Enforcer [Mass Market Paperback]

William F. Roemer Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1995

Bugsy Siegel built Las Vegas, but it was Tony "The Ant" Spilotro who ran the show. Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Bugsy Siegel built Las Vegas, but it was Tony "The Ant" Spilotro who ran the show. Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804113106
• ISBN-13: 978-0804113106
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Urban
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Reference & Collections
  • #23 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Criminals

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Roemer Love Fest, August 18, 2003

By 

N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enforcer (Mass Market Paperback)

Aside from this book and Pileggi's Casino, there isn't much that deals directly with the Chicago mob's foothold in Vegas and the man who kept people in line, Tony 'The Ant' Spilotro. (In Casino, Joe Pesci played a character closely based on Spilotro.)

The problem with this book is that it's misleading from the start. This book is not really about Spilotro all that much. Bill Roemer penned Man Against the Mob and then his ego must have really swelled. Roemer spends a good portion of this book talking about himself. When he's not reminding the reader that he's brave, courageous, strong, a lawyer, a former boxer at Notre Dame, and an all around good person, he name drops about a thousand other law enforcement people involved in taking down mobsters. It makes you wonder about the ridiculous amount of money and resources dedicated to busting the Mafia; meanwhile, a guy like Spilotro managed to stay out of jail for a good portion of the time he was muscling Vegas.

Roemer didn't know Spilotro all that much. He admits this, and yet his book just goes on and on. He only met Spilotro a couple of times, and Roemer reminds us that he's so brave that he wasn't afraid of 'The Ant', a nickname that Roemer is proud he helped coin.

If you're interested in the story behind Casino, book and film, then this will be of interest. It has a few insights into some of the other characters, but there isn't enough about Spilotro, who must have been a bit more complex than Roemer thinks if the guy had the kind of street power he did in Las Vegas.

While Pileggi's Casino is a bit too Lefty Rosenthal-centric, The Enforcer is a bit too much Roemer to handle at times.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I used to box in college!!! OH YA,did I mention Spilotro, April 25, 2005

By 

L. K. Backus (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enforcer (Mass Market Paperback)

PLEASE DONT WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!
Ive read several mafia books and this is by far the worst.
All Roemer talks about is him self theres actually very little about Spilotro???? He mentions and kisses up to every cop and agent he's ever meant??? He thinks J Edgar Hoover was god???
This book is extremely boring? hardly anything about Spilotro.
I dont even know why he bothered, after reading this book I would have given him my money not to write it!!! Complete waste of time!
Did you know that Roemer used to box in college? well you will when you read this book I dont think theres a single page that he doesnt mention it?(joke)
Each chapter starts with a couple paragraphs about Spilotro and then page after page about himself and everybody in the world BUT Spilotro???? THANKYOU

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Preaching Never Ends, May 31, 2001

By 

Ed L. "matrix83" (Bayside, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enforcer (Mass Market Paperback)

This has got to be one of the worst books on the mob I have ever read -- primarily because of the author's constant moralizing and preaching. At the same time the book is filled with too many asides, obviously because the author didn't know enough about Spilotro -- his subject -- and had to jack the thing up to book length. I wonder if this was rushed into print to cash in on the film Casino.

In Roemers's world everything is black and white. He constantly attempts to impress us with how brave and heroic he is, when in reality he comes across as a bore. Instead of putting himself in the background and telling the story he colors it too much with tiresome, trite observations. Even in the pictures in the middle of the book, he had to include a shot of himself in the boxing ring. Read this, then read Donnie Brasco. Roemer hides behind his badge; Pistone went out and put the bad guys in the can.