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  • Mob Boss

  • The Life of Little Al D'arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia
  • By: Jerry Capeci, Tom Robbins
  • Narrated by: Michael Prichard
  • Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (236 ratings)
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Mob Boss cover art

Mob Boss

By: Jerry Capeci, Tom Robbins
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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Summary

Alfonso 'Little Al' D'Arco, the former acting boss of the Luchese crime family, was the highest-ranking mobster to ever turn government witness when he flipped in 1991.

His decision to flip prompted many others to make the same choice, including John Gotti's top aide, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, and his testimony sent more than fifty mobsters to prison. In Mob Boss, award-winning news reporters Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins team up for this unparalleled account of D'Arco's life and the New York mob scene that he embraced for four decades.

Until the day he switched sides, D'Arco lived and breathed the old-school gangster lessons he learned growing up in Brooklyn and fine-tuned on the mean streets of Little Italy. But when he learned he was marked to be whacked, D'Arco quit the mob. His defection decimated his crime family and opened a window on mob secrets going back a hundred years.

After speaking with D'Arco, the authors reveal unprecedented insights, exposing shocking secrets, and troublesome truths about a city where a famous pizza parlor doubled as a Mafia center for multi-million-dollar heroin deals, where hit men carried out murders dressed as women, and where kidnapping a celebrity newsman's son was deemed appropriate revenge for the father's satirical novel.

Capeci and Robbins spent hundreds of hours in conversation with D'Arco, and exhausted many hours more fleshing out his stories in this riveting narrative that takes listeners behind the famous witness testimony for a comprehensive look at the Mafia in New York City.

©2013 Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins (P)2013 Tantor

What listeners say about Mob Boss

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I wish there had been more.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Not only can I unreservedly recommend it, if it wouldn't get me arrested I would even be grabbing strangers in the street and telling them about it. Well written and engaging from the first paragraph, it was let down only very slightly by the reader, who demonstrated a rather narrow range of accents and voices. Mostly that did not matter since all the characters were from the same background but when D'Arco had a (fortunately brief) meeting with a black gangster it did grate somewhat to hear him speaking the same twangy Brooklyn as the Mafiosos. Despite that, Prichard was a good choice for the storyteller. His somewhat flat intonation was a worthy match for a writing style which deflected any revulsion the listener might have about the violence of the criminal life so as to allow concentration on the matter-of-fact, bureaucratic way that crime was organised by D'Arco and his circle.

For the writing itself, "Mob Boss" is a biography of one man pursuing a Mafia career with the same stolid determination and contextual honesty as an accountant. It was a fascinating and well-constructed insight into a parallel universe, flowing from one incident to the next with the sort of apparent ease that comes only from a lot of very hard work.

In the introduction we are told that the book is based on hundreds of hours of interview tapes and written statements and I am sure that Capeci and Robbins both suffered many headaches carving that sprawling mountain of information into a coherent narrative. It was a massive piece of work and yet I should think that when they had finished it, they must have been--as I was--sorry to get to the end.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best mob book for a long time!

This audio book is the best I have heard so far! (And I own a lot) The writing is so in depth, it goes into details about the ins and outs of crimes and sometime legitimate business, it explains the thoughts and feelings of the mobster and intertwines with other mob books. I can't express how great this audio book is! The narrating is especially great! The narrator captures the mood perfectly and I was tempted to buy another book that he was narrating,...... But it wasn't about the mob! If you are interested in the Mafia then this book is a absolute must!!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely one to add to the Mafia collection

If like me you enjoy hearing about the real deal heavyweights of Mafia days gone by when the Italian American Mafia were at the peak of their power you will enjoy this book. Darco goes through the early days of the Lucchese’s whilst being around and taught by the old school legends such as Paul Vario and Tony Ducks amongst others. Then going onto the murderous take over by Vic and Gas who ruthlessly murdered anyone in their way striking fear into hearts of both made men and associates not just from their own family but guys in others. With Gas Pipe having murderous undercover hit man cops on his payroll no one was safe. Great book explained very well. The amounts of money these guys made and the levels of criminality reached are an eye opener to how powerful and serious these guys were.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • mr
  • 12-07-14

A likeable killer

Would you consider the audio edition of Mob Boss to be better than the print version?

not really but allows you to close your eyes and drift away on a long commute

What other book might you compare Mob Boss to, and why?

none

What about Michael Prichard’s performance did you like?

He speaks like a mobster

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Shocking that this quite mild mannered mobster is capable of killing at the drop of a hat.

Any additional comments?

Shows that there is no honour in this profession. Just paranoia, cold blooded killing and a dog eat dog mentality.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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excellent

This truly is a must for any true crime enthusiasts. Its written in a truly authentic manner and as such comes across as a very true an accurate account of the evens of this deeply dark yet captivating man. As a side note, I am someone who suffers with ADHD and has done so since a child and as such it didn't take me very long to work out this guy most definitely fits the bill for that diagnosis.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Audible book

This is a great audible book.It felt like James Cagney was reading it.
Loved it

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent listening

An amazing account of La Cosa Nostra and the life of a Lucchese soldier to Capo and then to acting boss.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Mob Book

I would highly recommend this book. The first half throws alot of names in that can be a bit overwhelming and probably unecessary but it is a great classic story of Mafia betrayal and the narrator projects really well.
Having listened to plenty of other Mafia books, I really enjoyed this one and despite its length, it seemed to be over very quickly and leaving me hungry for another similar book.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Better thank I imagined!

Thoroughly researched, characters feel like they’re taking to you. The history, the circumstance, the families involved. An absolute gem x

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What I guess you'd expect

If you like books about, 'wise guys' and gangster life, then you'll love this. Recommended.

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1 person found this helpful