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Quitting The Mob
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"In my years as a vice detective, I
worked on hundreds of Mafia cases and I
can say that Michael Franzese reveals
exactly what it's like to be in the Mob,
physically and emotionally. This is the
best Mafia book I've read in years."
-David Toma
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Just a few years ago, Michael Franzese was
"one of the biggest earners the Mob had
seen since Al Capone, and the youngest
individual on Fortune magazine's survey of
'The Fifty Biggest Mafia Bosses'" (Vanity
Fair). His fascinating memoir offers one of the
most penetrating, honest, and intelligent
looks inside today's Mafia ever published,
and explains how he did what nobody else
has ever survived doing -- publicly quitting the
Mob.
The son of a kingpin in New York's
Colombo crime family, the smart,
sophisticated Franzese was long considered
an heir apparent to the family's vast power.
He avoided the traditional Mafia
domains -- vending machines, casinos,
bookmaking -- in favor of the enormously
lucrative edges of the legitimate business
world. He masterminded brilliant scams, from
auto dealerships to union kickbacks to a
$150-million gasoline tax scheme, all with
the help of ambitious tycoons and his own
remarkable acumen. With all this money
came a suitable life-style -- four houses
(one costing over $4 million], a successful
career as a movie producer, and highbrow tastes and values
that won him the nickname "Yuppie Don."
Suave and cagey, he was the consummate
finagler. He earned millions in cash a week
at his apex and used charm alone to keep
the likes of John Gotti from encroaching on
his operations. Though frequently indicted,
he was never convicted of any crime until he
met Cammy Garcia, a beautiful, born-again
dancer in one of his films. He fell in love with
her, doggedly pursued her, and eventually
they married.
How she convinced him to take the rap
on a tax-fraud charge, how he cut a one-of-a-kind
deal with prosecutors that essentially
made Uncle Sam his business partner, and
how he has managed to openly leave the
Mafia and live -- all these make Quitting the
Mob truly absorbing reading.
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