Before Bruno: Book 1 - 1880-1931: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia [Paperback]

C. A Morello (Author), Celeste A. Morello (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Celeste A. Morello, MS, MA completed two graduate programs specializing in Sicilian and U.S. History as they relate to the origins of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in the Philadelphia area. She is the only criminologist and only historian in the U.S. descended from and still related to Mafiosi in Sicily. For five years, while in effect, Morello lectured on the genesis of the Philadelphia Mafia and LCN to law students interning at the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney's Office. She also wrote, "Reviewing Illicit Narcotics Use & Distribution in Philadelphia before the Involvement of Organized Crime" for the Department of Justice's High Intensity Drug Traffic Agency (HIDTA-Phila./Camden, NJ) which also published by the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime and the Journal of Villanova University.

In Before Bruno: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia, Books 1 to 3, Morello received assistance from the families, friends and associates of the Philadelphia Mafia and LCN bosses to corroborate the law enforcement sources.

Ms. Morello specializes in this social/criminal history of the Mafia and LCN in Philadelphia area, but she also participates in the historical marker nomination process with Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission with more than twenty markers throughout Philly to her credit. Morello is also active in Philadelphia's famous "Italian Market" neighborhood where she lives and occasionally runs the popular "Italian Market Tour", (featured in "Food & Wine", May 1999)

Morello's national and international press includes: U.S. News & World Report, many references in the Associated Press, Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), Foodnetwork, CNN and the London Independent Newspapers.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The first and only history of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia was written by the only criminologist and only historian in the United States, descended from Sicilian Mafiosi. The series of three books documents the early settlement of Sicilian Mafiosi in the Philadelphia area and how this Family thrived up to the year 1959, when Angelo Bruno, the most notorious boss of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Family began his tenure.

This is an objective, well researched study which challenges past histories on organized crime and the Mafia in the U.S., as it brings to the reader the truth about local corruption and a history of changes in social attitudes towards Italian American criminals. Consider this one of the few scholarly works on revisionist crime history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: The Author (May 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967733413
• ISBN-13: 978-0967733418
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,358,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great both as a history and as a story, August 26, 2004

By 

Matthew Wolfe (West Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before Bruno: Book 1 - 1880-1931: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia (Paperback)

I thought that this was a wonderful book. I am from Philly and have been following the misadventures of the Philly mob all my life. This book works as an authoritative and documented history of an interesting field. It explains the roots of the mob to compare to its sorry state today. It is written in a style, however, more akin to that of a novel than an academic text. I highly recommend it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lifeless history, March 10, 2006

By 

The Cigar (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before Bruno: Book 1 - 1880-1931: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia (Paperback)

The author must be given a lot of credit for doing the research and bringing to light this negelected subject. This is the only book ever published that deals with the early days of the Mafia in Philly. Therefore it is essential reading for any serious students of the subject. However, the author's style of writing is bland and lifeless. She manages to transform a tremendously interesting subject into a dull and almost sterile story. Hopefully books number 2 and 3 are more exciting.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That'sa good a book., August 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Before Bruno: Book 1 - 1880-1931: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia (Paperback)

The 1st couple chapters made me feel like I was doing a thesis for a masters and is more for sociologits. The main part of the book was really good reading if you are into the history of Philly , the Philly mob or ethnic groups in Philly. I read it for mainly the mafia history. It is obvious she did a lot of work on the background. I just wish it was a little longer for the amount of money you pay. Looking forward to the next volume.