Customer Reviews

The Animal in Hollywood

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Fiato has many interesting stories, but most relate to his dealings with low-level "wanna-bes". His encounters with "made guys" are mentioned, but little detail is given. This leads me to believe he had very few meaningful encounters/business dealings with these guys. His claim that he was being groomed to become a "boss" in LA is absurd considering he was never even formally inducted into LCN. The worst part of the book is when Fiato claims his brother was responsible for him turning "rat" - its as if he feels that by using his brother as a scapegoat, he can reclaim any respect he once had. It is clear to the reader, however, that Fiato cooperated to save his own skin, period. The book is a fun read, but I came away thinking there was a little fiction tossed in to make Fiato appear more important than he was.

This book was not a good read. I wasn't sure if Tony's life was not all that interesting or if the author did a poor job telling the story, but I did not get alot from this read. My main complaint is that their is no real continuity to the story. One minute he's a 17 yeart old kid scaring Mob-Hit men and doing jobs with movie stars (Yeah right). The next he is in Boston. Then it's ten years later and he's back in LA for some underdeveloped reason. The best story telling happens after he turns rat, but by that time "Fuhget about it". The book leads off saying he was did work with Tony Spilotro and many other well known mobsters, but by the accounts of the book he only met briefly with most of these guys. He seemed to be well connceted to Mike Rizzatello and essentially ran a street crew under him, but the rest seemed like one long name drop. "I knew a guy whom I knew was assocaited with Neil Delacruca or Ray Patriachia..yadda...yadda." The part towrds the end with Denise Brown was better done, but if i wanted insight to the OJ trial...I'd buy a different book. All and all...if you are a mob diehard and you want to find some info on the LA or Boston mob, then read it for that, but for a story about the life a mafia soldier..re-reading Nicholas Pillegi's Wiseguy is more enjoyabe!

pickledjoe

I LIKE MOB STORIES.IN PARTICULAR,ANYTHING THAT INVOLVES THE MOB IN LOS ANGELES.THIS ONE WASNT THE WORST I HAVE READ,BUT IT WAS FAR FROM THE BEST.ALTHOUGH FIATO GAVE A GOOD INSIGHT TO STREET LEVEL MOB ACTIVITIES,TO ME HE SPENDS MORE TIME NAME DROPPING EVERY STAR HE HAPPENED TO BRUSH UP AGAINST.HE COULDNT HAVE BEEN REAL SMART IF HE WAS TALKING OPENLY ON HIS HOME PHONE.ANY WISE GUY WITH HALF A BRAIN KNOWS YOU DONT SAY ANYTHING ON YOUR OWN PHONE,WHICH IS WHAT EVENTUALLY DID HIM IN.THE AUTHOR DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB,DESPITE THE LACK OF SUBSTANCE IN MANY OF THE STORIES.I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST FIATO,I JUST GOT THE FEELING HE WASNT BEING TOTALLY TRUTHFULL.HUEVOS YES,BUT BRAINS?GOOD LUCK ON THE RUN ANTHONY.

THIS BOOK IS NOT WHAT I HAD HOPED IT TO BE. THERE ARE MANY MORE INTERESTING MAFIA BOOKS OUT THERE LIKE JIMMY FRATTIANOS BOOK OR THE JOE DOGS BOOK. THIS BOOK HAS NO CONTINUITY AND RAMBLES ON AND ON. VERY AVERAGE.

the mob in LA was weak EXCEPT FOR Fiato what a life this guy had, money, broads, Armani, Porshe Beverly hills he was walking around in front of all the mob toughs in LA, WITH DENISE BROWN, even AFTER he ratted most of them out. That proves he was fearless. Mafia enforcer Fiato, and Puggy Z, a mob groupie, made lots of money in loansharking

Don't waste your money on this fiction. Most of the stories in the book are bogus. Fiato is making himself out to be something he never was - enforcer? Pullleeeze! Fiato couldn't beat up his own mother. Ask any outfit guy - Fiato is a Hollywood fabrication.

Feed the rat some government cheese!

the mafia in LA was a joke before fiato came along he and his crew were more violent than any mobsters LA has ever seen.anybody who throws somone down a flight of stairs and give them a beating in Beverly Hills Fiars Club and gets away with it speaks volums of how much he was feared before Fiato the mob there was called the Mickey Mouse Mafia.

This was one of the most entertaining, and enlightening books I have read in a long time. I have read quite a few books on this subject and they are usually all the same. I did this I did that and thats it. The Animal in Hollywood not only told stories from Anthony Fiato's life but it told stories of the inner working of the glamorous life of Hollywood and I personally couldn't put it down.

This book followed the experiences of Anthony fiato, mobster-turned-informant. Sometimes it's funny; sometimes it's incredibly violent. A good read, and all the more interesting because it includes celebrities like Denise Brown, James Caan and Robert Mitchum.

A careful constructed string of public appearances has somewhat cleaned Anthony Fiato of the smudge which is apparent in reading "The Animal in Hollywood." The scariest thing about Fiato is his inability to bridge the vast divide between the carefully crafted Animal personna and the real Anthony Fiato. The Animal surfaces spewing threats and issuing "I would have if, and I could haves" every few pages in this book. How lame is it for a man to relive past events while interjecting thoughts of what he should have done or wanted to do to readers who are thinking 'yeah but you didn't.'

As for the book, it pales in comparison to Jimmy Fratianno's the Last Mafioso falling short in the truth and interest categories. Apparently unaware that the man had been dead for years, Fiato places himself on a collection run in south central Los Angeles. His target the long dead figure of Black Dot McGhee. I guess Fiato didn't figure on someone knowing of whom he spoke. He also claims a lofty stature in the Rizzitello family but fails to note why he never met Los Angeles mob power Jimmy Fratianno. For those not familiar with Fiato and his true stature and criminal dealings then this is sure to arouse interest and awe, but for everyone else. It is little more than a sad and sorry attempt to elevate and promote the Animal to a gullible audience enraptured audience This book is much like Fiato's testimony in the infamous Simpson case, is weak and without substance.