Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang

The authors trace John Gotti's rise to power as the head of New York's Gambino crime family, offering a revealing inside look at the activities of the Mafia and at Gotti's struggle to the top of the criminal world

This brisk, no-holds-barred biography of Mafia boss John Gotti often makes The Godfather look tame. Gotti, recently acquitted of ordering the murder of a union official, is portrayed as a violent thug who worked his way up the mob's ranks, gaining expertise in contract murder, airport theft, hijacking, heroin trafficking, illegal gambling and extortion. In tracing Gotti's "perverse American success story"--his climb from young bookmaker stalking East Harlem in all-purple outfits to Gambino family boss--Cummings and Volkman (coauthors of The Heist ) also perform a biopsy of a social cancer, the modern Mafia. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand La Cosa Nostra. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gotti, the media's current Mafia superstar, is known as "the dapper don" for his expensive clothes and his flamboyant high profile. The authors, who last wrote The Heist (LJ 9/15/86), chronicle the ascent of Gotti and his buddies ( goombata ) from street hoodlums to leadership of New York City's Gambino crime family. This a fast-paced, readable story filled with the usual crimes, murders, vicious thuggery, and perversely comic incidents typical of organized crime. Gotti, who just was acquitted of his latest round of criminal charges, was also profiled in Mob Star by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci (Watts, 1988). Both books tell a similar tale, and those libraries without Mob Star may wish to add Goombata .
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.