Customer Reviews

Joey the Hitman: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer (Adrenaline Classics Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This was a very fun introduction to the world of the mafia. It is light hearted and is very insightful. I am not sure if Joey exists but some of the facts standing up. Like the 'meat hook kill' I have heard other sources report on this and also it tells you a lot about the various strains of the mob business. So if you have a keen interest in the Italian mafia or just organised crime check this book out you will not be disappointed!

The only trouble with this sort of memoir, whether it's by Joey or by somebody who infiltrated the Klan, is that there is no way to corrobrate his stories. Even so, the discussion of how crime as a business operates is very interesting, and "Joey's" ideas about what could be done to hurt it are right on the money. Basically, legalizing gambling (which has been done in many places since this book came out; I've got two copies of the original paperback printing) legalizing drugs, and in general, legalizing victimless crimes, would have all but put the Mob out of business or forced it to go respectable, like some segments did after Prohibition---many fortunes in the liquor or entertainment industries can trace their origins to gangsters.

I read this many years ago when it first came out entitled as 'Killer' and thought it was a fascinating look at the business of crime. However, I just bought the reissue and noticed that a whole chapter devoted to Joey and his feelings about women was dropped. Why so? Were the publishers getting PC about a Mafia killer so as not to offend new readers? Anyone have the original? And does anyone have any info on Joey's real name? A mention was made of his obit in Time magazine...date and issue anyone?

Joeys existence is not the most important or fun factor of this book. The most interesting aspect is the detailed description of normal everyday mob activities. Gambling , Loansharking , bribery. This book was a very interesting introduction into what the mafia is really like. I enjoyed every page and stopped reading the book I was reading prior because I became hooked to this one. A very good book if your interested in the complexities of playing the numbers , loan sharking or any mob activities. Worth the $$$ as much as any book.

I read the original "Killer", by Joey, back in the early 70`s.I also saw a masked "Joey" interviewed on the Sunday evening talk show "Open Mind" by David Susskind. Susskind berates Joey, at one point, for using the slur"Pollack". Susskind said"You wouldn`t want me to use an anti-Italian epithet, would you?"Joey retorted."I wouldn`t care, really, since I`m not Italian. I`m Jewish"(Susskind was stunned!) Also, in "Killer", Joey recounts a meeting in a NYC club with the reputed Columbo crime family soldier, Carmine Di Biasi, in which he describes shoving the barrel of his revolver into Di Biasi`s mouth after Di Biasi "insulted my Ethnic backround". All in all,this is not a Primer on organized crime.To really enjoy this book you are better off reading a few other books first, such as "Mafia USA","The Grim Reapers","Pictorial History of the Mafia" or "The Vallachi Papers".

Joey with the help of Mr.David Fisher tells one of the best stories about a mafia hitman i've read in awhile.He tells about some of the 30 plus hits he had under his belt.Like you would order a meal.Even telling jokes about things as he has done.And a little mob humor.Even though he is a killer i came to like joey.

This is an adequate book about the life of a member of the mob. It seems true and I have no real reason to disbelieve it's veracity, although a couple passages made me scratch my head (he uses a .38 revolver and a silencer? Not normally possible.) One thing to note is that the vast majority of this book is NOT about actual "hits" or killings, but about the daily operations of organized crime from approximately the 1940's through the 1970's. It covers the details of activities like loansharking, drug smuggling, underground gambling, fencing stolen goods, etc. Few actual murders committed by the (co)author are described and fewer are described in detail. Still, this is entertaining and informative enough to belong on the shelf of crime fiction writers or those interested in organized crime during the middle of the 20th century. Just don't expect a lot of blood and guts.

I also read this book under the title 'Killer' in the early 70s after his appearance on the David Susskind show. This was my first exposure to this world, and it prompted me to buy the book. One point he made in it that stuck with me was that the reason for writing the book in the first place was that the mob itself as a whole is crumbling apart despite how it seems ot the public, and that he wants to make all the profit he can untill it collapses completely! He may not publically admit his regrets, but other mob turncoats will tell you they would have fared better had they gone straight to begin with. He explains he entered mob life during the depression out of desperation and the need to survive, Why then would a middle aged man with his brains, not to mention jewishness, need to stay in a life of crime after the depression of the 30s has long passed? This is a story of bondage to a false god.
'Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it'. Rest in peace Joey, even though you did not take a dime with you.

I have no doubt this book is written by a true hitman for the mob. He seems to know the way it actually functions as opposed to the Hollywood version.

He gives so many details and tips about various mob crime schemes from running numbers and fencing, to shylocking and bookmaking that you could start your own illegal business.

bloody good read starts off a little slow but gets you in i enjoyed it