A Mobil Life
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Frankie Saggio and 1 more
Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families
4.1 out of 5 stars (48)Reviews
Paperback
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Description
Product Description
Frankie Saggio reminisces about the era of true wise guys like his Uncle Philly -- a contemporary of Al Capone. After all, it was Frankie's uncle who "taught him the value of a dollar and how to steal it from someone else." Uncle Philly was from a day when being in a mafia family meant being bound by blood and honor, not like modern day families whose only concern is money. For Frankie, the only way to avoid the modern mob treachery is to avoid getting involved with any single mob family, working "freelance" for all five. Frankie can do this because he is one of the biggest earners in the business, pulling down millions and kicking a share upstairs to the bosses. Though he fights the decision, Frankie is tied by blood to the Bonanno family, Uncle Philly's family, and current home to Philly's murderer. Soon after joining the Bonannos, Frankie narrowly escapes an assassination attempt and is busted for a major scam. With little choice, and even less loyalty to the Bonannos, Frankie turns himself over to the Feds on the one condition that he will tell the feds everything, but will not squeal on his own relatives.
From Publishers Weekly
The apparently insatiable public appetite for insider stories from the world of organized crime gives Saggio's dramatized third-person narrative, co-written with true-crime veteran Rosen (Lobster Boy), a built-in audience, but don't expect another Wiseguy or Donnie Brasco. Saggio, a federally protected witness following his cooperation against his former partners in crime, relates a familiar, clichéd tale without offering much new. While his schemes involved mail fraud scams and stock manipulation rather than violence, more detailed and better-written accounts of mob infiltration of Wall Street have appeared recently (e.g., Gary Weiss's Born to Steal and Salvatore Lauria's The Scorpion and the Frog). Purple prose ("With a crackle of gears, the bus descended to hell") mingled with blatant errors (the underboss, not the capo, is "one rung below boss"; Rudy Giuliani never prosecuted John Gotti) and "revelations" that are not news (Carmine Galante's assassins have been publicly named before) add up to a disappointing by-the-numbers story. The few touches of humorâ"Saggio refers to the mob's ruling body, the Commission, as the "Justice League" and compares his life to that of Harry Potterâ"don't make Saggio, who comes off here as greedy and conscienceless, any more endearing. Readers with a background in law enforcement will dispute Saggio's accusation that FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone was complicit in three murders and that the FBI let those hits go forward.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Fred Rosen is the author of the cult-classic, true-crime Lobster Boy, and many other books including Deacon of Death, The Flesh Collectors, and Gang Mom. He lives in Woodstock, NY.
Frankie Saggio lives in an undisclosed location.
Product information
Publisher Running Press Adult; First Edition (May 25, 2004)
Language English
Paperback 224 pages
ISBN-10 1560255595
ISBN-13 978-1560255598
Item Weight 9.1 ounces
Dimensions 6 x 0.56 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank #1,189,376 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#651 in Mid Atlantic U.S. Biographies
#2,277 in Organized Crime True Accounts
#5,546 in Murder & Mayhem True Accounts
Customer Reviews 4.1 out of 5 stars 48Reviews
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Customer reviews
4.1 out of 54.1 out of 5
48 global ratings
Top reviews from the United States
Peter C Petrou
3.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Born to the Mob
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2012
Taking into consideration the fact that every time I read a true crime story I try to separate the fact from the bullshit as let's face it the protagonist is usually a dog who is able to tell his story because he has turned rat and has turned in all of his friends and... See more
3 people found this helpful
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Jay
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2018
Christmas Present
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SM of Indiana
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Mob life
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018
I just love these true mob books
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Cindy K. Roberts
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015
Good.
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Brian E. Myers
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2015
enjoyed the book thoroughly
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Jeffrey Delbosque
1.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
The poor tree that died to become paper for this garbage!
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2004
Another dude trying to cash in on Americas fascination with Org. crime. He may have been some sort of fringe player in the world, but his story is not worth telling. Most of the book is info about all the stuff we OC fans already know. HIS actual story is short, and not all... See more
6 people found this helpful
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Tony G.
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Born to the Mob
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012
Once I started it, it was hard to put down to tend to my responsabilites. It was very accurete. It brought back many old memeries of that time, some good, some bad. all and all it is a great read. Frankie and Fred did a great job keeping me in the whole story.
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Catiline
2.0 out of 5 stars
Get your facts straight
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2004
I just finished reading, Born to the Mob : The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families. I have to admit I have an interest in this subject that sometimes causes me to make bad choices with regards to book purchases. This was one... See more
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
asd
3.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A dull read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2011
A fairly dull book that i had to finish in several attempts. There's no detail, no characterisation and no real sense of what mob life is all about. There's a brief glimpse of Frank Saggio's first prison term that was interesting and a hint of some of the mob characters...See more
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Suzie Perry
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2016
Bought as a stocking filler
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sean bushell
1.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
One Star
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 21, 2015
awful
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Steve Holt
1.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
I've read better
Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2020
Too many factual errors. To much downplay on historical events just to build himself up. One of the worst Mob books I've ever read.
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