BOTH FRANK COSTELLO AND VITO GENOVESE FEATURE AS MAIN CHARACTERS PLAYED BY ROBERT DE NIRO IN THE FILM THE ALTO KNIGHTS, WRITTEN BY NICHOLAS PILEGGI AND DIRECTED BY BARRY LEVINSON
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author Anthony M. DeStefano presents the definitive book on Vito Genovese, the namesake of a crime family which still considered one of the most viable and dangerous in the U.S. today. From enforcer to Godfather, Vito Genovese rose through the ranks of La Cosa Nostra to head of one of the wealthiest and most dangerous crime families in American history.
Vito Genovese ran rackets as a member of Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria’s gang in New York City before joining forces with Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel as bootleggers during Prohibition. As a soldier in the Castellammarese War, he helped orchestrate Masseria’s death on behalf of Brooklyn crime lord Salvatore Maranzano, consolidating his position and power before ensuring Maranzano, too, was knocked off. For the next three decades, Vito Genovese—shrewd, merciless, and utterly savage—killed countless gangsters in his bid to become the capo di tutti i capi—boss of bosses—in the American Mafia. Genovese would betray some of the Mafia’s most notorious bosses, including Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello, to eventually seize control of the Luciano crime family, one that still bears the Genovese name today.
In The Deadly Don, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano presents the rise and fall of Vito Genovese in this first comprehensive biography of the legendary mafioso—from his childhood in Naples, Italy, and the beginnings of his bullet-ridden criminal career on lower Manhattan's mean streets, through his self-exile in the mid-1930s back to his homeland where he ran a black market operation under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, and his return to New York where Genovese made a fortune as the head of an illegal narcotics empire. DeStefano reveals the important and terrifying role Genovese played in the creation of the Mafia, detailing his bloody and ruthless lifetime of crime that would put him behind bars for his last fifteen years—and securing his infamous place in the history of organized crime.
Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano
JIMMY THE GENT
“At last! Anthony M. DeStefano’s Jimmy the Gent explains the mystery behind Jimmy Burke being the only Irishman at the Mob’s Italian table.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
BROADWAY BUTTERFLY: VIVIAN GORDON
“Mob expert Tony DeStefano tells the little-known story of Vivian Gordon, one of Prohibition’s most notorious racketeers, who, along with the corrupt cops and politicians of her day, set New York on a crooked path that is often followed today.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
“DeStefano wrangles the sprawling implications of Gordon’s still unsolved murder into an entertaining package. DeStefano paints an alluring portrait of Prohibition-era New York and the mobsters and millionaires who ran it.” —Publishers Weekly
GOTTI’S BOYS
“In this solid true crime account, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano explores the inner machinations of the New York Mob and John Gotti’s rise to the head of the Gambino family . . . DeStefano does a fine job capturing the essence of New York . . . Aficionados are sure to relish the finer, exhaustively researched details.” —Publishers Weekly
TOP HOODLUM
“DeStefano vividly recalls the crime boss whose wounding by an assassin in 1957 got a bigger headline in the Daily News than the death of Senator Joseph McCarthy.” —The New York Times
“Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano draws from recently released FBI documents, family testimony, and court records to construct an engrossing chronicle of the life of notorious Mafia boss Frank Costello, a ‘reluctant prince of the Mafia’ . . . The book provides ample historical background, including a fascinating historical twist in which Costello’s quest for legitimacy plays out during WWII when Costello and cohort Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano supplied the military with vital information on Sicilian geography just before the Allied invasion in 1943. DeStefano’s canny insight into the don’s mind and motivations set this biography apart from others on Costello.” —Publishers Weekly
“Biography of a low-profile ‘original gangster’ who connected the Prohibition era and the Five Families, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano creates another readable, well-researched take on organized crime . . . Will appeal to readers of criminal histories and tales of New York’s political underworld.” —Kirkus Reviews
THE BIG HEIST
“Terrific. DeStefano finally gives us a fitting end to the murderous and fabled story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino
“A comprehensive account of the legendary 1978 heist . . . impressive.” —Publishers Weekly
“A longtime journalist, DeStefano writes clearly about the case . . . Readers also know when they are in capable hands. DeStefano knows gangsters and Mob history.” —The Star-Ledger
VINNY GORGEOUS
“A dark, informed, and effective bio, and DeStefano is a master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia hierarchy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Riveting.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
“The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, bestselling co-author of Murder Machine and creator of GangLandNews.com
“Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Good Rat
“Tracks the downfall not only of Massino himself but all of the old organized crime families . . . DeStefano gives us unique insights.” —New York Law Journal
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano has covered organized crime for more than three decades, including the crime beat for New York Newsday for the past 20 years. His books on organized crime include Gangland New York, King of the Godfathers, Mob Killer, and Vinny Gorgeous, among others. He lives in New Jersey. Please visit him online at TonyDeStefano.com.
View titles by Anthony M. DeStefano
BOTH FRANK COSTELLO AND VITO GENOVESE FEATURE AS MAIN CHARACTERS PLAYED BY ROBERT DE NIRO IN THE FILM THE ALTO KNIGHTS, WRITTEN BY NICHOLAS PILEGGI AND DIRECTED BY BARRY LEVINSON
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author Anthony M. DeStefano presents the definitive book on Vito Genovese, the namesake of a crime family which still considered one of the most viable and dangerous in the U.S. today. From enforcer to Godfather, Vito Genovese rose through the ranks of La Cosa Nostra to head of one of the wealthiest and most dangerous crime families in American history.
Vito Genovese ran rackets as a member of Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria’s gang in New York City before joining forces with Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel as bootleggers during Prohibition. As a soldier in the Castellammarese War, he helped orchestrate Masseria’s death on behalf of Brooklyn crime lord Salvatore Maranzano, consolidating his position and power before ensuring Maranzano, too, was knocked off. For the next three decades, Vito Genovese—shrewd, merciless, and utterly savage—killed countless gangsters in his bid to become the capo di tutti i capi—boss of bosses—in the American Mafia. Genovese would betray some of the Mafia’s most notorious bosses, including Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello, to eventually seize control of the Luciano crime family, one that still bears the Genovese name today.
In The Deadly Don, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano presents the rise and fall of Vito Genovese in this first comprehensive biography of the legendary mafioso—from his childhood in Naples, Italy, and the beginnings of his bullet-ridden criminal career on lower Manhattan's mean streets, through his self-exile in the mid-1930s back to his homeland where he ran a black market operation under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, and his return to New York where Genovese made a fortune as the head of an illegal narcotics empire. DeStefano reveals the important and terrifying role Genovese played in the creation of the Mafia, detailing his bloody and ruthless lifetime of crime that would put him behind bars for his last fifteen years—and securing his infamous place in the history of organized crime.
Praise
Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano
JIMMY THE GENT
“At last! Anthony M. DeStefano’s Jimmy the Gent explains the mystery behind Jimmy Burke being the only Irishman at the Mob’s Italian table.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
BROADWAY BUTTERFLY: VIVIAN GORDON
“Mob expert Tony DeStefano tells the little-known story of Vivian Gordon, one of Prohibition’s most notorious racketeers, who, along with the corrupt cops and politicians of her day, set New York on a crooked path that is often followed today.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
“DeStefano wrangles the sprawling implications of Gordon’s still unsolved murder into an entertaining package. DeStefano paints an alluring portrait of Prohibition-era New York and the mobsters and millionaires who ran it.” —Publishers Weekly
GOTTI’S BOYS
“In this solid true crime account, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano explores the inner machinations of the New York Mob and John Gotti’s rise to the head of the Gambino family . . . DeStefano does a fine job capturing the essence of New York . . . Aficionados are sure to relish the finer, exhaustively researched details.” —Publishers Weekly
TOP HOODLUM
“DeStefano vividly recalls the crime boss whose wounding by an assassin in 1957 got a bigger headline in the Daily News than the death of Senator Joseph McCarthy.” —The New York Times
“Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano draws from recently released FBI documents, family testimony, and court records to construct an engrossing chronicle of the life of notorious Mafia boss Frank Costello, a ‘reluctant prince of the Mafia’ . . . The book provides ample historical background, including a fascinating historical twist in which Costello’s quest for legitimacy plays out during WWII when Costello and cohort Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano supplied the military with vital information on Sicilian geography just before the Allied invasion in 1943. DeStefano’s canny insight into the don’s mind and motivations set this biography apart from others on Costello.” —Publishers Weekly
“Biography of a low-profile ‘original gangster’ who connected the Prohibition era and the Five Families, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano creates another readable, well-researched take on organized crime . . . Will appeal to readers of criminal histories and tales of New York’s political underworld.” —Kirkus Reviews
THE BIG HEIST
“Terrific. DeStefano finally gives us a fitting end to the murderous and fabled story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino
“A comprehensive account of the legendary 1978 heist . . . impressive.” —Publishers Weekly
“A longtime journalist, DeStefano writes clearly about the case . . . Readers also know when they are in capable hands. DeStefano knows gangsters and Mob history.” —The Star-Ledger
VINNY GORGEOUS
“A dark, informed, and effective bio, and DeStefano is a master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia hierarchy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Riveting.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino
“The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, bestselling co-author of Murder Machine and creator of GangLandNews.com
“Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Good Rat
“Tracks the downfall not only of Massino himself but all of the old organized crime families . . . DeStefano gives us unique insights.” —New York Law Journal
Author
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano has covered organized crime for more than three decades, including the crime beat for New York Newsday for the past 20 years. His books on organized crime include Gangland New York, King of the Godfathers, Mob Killer, and Vinny Gorgeous, among others. He lives in New Jersey. Please visit him online at TonyDeStefano.com.
View titles by Anthony M. DeStefano
