Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour.Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny—played by James...

As Seen On Discovery Channel's "Street Justice: The Bronx"2,000 arrests. 100 off-duty arrests. 6,000 assists. 15 shootings. 8 shot. 4 kills. These are not the performance statistics of an entire NYPD unit. They are the record that makes Detective 2nd Grade Ralph Friedman a legend.Friedman was arguably the toughest cop ever to wear the shield and was the most decorated detective in the NYPD's 170-year history. Stationed at the South Bronx's notorious 41 Precin...

"Gianni Russo walks the walk and talks the talk. What a life. Fascinating. A worthy read." — Robert De Niro**This program is read by the author and includes a bonus conversation.The over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour.**Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set ...

"Nobody did undercover better than Mike Russell. His story is grittier than The Sopranos, more volatile than Goodfellas. A must read." —George Anastasia, New York Times–bestselling authorNearly taken out of the game by a shooting, New Jersey state trooper Mike Russell eventually found himself in the right place at the right time to save Andy Gerardo, one of the ranking captains of the Genovese crime family, from an attack. Quickly earning ...

Winner of the National Book Award for NonfictionAn electrifying story of the sensational murder trial that divided a city and ignited the civil rights struggleIn 1925, Detroit was a smoky swirl of jazz and speakeasies, assembly lines and fistfights. The advent of automobiles had brought workers from around the globe to compete for manufacturing jobs, and tensions often flared with the KKK in ascendance and violence rising. Ossian Sweet, a p...

The shocking true story of the most ruthless and deadly mob boss in the annals of the American Mafia.In the golden age of organized crime, Carmine “The Snake” Persico was the King of the Streets. The defacto boss of the Colombo Mafia family since the 1970s, he oversaw gang wars, murders, and major rackets, even from prison. He is suspected of personally murdering as many as 60 people and ordering the hits of hundreds more. Sentenced to 139 years in the fed, he cont...

The 1948 crime film The Naked City (later a television show) ended with this iconic line There are eight million stories in the naked city.” Things have not changed either before or since: every era and neighborhood is full of true tales and legends about which even residents are likely to be unaware. Strange And Obscure Stories Of New York City takes the reader on a breathtaking tour of the five boroughs in search of these accounts. Some are eerily fascinating in their ...

One of the most beloved figures in show business looks back on his life in short comic takes in this delightful memoir."[Carl Reiner] has given us a veritable treasure trove of wonderful recollections, some side-splittingly funny and a few that are really touching. The best one is about me." —Mel Brooks"You can't define genius, but it stands up and shouts from the pages of Carl Reiner's My Anecdotal Life

Attorney and true crime writer examines the unsolved 1969 murders of two female college students whose bodies were left off the Garden State Parkway.In the early hours of May 30, 1969, the brutally stabbed bodies of two nineteen-year-old friends, Elizbeth Perry and Susan Davis, were dumped near Ocean City, New Jersey. This is the story of their case.Among the numerous suspects author and attorney Christian Barth identifies are infamous serial killers Ted Bu...

**Award-winning investigative journalist S. J. Peddie writes the first groundbreaking account of the legendary mafia boss, Sonny Franzese, the head of the Colombo crime family and the financier of the infamous pornographic film Deep Throat.“Sonny Franzese was a standup guy. He lived his life, and he didn't hurt innocent people. And I knew him my whole life.” —Former Philadelphia crime boss Ralph Natale.**John “Sonny” Franzese reportedly committed his first murder a...

The most common triggers for homicide are fear, rage, revenge, money, lust, and, more rarely, sheer madness. This isn’t an exact science, of course. Any given murder can have multiple triggers. Sex and revenge seem to be common partners in crime. Rage, money, and revenge make for a dangerous trifecta of triggers, as well.This book offers my memories of homicide cases that I investigated or oversaw. In each case, I examine the trigger that led to death. I chose this theme for the bo...

"[This] deeply engaging tale of a teenager who may—or may not—have helped kill her parents [is] a model of evenhanded true-crime writing." — Kirkus ReviewsSixteen-year-old Patricia Columbo began working for pharmacist Frank DeLuca, a married father of five, in the 1970s, and the two soon entered into a sexual relationship. Against her father's wishes, Patricia and Frank moved in together. Then, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Patricia's father was brutally...