The definitive book on the ultimate mob boss--featuring new FBI
revelations, rare family photos, and never-before-published material . .
.
The press nicknamed him "The Prime Minister of the Underworld." The U.S.
Treasury's Bureau of Narcotics described him as "one of the most
powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S." But to friends and
associates, he was simply "Uncle Frank." Who was Frank Costello
really? That's the question Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M.
DeStefano sets out to answer--in this definitive portrait of one of the
most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime . . .
Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family
mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello
helped build from the ground up, from small-time bootlegging and
gambling to a nationwide racketeering empire. The book's stunning
revelations include:
* Costello's secret interviews with federal investigators--now released
for the first time
* His private meetings with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
* His partnership with Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and how they brutally
displaced the old guard of the Mafia
*Surviving an assassination attempt by Genovese Family hitman Vincent
"Chin" Gigante
*His crime family's role in the now legendary suicide of Abe "Kid
Twist" Reles, a Murder, Inc. member who was about to rat out the mob
* His personal involvement in the notorious 1947 "mob summit" in
Havana, Cuba
* His secret interests, both real and suspected, in Las Vegas, New
Orleans, and Manhattan night clubs like the Copacabana
* His power over politicians, rapport with reporters, and amazing
ability to evade the feds
* His refusal to admit his crimes long after he retired--until his
death in 1973
Sometimes shocking, sometimes amusing, and always riveting, these are
the stories that have inspired American crime classics like The
Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man
who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation's history. This
is Top Hoodlum.
