Customer Reviews

Gangland: How the FBI Broke the Mob

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has everything in it about the most colorful character the mob has had since Al Capone (which wasn't necessarily a good thing). It is a very detailed account of not just Gotti's world but the world of the FBI who was trying to bring him down, from dealing with lawyers, to wiretaps in homes, to wiretapping cars on the street, to dealing with members of the mob themselves (as when the FBI heard a hit order was put out on a couple agents, how SAIC Mowe went to Gotti's front door to confront him personally), etc. If there is a drawback to this book, it is that some of the FBI details were a little long winded, and at some points seemed to slow the book down. But better to err on the side of details than to leave a reader asking questions, which there weren't that many after reading this book. On a sidebar note, it gives the reader an idea of how the cards are usually stacked against the good guys and the obstacles that they have to overcome to get the bad guys.

Gangland is the most thorough and professional telling of the fall of John Gotti. I was already familiar with the characters from other books, primarily "Boss of Bosses," so I was very pleased to wrap up the story as told by this highly skilled author and journalist.

The biggest difference between this and other mafia books is that almost all other books are written as first person accounts by the participants (i.e. FBI agents, mobsters, etc.). As an unbiased observer, Blum can tell the entire story in all of its fascinating detail - from FBI squad rooms to the inner circle of Gotti's most private mob retreats. This professional detachment does not in any way hamper the personal details of the story. Blum can still make you feel like an insider. Probably the best example of this is when he recounts Gotti and Sammy "the Bull" Gravano's murder of Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano. When you read the story again later in the book - as part of Gravano's confession - it brings chills down your back yet again. You can sense the excitement of the government agents and prosecutors who are hearing the story for the first time. It is a true pinnacle in American organized crime history.

Gangland is a required companion to other fine mafia books like "Donnie Brasco," "Boss of Bosses," and to a lesser extent "Underboss." The only thing to remember is that its journalistic approach is markedly different from the "I was there" approach of other books. Just stick with it as everything unravels perfectly in the end.

More than an account of the rise and fall of one of the most charismatic Godfathers of all time, this is an intriguing insight into the artistry and complexity of surveillance and inter-departmental politics. It is the fascinating and accurate account of the slog, it can only be called, of Bruce Mouw and his FBI organized crime team over the years it took to finally bring the Teflon Don to justice.

One could argue that the book is shamelessly biassed in favor of the FBI. The often competing fellow law enforcement agencies are often depicted with almost the same scorn as the gangsters themselves. One could also argue that the noble crusade to convict a notorious felon was really more like a foot race for bragging rights to his head. The book does not completely discard this notion but does appear to justify the FBI's behavior while criticizing that of the Organized Crime task force and the Police Department when essentially the motivation was the same.

However, the book rightfully avoids glamorizing the criminals, and offers a fascinating account of the technology, logistics and economics of wire-tapping, surveillance and snitch recruitment. It is excellently written, detailed, yet economical, and meshes dramatic techniques with never-wavering factual accuracy seamlessly. One of the better true crime books written.

I have always been a fan of true crime books dealing with the American mafia so I could be a bit biased in this review. I really enjoyed this book. It is a very interesting view of what took place with John Gotti. It had a lot of detail about how the FBI worked with other law enforcement organizations, and the techniques they used to gather the evidence that turned John Gotti into a ward of the state. This book moves fast and never gets bogged down in legalese. Another positive with the book is the author is a reporter and not a FBI official, therefore the writing is better. It is an interesting study of an important event in the American Mafia

Good Book

The book called, Gangland: How The FBI Broke The Mob by Howard Blum was a good book to read. I pick this book for the interest in the mob and how it works. The book is a big book and it holds a lot of details. Gangland is about the Gotti Family and the boss John Gotti. In the beginning of this book it really explains the FBI agents life and it also talks about how they were on to the mob. Howard Blum talks about what the mob is and what there about. Gangland tells you how they busted the mob one by one and who turned on his own boss to get them busted. If you really like mob stories and want to learn what happened to this family of gangster's, then read this book.

This book is great, if you're into this genre. It was a great read, and you couldn't beat the price.

This is a story we all know too well, since it has been dramatized in America as if were a male cultural writ of passage: In the movies, on the TV, in books, and newspaper articles, it has been repeated incessantly at least since John Gotti's took over and then was rapidly toppled from the head of the powerful Gambino family. It is the stuff that legends are made of and is what Mario Puzo's Godfather was based on. But never has it been told so well and so thoroughly and in such fine-grained detail as it is told here in the expert hands of Howard Blum.

Like a novel, the story of how fifteen newly recruited FBI agents, were assembled, trained, and then took down America's most notorious and murderous crime family, unfolds like a modern day classic, a virtual David and Goliath tale, with a little bit of the spy thriller and the "Magnificent Seven" thrown in.

It is a case of "good" versus "pure evil;" of the "best in society" versus "the worst;" of how a "ragtag" bunch of ex-Vietnam vets redeemed their lost honor and re-discovered their souls in a second act, and in the second battle of their lives: in a war against a New York organized crime syndicate of nearly 3000 members.

What we did not know before is how this team was recruited; how they used their own ingenuity to overcome both technical and bureaucratic obstacles; how Robert Blakey, the famous Notre Dame Law Professor "pulled their coattails" as to how to fight organized crime smartly (not one crime and one criminal at a time, but as an "ongoing criminal enterprise"); and how they had to overcome their own personal problems and bureaucratic resistance and infighting, as well as hunt down a highly paid mole within their own ranks constantly feeding top secret information to the enemy.

Armed with the sledgehammer of the newly devised RICO statue, they were able to attack the very structural essence of the mob, turning the legal machinery decisively in their favor. And in the process, they were able to convert John Gotti, previously, known as the "Teflon Don" into the "Velcro un-Don," rolling up the hierarchy of the whole Gambino enterprise, and turning the Sicilian "Code of Omerta" into the snitch's Code of "O mama mia?"

Five stars

Investigative reporter Howard Blum details the rise of John Gotti (1940-2002) and the ultimately successful efforts of law enforcement to bring about his demise in this 1993 book. We get inside information on Gotti's 1985 rubbing out of Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino crime family - at which point Gotti became Don. We also see his high-profile days as boss (named "The Dapper Don" by the press for his immaculate appearance), and his ultimate demise due to an intense effort on the part of law enforcement and FBI to bring him down. That downfall stemmed in no small measure by planting bugs in and above the Ravenite Social Club where Gotti held court. At that point the Teflon Don as he was also known could no longer beat the rap in court.

Blum makes good use of his journalistic skills, painting an in-depth picture of Gotti, his family, the workings of the NYC mob, and the FBI and other law enforcement determined to send him to prison. These readable pages tell the story in surprising detail.

It is difficult to get a precise view into the workings of La Cosa Nostra, but some books give readers a better idea. "Gangland" is one of those books. Told from the perspective of the agents who brought down John Gotti, the book is a real page-turner.

The begining of the book starts out slowly as the various members of the investigation team are being introduced. But once the surveillance activities begin, the book is tough to put down. Most people know the story, but the details provided add to the excitement. The rise of Gotti in the Gambino family is documented as it evolves. Gotti took the bold action of killing the Boss of Bosses to gain his Godfather status. Organized Crime expands under Gotti, making it a more desirable target for law enforcement. As the investigation unfolds parallel to Gotti's rise, Howard Blum tells the story with the mastery of a novelist. I loved the way he dropped hints about William Peist without directly suggesting him to be the mole. Most readers know Sammy "the Bull" Gravano turns "rat", but not even Gravano's book "Underboss" can give the story from this perspective.

Some readers will dislike the book as it omits certain elements. Little background is written about the men of the Gambino family being investigated. Almost no family history is documented either. There is a bounty of other books with this information. This book is a well plotted book of the fall of John Gotti.

This is an excellent book... except for the parts where they get the information about Gotti's uh - whaddya call them, Girlfriends! I mean, don't really need to know about his bedroom things also! And that was the most depressing part about this book. And of course, I don't blame Blum for the mobster's grammar, 'cause that's how they were speaking.

Also loved the areas when SAIC Mouw came into contact with Gotti and threatened him more than once. And when the Task Force first came together, and how they actually met some of the made men for coffee and other stuff, and they let them actually take their photos. Of course, that was the 'nice' ones.

Overall this is a good book good insight, sort of like Gravano's 'Underboss' except they are from two different sides of the law.