Family Affair: Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia - Softcover

Giancana, Sam; Burnstein, Scott M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425228312 ISBN 13: 9780425228319

Publisher: Berkley, 2010

Synopsis

The true story of the vicious Chicago underworld from a New York Times bestselling author.

With a contract out on his life, Nicholas "Nicky Breeze" Calabrese turned government witness and revealed the truth about the murders of a notorious Mob enforcer and his brother-culminating in a criminal case that would challenge the Mob from the street to the highest seats of power.

About this title

About the Author

Sam Giancana was a Sicilian-American organized crime boss. Involved with the mob from a young age, Giancana got his start as a driver in the Chicago Mafia, run by the infmaous Al Capone. Giancana climbed his way to the top as the organization's leadership changed with Capone's jailing in 1931. By the mid-1950s Giancana was head of the Chicago Outfit, growing the organization's profits by millions of dollars through a number of illegal means. Giancana led a high-profile life, socializing with the likes of Frank Sinatra and the Kennedys. In 1965 he was tried and sentenced to one year in jail, after which he lived in Mexico until 1974. He then returned to his home in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was shot dead in 1975.

Scott M. Burnstein is a journalist, an organized crime historian, and a bestselling true-crime author. He has appeared as an expert on organized crime on several television shows, including the History Channel's Gangland, as well as being featured in documentaries such as Detroit Mob Confidential and Rollin: The Decline of the Auto Industry and Rise of the Drug Economy in Detroit. His authored works include Motor City Mafia, Family Affair, The Hit List, and The Detroit True Crime Chronicles.

Reviews

Giancana and Burnstein lay out the history of Outfit (i.e., Chicago Mob) leadership while detailing how investigating the double murder that inspired the movie Casino led to the Family Secrets trial and the jailing of several crime bosses. The victims whose demise sparked the whole thing were Anthony and Michael Spilotro; Joe Pesci’s character in Casino was based on Anthony, and his brutal portrayal was apparently spot-on. The cops caught a break when the Spilotros’ grave was quickly found and evidence began to accrue. When Nick Calabrese and Frank Calabrese, Jr., agreed to testify against Capo Frank Calabrese, Sr., the die was cast. The incidental detail about Outfit upper management proves fascinating; noting how poorly high visibility served founder Al Capone, subsequent leaders Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo took pains to avoid it. Giancana, godson and namesake of another all-too-public face of the Outfit, is well-placed to tell this story, which, though poorly organized and in places poorly written, is must-have true-crime stuff, especially for mavens of organized crime in one of its legendary capitals. --Mike Tribby

Edition details

• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0425228312
• ISBN 13: 9780425228319
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 320