Click on the cover to purchase.... By Nick Christophers, guest contributor, editor of Mob Candy (see his website ): We have been inundated with books, films and TV shows on the subject of the Mafia over the years. Wives, girlfriends and daughters have taken to the pen to expose their experiences. Yet many of them have either “sugar-coated” their stories or they really had no knowledge of “the life.” One of the earliest books that delved deep into the life was “ Mafia Marriage ” by Rosalie Bonanno, who was married to Salvatore Vincent “ Bill” Bonanno , the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno . Since then there have been many attempts to expose the true meaning of living in that world, e.g., “ This Family of Mine ” by Victoria Gotti, daughter of John Gotti, former boss of the Gambino crime family; “ The Godfather’s Daughter ” by Rita Gigante, daughter of Vincent Louis G...