Customer Reviews

The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Frantianno

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After learning that a good friend of my fathers was "connected" with a made guy in the L.A. family,I became intrigued with the mob and have read every book I could find on the subject.In particular,books that make mention of Los Angeles and Las Vegas This is the only book I have read that gives detailed accounts of the L.A. family and its operations.Ovid Demaris does an excellent job with the annals of information he extracted from Fratianno and gets four stars from me.Anyone interested in the early days of Las Vegas,this book is a must.

the last mafioso is jimmy the weasel fratiano.he was one of the highest ranking mafioso to turn against the cosa nostra.this book is a classic among the true mafia books.you could almost feel sorry for him when he is arrested.in this book you also find out what really happened to jimmy hoffa,who where frank sinatras mafia friends,why did a mobster share his mistress with a us presidebt,why was the mob considering to kill desi arnaz,and what was the real cia-mafia plot to kill the communist fidel castro.an in depth look into the old mafia world.one of the best mafia books.period.

I borrowed this book from a fellow Mafia-phile and enjoyed it so much I searched out a used copy on the Internet and bought it. "The Last Mafioso" is the biography of Jimmy "the Weasel" Fratianno, a West Coast Mafioso who turned government witness, but it tells a vastly greater story. The L.A. and Vegas underworlds spring to life in this enthralling book; anyone with a passing interest in the Mafia will enjoy it.

Jimmy Fratianno was a small time hood who killed on demand and was quick to exploit anyone and everyone to make a quick buck. He lived by his code of honor and according to him, always split up his money with his partners The book details some of the hits Jimmy did to make his bones. His attempts at trying to kill Mickey Cohen are interesting if not funny. With his desperation at trying to buy a Las Vegas casino and his trucking company being prosecuted, Jimmy tries to make himself sound like a victim of mob and government justice. His relationship with Johnny Roselli and Frank Bompensiero don't help him in L.A. or with the Chicago and New York families. When he takes over the L.A. family, one is not sure whether the Dragnas betrayed him or he really never had the o.k. to head the family. After many monetary failures and the murders of the 'Bomp' and Roselli, Jimmy realizes he has been betrayed and that Dominick Brooklier, now the head of the L.A. family, has a contract out on him. He hides in San Francisco for a while, but he soon turns to the government for his salvation. Becoming a rat was tough for him, but at least he was able to get some measure of revenge on his tormentors, rather than a bullet behind each ear as so many of his victims had.

This is a book that is saturated with intrigue and even humor. Jimmy the Weasel has seen it all and tells it like he sees it. This book is the beyond a doubt the best mafia book ever written and no movie could ever do it justice. Read it and forever be captivated by it. Skip the bad Gotti books and pick this one up fast! In memory of Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno.

IF YOU ARE A FAN OF MAFIA BOOKS THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK YOU WILL EVER NEED TO GET. JIMMY FRATTIANO IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A MADE GUY. HE WAS A FEARED HITMAN, A HUSTLER AND HE WAS RESPECTED BY WISEGUYS FROM SEVERAL FAMILIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. I HAVE READ STACKS OF MAFIA BOOKS THIS STILL BY FAR THE BEST.

"Jimmy you're now a made guy, an AMICO NOSTRA ,a SOLDATO in our FAMIGLIA.

Myself,being a kid from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn,for some reason that I can't explain,have always been fascinated with The Mafia.It may have to do with their dark,dangerous and secret history, that held an iron grip on the streets of NYC,or maybe,it had to do with the huge success of the classic film "The Godfather", or maybe even hearing about "Crazy" Joe Gallo getting clipped at Humberto's clam house in little Italy.One thing that I know for sure, is that americans as a whole,share this same fascination with gangsters that I grew up with.What man in ANY part of this world wouldn't be attracted to:power,wealth,style,respect,fear,women and the ability to "push the button", to have an enemy disposed of? That is how this great nation known as The United States Of America was built!Like it or not, that is a fact! The legacies that men such as:Al Capone,Charlie"Lucky"Luciano,Meyer Lansky,Benjamin"Bugsy"Siegel, Joseph Kennedy and Leroy"Nicky"Barnes, left on this country is proof of that.Now,getting to this awesome book.I picked this book up back in 1981 after I saw an interview with Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno on 60 minutes.I was in shock, at how calm he was when he dicussed his murders.This book along with "The Last Testament Of Lucky Luciano" are the best books on the history of The Mafia in america period!What makes these books so incredible is the fact that this information was coming from men that held powerful positions within the organization.Both books,were also very easy to read.It's all in the pages of this book,the: language,swagger,murders,scams,sex,power,money,politics,unions and even the inner working's of the Las Vegas and entertainment world's,with cats like Dean Martin and of course,Frank Sinatra making appearances as well.Jimmy Fratianno,will also take the reader thru Mafia families in,New York,Chicago,Cleveland and Los Angeles as well as northern California.Jimmy,was the real deal.He covers mob history from the 1940's thru the 1970's.What I also loved about this book was Ovid Demaris's excellent writing, and the rogue gallerie of mobster pictures as well as the awesome "Appendix:Dramatis Personae" that can be found at the end of this book, that provides informative biographical essays of all the characters,and important gangsters that formed organized crime as we know it today.If you're interested in the study of gangsterism in America, then you must purchase this book!Highly recommended.

I read this book years ago and remembered how good it was. I loaned my copy out and never got it back. So, I usually can find older books at Amazon...

Ovid Demaris in conjunction with Jimmy Fratianno wrote this expose of life in the Mafia. This is no Joe Bonnano autobiography, this is closer to the real thing. Jimmy followed Valachi as a government witness and was tagged in the book as a liar. But, the workings of the Black Hand is very revealing in this title. I guess, this is as close as you can get to how it was....how, it is.