Customer Reviews

Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think this is a fascinating story about the mafia and police corruption. But there are two things that preclude me giving it five stars:

1. Throughout the book, there are many comments apparently written by Mr. Oldham, that are in the first person. Ordinarily, I would think this a rather clever narrative device (something like the way Joe McGinnis used letters and tape recordings of convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald to set off major sections of the book "Fatal Vision."

The problem is that unlike "Fatal Vision," these passages aren't set off by words like, "Oldham's comments." Nor are they italicized. So the transition from the third person to the first person is jarring as some other reviewer has also noted.

2. The second problem is with documentation. I have no doubt that the book is very well researched. I just wish the authors had documented this research. There aren't any footnotes, and given the fact that there are a lot of interesting direct quotes, I would have liked to have known where they came from. For example, when the book has "Gaspipe" Casso say something, would it have killed the authors to say in an endnote, "this came from his proffer to the D.A."?

Having followed the trial and watched the two cops speak on the news and on 60 Minutes asserting their innocence, it was incredible to read what these psychopathic killers actually did over the last twenty years using their cover as NYPD detectives. As a New York resident it was astounding to learn what was going on on the streets just blocks away..murders, kidnapping, drug wars..all the more unbelievable because the events actually happened. The book gives us details and insights into both worlds; the fraternity of the NYPD, and the degenerating culture of the Mafia. It is a big, sprawling, gritty story- one of those books that has you running home from work to crack into it and see what happens next.

This book is even more incredible because every word of it is true. The idea that NYPD cops were able to commit such heinious crimes and get away with it for so long is just plain scary. An excellent read!

Lawson and Oldham's narrative is the story of parallel, intertwined brotherhoods on either side of the law--the New York City Police Department and the five Mafia families of the 1980's and early 1990's. It is subtitled "The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia." The cops in question are Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito. The story, however, belongs to NYPD detective William Oldham, one of the co-authors of the book. Oldham was a in the police brotherhood with Caracappa and Eppolito, admiring first grade detective Caracappa's work in the organized crime unit from a distance, and puzzling at Eppolito's flaunting of police department regulations about fraternizing with mafia members.

Oldham made his way through the ranks of the NYPD with a wary eye on the Caracappa/Eppolito duo. Eppolito retired in the early nineties and published a tell-all memoir about his association with the mafia, bragging about brutal take-downs and his delight at being in bed with the wise guys. Caracappa was a figure in the tell-all memoir, and retired shortly thereafter to keep his pension an avoid the inevitable NYPD Internal Affairs investigation

Luchese family boss Gaspipe Casso turned state's evidence in the mid-nineties and confessed all to the FBI and NYPD in exchange for placement in the witness protection program. He had dirt on the Luchese family and other mobsters which rivaled the confessions of Sammy the Bull Gravano. A common thread in all his stories was "the crystal ball" (or "the cops"), a pair of crooked cops, one from the Major Case Squad, who helped Casso rise to mythical levels within his crime family. "The cops" fed Casso dirt on who had turned into an informant, swept cases against made men under the rug, gave warnings about take-downs, and even murdered under mafia orders. Casso was once removed from his crystal ball, but after Eppolito's tell-all memoir was published, he had a good guess about the identities of "the cops" who made him such a success as a mafia boss.

Detective Oldham then made it his mission to take down these crooked cops, who by the end of the nineties were retired in a comfortable lifestyle in the Las Vegas area. Lawson and Oldham's book is as much the story of police detectives Oldham, Caracappa, and Eppolito as it is a history of the mafia in New York over the last three decades. The authors describe the genesis of the RICO legal statutes and its implications for both the cops pursing the mafia and the district attorney indicting criminals. The book also addresses the changes in the openness of mafia membership after the 1950's and the disintegration of the code of honor and ethics in favor of straight-up thug killings and bloodshed.

The Brotherhoods expertly tells the facts of official and unofficial mafia and police action over a two-decade period without getting overly bogged down in technical specifics. This could easily read like a detective blotter, but Guy Lawson spins a compelling tale of the wide web of individuals affected by the actions of two crooked NYPD cops. A "cast of characters" prefacing the book is an indispensable reference to the police, mobsters, and victims of this story.

Brotherhoods is a complex, blow-by-blow account of life in the NYPD Police Department. It follows the career of officer William Oldham, who joined the police to investigate crime and make a difference.

During his rise through the ranks of the police force, he always knew their was corruption. Cops who got free food and clothes. Officers who got paid off by drug dealers or who paid folks for information.

But nothing prepard him for finding out that his fellow officers were actually using their badges to commit murder for the mafia.

The book gives you a great feel for life in the New York Police Department and the motivations behind why some people become police officers. It also dispels many of the myths of police work shown in popular TV shows. The work can be boring and your days are sometimes filled with creating mountains of paperwork. But through it all the officers feel they are making a difference and taking criminals off the streets.

If you are interested in knowing what being a cop is really like, in the complexities that make up the everyday life of a police officer in one of the largest forces in the world, then Brotherhoods is a book you should read. It also gives you a direct insight into the world of criminals, showing the differences and similarities that exist between the men who commit crime and those who chase them.

A riveting account of two rogue cops who freelanced themselves to the Luchese crime family for years and got away with it until a cadre of dedicated investigators compiled the evidence to put them away. The book gives a detailed description of day to day life in the NYPD and the mob. Martin Scorcese should be looking for a cast for a blockbuster movie.

Lawson and Oldham's narrative is the story of parallel, intertwined brotherhoods on either side of the law--the New York City Police Department and the five Mafia families of the 1980's and early 1990's. It is subtitled "The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia." The cops in question are Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito. The story, however, belongs to NYPD detective William Oldham, one of the co-authors of the book. Oldham was a in the police brotherhood with Caracappa and Eppolito, admiring first grade detective Caracappa's work in the organized crime unit from a distance, and puzzling at Eppolito's flaunting of police department regulations about fraternizing with mafia members.

Oldham made his way through the ranks of the NYPD with a wary eye on the Caracappa/Eppolito duo. Eppolito retired in the early nineties and published a tell-all memoir about his association with the mafia, bragging about brutal take-downs and his delight at being in bed with the wise guys. Caracappa was a figure in the tell-all memoir, and retired shortly thereafter to keep his pension an avoid the inevitable NYPD Internal Affairs investigation

Luchese family boss Gaspipe Casso turned state's evidence in the mid-nineties and confessed all to the FBI and NYPD in exchange for placement in the witness protection program. He had dirt on the Luchese family and other mobsters which rivaled the confessions of Sammy the Bull Gravano. A common thread in all his stories was "the crystal ball" (or "the cops"), a pair of crooked cops, one from the Major Case Squad, who helped Casso rise to mythical levels within his crime family. "The cops" fed Casso dirt on who had turned into an informant, swept cases against made men under the rug, gave warnings about take-downs, and even murdered under mafia orders. Casso was once removed from his crystal ball, but after Eppolito's tell-all memoir was published, he had a good guess about the identities of "the cops" who made him such a success as a mafia boss.

Detective Oldham then made it his mission to take down these crooked cops, who by the end of the nineties were retired in a comfortable lifestyle in the Las Vegas area. Lawson and Oldham's book is as much the story of police detectives Oldham, Caracappa, and Eppolito as it is a history of the mafia in New York over the last three decades. The authors describe the genesis of the RICO legal statutes and its implications for both the cops pursing the mafia and the district attorney indicting criminals. The book also addresses the changes in the openness of mafia membership after the 1950's and the disintegration of the code of honor and ethics in favor of straight-up thug killings and bloodshed.

The Brotherhoods expertly tells the facts of official and unofficial mafia and police action over a two-decade period without getting overly bogged down in technical specifics. This could easily read like a detective blotter, but Guy Lawson spins a compelling tale of the wide web of individuals affected by the actions of two crooked NYPD cops. A "cast of characters" prefacing the book is an indispensable reference to the police, mobsters, and victims of this story.

I happen to just love the work that these two guys did on this book about Lou Eppolito and the other bad cop. I am in the book on pages 358 throu 364 I am Jane McCormick. I had dealing with Mr Eppolito for 3 years. He was a good con man and he conned $45,000 from me . He said if you cant trust a cop who can you trust! Jane harvey was the name I used in Vegas. I am writting my true life story. It is already done but it is being edited now and will be plublished in a few mos. I am hopping to get it on this wonderful web site soon.I have a wonderful writer that is writing But this book will tell it as it really was in Vegas in the 60s and 70s

I can't stand a book where I can't get the author's voice out my head enough to concentrate on the story. He loves the 'sound of his own voice' so much the book could be half the size and twice as interesting.

When reading this book, the story for which the book is written is great, but it is masked by the author continuing insistence on including other facts about his life and career (This book would read just fine if the author left out the numerous times he mentioned his drinking problem). When writing about the story and not some other case the author was working on, this is an enjoyable book. He does do a good job though of including details that are little known and that adds to the drama of the story. You just have to get past the style of writing that the author uses which comes across almost like bragging about his own self importance.

Bottom line: good story, poor writing.