Customer Reviews

Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob

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4 star:		(8)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a first time author, Jeff Coen's debut work is a powerful and riveting account of the most memorable and landmark mob trial in Chicago history, a city long known for its gangster reputation.

Building the case in rich and informative detail leading up to the trial in the summer of 2007, Mr. Coen expertly provides background of The Outfit and it's colorful players.

As an avid mob watcher, I had the opportunity to witness this trial many times which also included the days of testimony of Nick Calabrese and his father, Frank. Mr. Coen's extraordinary re-creation of this event brought this experience back to life; the deafening silence in court listening to witnesses recall events, tension filled exchanges during direct and cross examination, facial and body language of the defendants, interaction among the attorneys, days filled with raw emotion and exhaustion at the end of the court day, and the anticipation of what would happen next. True trial theatre. In spite of the seriousness of the subject matter, this book nor the trial didn't lack in humor. Mr. Coen covered all of it.

This book is the best I've read about the Chicago mob in decades! I couldn't put it down sitting for hours at a time. The book is a must have to add to an organized crime library.

This fascinating and frightening read is a must for anyone even casually interested in the Chicago Outfit. Coen seamlessly weaves a story that takes us through decades of bad behavior and its consequences. It features a cast of creepy characters with names like "The Clown" and "The Hook." The worst of the bunch is Frank Calabrese Sr, a greedy madman who wouldn't think twice about killing his own brother or bullying his sons --but is bothered by the fact that he has to burn a holy card in the mob initiation ceremony. Incredible details fill the book, and justice is served cold by the long arm or the law. Screaming for a film adaptation. You won't be disappointed.

This is a great read! Family Secrets provides a chilling look into the lives and thinking of these violent mob characters.

The book pieces together the crimes and events that took place over decades, and just culminated in the dramatic courtroom testimony that exposed the depth of brutality and treachery of this mob family.

The events and personalities read like imaginative crime fiction... but are backed up with incredible facts, evidence, and courtroom testimony.

Like they say, you just couldn't make this stuff up!

Born and bred in the Windy City, I've always been fascinated/obsessed with the members/deeds of the Chicago Outfit!! An avid reader and collector of books about organized crime,(be it in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, etc.),I recently got around to reading and finishing the, "Family Secrets", book and literally devoured it in three days!!! A great book! Fast paced, full of action and information previously unavailable to the public. It spans a period of time which until now was virtually unknown to the public. Murders are described, down to such details as to who was actually there/present in the room, where and when it took place, not wanting to give too much away, even details on how the victim suffered, etc.. For a long time the Outfit was known but never heard of such as the Mafia in New York and the publicity it and it's members have received, be it in the movies, newspapers, or true crime books.
This book is GREAT!! Any true crime/organized crime fan will find it well worth the price. Author, Jeff Coen did his homework and got all his facts/dates straight and weaved them and all the other items into a thriller, which after a few pages one will find, they do not want to put it down. For all Chicagoans interested in the Outfit, this is a must read book!! Alot of information from many years back involving multiple murders,crimes,etc., are detailed and described opening one's eyes to the reality of the Outfit and the way they operate and survive!! One of the best Chicago True Crime/Organized Crime books
available!!

This is a great book for those interested in the chicago outfit, and the family secrets trial. I watched much of the trial, and Jeff really paints a compelling and accurate picture of what is was like inside the courtroom. He is a great storyteller, and weaved the many stories and facts into a very interesting read. I could easily see him writing more books, maybe one on Gov Blago or some other crime story.

I've lived in the Chicago area for most of my life. Perhaps that's at least part of the reason I find this "Chicago mob" book to be somewhat on the dull side. So a mobster decides to rat out his buddies and gives information on a couple of dozen crime related murders over the past couple of decades.

It really isn't a big deal anymore in a city where more than 500 people a year, most of them with criminal records, are murdered. More than half of these murders are never resolved by convictions. (In Cook County, where Chicago is located, there is a high probability that a convicted murderer may be innocent: the rate of death-row inmates released because DNA evidence has cleared them is high.)

Jeff Coen is a competent journalist: he covered the federal trails and investigations recounted here for the Chicago Tribune. But he fails to invest his subject with any emotion, a proper thing to do for a working journalist, perhaps, but it falls somewhat flat when telling a story of one murder after another. There is no drama here. An example: "It was an order that Nick wouldn't soon forget, a warning about what could happen to him once the wheels were in motion for a murder to take place".

The detail is certainly there. Coen tries to nail down every incident: tape recorded jailhouse visits, the shucking of shotgun shells prior to shooting a couple of people; the dialing of a phone; the routine dealings of a criminal enterprise.

For those with an interest in the declining years of the Chicago Mob, it is an interesting book because of these details. But as the author admits, by the time of these trials in 2007, the "Mob" consisted of "relics and dinosaurs, the remnants of the Chicago syndicate of the 1920s".

The whole story of crime in Chicago has moved on. Anyone who lives in the city knows that the "Mob" is pretty much gone, replaced by the politicians whose fathers the mob bought decades ago. Ethnic gangs rule the roost today and are far more murderous than the old Mafia ever was - and much less concerned with innocent victims.

"Family Secrets" is an okay read. It is not pulse-pounding, which it probably shouldn't be considering its subject matter. It is a somewhat plodding, highly detailed rendition of what may very well turn out to be the last large-scale trial of what was once one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the nation.

Jerry

I only wish more books would be written about the Chicago Outfit. This is the definitive account of the trial of the century in Chicago. The fact that the Author sat in the courtroom comes through his writing style. If you want to learn about organized crime in Chicago, this book should be one of the first that you pick up.

This is a gripping look at the 2007 Family Secrets trial. The six-week trial pitted FBI/law enforcement against some of the biggest names in the Chicago mob/mafia/crime syndicate. The government's star witness was mobster-turned-informant (some say rat) Nick Calabrese. Through his testimony (plus the author's narration) readers learn many details of mob life. We see how the mob's income derived from loan sharking and their hefty "street tax" on taverns, adult bookstores, car dealers, massage parlors, bookies, etc. As one might expect, the mob used intimdation and deadly violence to enforce their strictures. We learn firsthand about several mob hits (usually by shotgun or strangling), including a couple where innocent victims were murdered along with the intended targets. Mob aficionados may recognize major characters and their colorful monikers; Tony "the Ant" Spilotro, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, The Hook, Hambone, Big Tuna, etc. Readers come away with solid understanding of the crime syndicate, and the tense trial that deflated (but didn't destroy) the mob in Chicago. This book makes sharp reading for aficionados and general readers alike.

This is a fun, educational and well written book on the unique nature of the Chicago mob. It is written like an extended Metro section of a hard-hitting Windy City newspaper-- mainly because that's the background of writer Jeff Coen.

If all you know of the mob are "Sopranos," "Godfather" and "Goodfellas," check this book out. It illuminates a completely different type of organization. Unlike the East Coast warring families, the Chicago operation is a one-family company and their stories are unique, intriguing and fascinating.

A perfect book for long trips and vacations.

Since I live in Chicago, this book put all the elements of the trial together. The book is very complex and the author's research was phenomenal. Because so many individuals were a part of the trial, there was some repetition. The books is a good read and I really couldn't put it down.