Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers - Hardcover

Russo, Gus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582343896 ISBN 13: 9781582343891

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2006

Synopsis

Investigative reporter Gus Russo returns with his most explosive book yet, the remarkable story of the "Supermob"―a cadre of men who, over the course of decades, secretly influenced nearly every aspect of American society. Presenting startling, never-before-seen revelations about such famous members as Jules Stein, Joe Glaser, Ronald Reagan, Lew Wasserman, David Bazelon, and John Jacob Factor―as well as infamous, scrupulously low-profile members―Russo pulls the lid off of a half-century of criminal infiltration into American business, politics, and society. At the heart of it all is Sidney "The Fixer" Korshak, who from the 1940's until his death in the 1990s, was not only the most powerful lawyer in the world, according to the FBI, but the enigmatic player behind countless 20th century power mergers, political deals, and organized crime chicaneries. As the underworld's primary link to the corporate upperworld, Korshak's backroom dominance and talent for anonymity will likely never be equaled. And as Supermob proves, neither will his story…

About this title

About the Author

Gus Russo is the author of The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America and Live By the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK. He is an investigative reporter who has worked for various major television networks, including PBS, where he was a lead reporter for the award-winning Frontline series.

Reviews

Veteran investigative author and organized crime expert Russo's magnum opus is a compelling look at one of the last century's major power players: Sidney Korshak, a "sphinxlike operator" who, despite pulling the strings of politics and industry, remained invisible to the general public. With great detail (some of it extraneous), Russo traces the amazing course of Korshak's life—from his childhood on Chicago's Jewish West Side to his role as a mouthpiece for the Windy City's Mafia leaders and, eventually, as a major league fixer who brokered labor truces and other deals for politicians and Hollywood moguls (Korshak died, aged 87, in 1996). The list of his clients and associates reads like a who's who of the last 50 years, including Ronald Reagan, MCA president Lew Wasserman, hotelier Conrad Hilton and cosmetics king Max Factor. Russo's extensive research is amply evident, and he has made use of recently disclosed records to paint a fuller picture than predecessors such as Seymout Hersh and Brian Ross were able to. His conclusions about Reagan—such as that he sold out the actor's union—in particular are likely to create controversy, although similar ones were drawn in Dan Moldea's Dark Victory 20 years ago. This worthy addition to the genre is marred only by some sensational claims concerning Reagan that lack adequate documentation. B&w photos. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Russo is the acclaimed author of three previous books on organized crime, including The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America (2002). This thoroughly researched investigative report profiles the hidden power brokers behind the Mob's dominance of Chicago and Los Angeles throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Most notable is Sidney Korshak, known as "the Fixer," who was called the most powerful lawyer in the world by the FBI. A force behind the careers of numerous celebrities, and with connections to politicians from Henry Kissinger to Ronald Reagan, Korshak brokered some of the largest and shadiest deals in Hollywood from his private table at the Bistro restaurant in Beverly Hills. As point man for the Mob, he oversaw land grabs from interned Japanese Americans during World War II, helped create the casino monopolies in Las Vegas, and facilitated Mob domination of the film and music industries. With a colorful cast of characters and more clandestine activity than a spy thriller, the book delivers some of the juiciest Hollywood details unearthed yet. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1582343896
• ISBN 13: 9781582343891
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 592