Mob Lawyer: Including the Inside Account of Who Killed Jimmy Hoffa and JFK [Hardcover]

Frank Ragano (Author), Selwyn Raab (Author), Nicholas Pileggi (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 1994

Presents an inside account of the deaths of Jimmy Hoffa and JFK and the FBI plot to murder Castro, by a mob-affiliated attorney who spent fifteen years as one of Hoffa's personal lawyers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sure to be widely discussed, this is the autobiography of Florida attorney Ragano who convinced himself that mafia chieftain Santo Trafficante and his New Orleans colleague Carlos Marcello were not such bad guys. Ragano was Trafficante and Marcello's lawyer for decades and through them met another client, union leader Jimmy Hoffa, whom he represented for 15 years. The story, which profits from the smooth style of New York Times crime reporter Raab, has less impact as an account of a man who woke up too late than for its revelations about significant events of our time. According to Ragano, Hoffa was killed because his successor as Teamster president, Frank Fitzsimmons, was easier for the mob to control. And he claims that Trafficante on his deathbed muttered, "We shouldn't have killed Giovanni. We should've killed Bobby"--a statement that's sure to feed the fire of those who believe that JFK was assassinated by the mafia. Ragano, who maintains here that he was the victim of persecution, was imprisoned for tax evasion in April of 1993, sentenced to serve "no more than one year." Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ragano was attorney to Florida mobster Santo Trafficante as well as one of Jimmy Hoffa's personal lawyers. He devotes the earlier part of his book to detailing his starry-eyed admiration of Trafficante, whose activities in Florida centered around the widely accepted game of bolita. Ragano gradually became aware of Trafficante's wider mob activities and affiliations, but by then his loyalty had been secured. He tells of his boss's success with Havana casinos, Trafficante's near execution when Castro took over, and his mysterious escape back to Miami. Alternating between first-person and omniscient points of view, Ragano also writes of defending Jimmy Hoffa on fraud charges; his awareness of the conflict between Hoffa, the mob, and the Kennedys; and his unwitting role in the alleged conspiracy to assassinate JFK. He offers detailed accounts of Hoffa's last day as well as a plot to murder Castro. As Ragano drops names (e.g., the obligatory Sinatra story) and juicy tidbits of gossip, the narrative takes on a decidedly tabloid tone. The book is a quick read, and there's no denying its fascination, but one is left feeling slightly soiled and doubting Ragano's veracity on certain key points. For popular true crime collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/93.
- Ben Harrison, East Orange
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (April 11, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684195682
• ISBN-13: 978-0684195681
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From his son., April 16, 2002

By 

Chris Ragano (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mob Lawyer: Including the Inside Account of Who Killed Jimmy Hoffa and JFK (Hardcover)

I was overwhelmed by the reviews, both positive and negative. The book only reveals some of the highlights of my
father's career. It captures the essence of what really transpired between Hoffa, Trafficante, and Marcello. He was in an unusual position to be able to represent all three of these men at once. According to my father, it was "tantamount to being counsel for General Motors." The book explores the uneasiness of trying to represent your clients zealously, yet ethically. In the end, though, he crossed the line of objectivity: Your never socialize with your clients, he would warn. When he was fighting Bobby Kennedy ("The General") in court, all too often he would refer to it as: "Their enemies became my enemies." The book reveals the inter-workings of a truly brilliant criminal defense attorney. It also shows how insightful these mafia chieftains were to the american public being exposed to drugs, particularly cocaine. This is later demostrated in John Gotti's interactions with the mob. I am very proud of him and I think he would be very proud of me, although I concentrate my practice in family law, where the clients are less difficult.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight-Forward & Believable: Hoffa, the Mob, Kennedys, January 7, 2002

By 

David M. Elder (Pacifica, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mob Lawyer (Hardcover)

A Straight-Forward and seemingly reliable Mob-insider's account by one of the LCN's top lawyers. Ragano is no name dropper, nor is he full of it. He was a top Lawyer for both Hoffa and Santo Trafficante from the late 50s through the 80s.

The books explores the life of Tampa lawyer Ragano and his close relationship to Santo Trafficante. This is one of the few, if not only books, that examines the life of this shadowy, but important mobster who by his own and others' admission, was involved in planned or real assassinations of Castro and JFK.

Ragano's account of his dealings with Hoffa and Trafficante and his association with a who's-who of Organized Crime personalities- Carlos Marcello, Luchesse, Gooodfellow's mobsters Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, Sinatra, Alan Dorfman (who milked the Central States Pesnion fund for all it was worth) and others -- is told without nonsenes and in a fully credible way.

Ragano is not a conspiracy nut, nor does he come across as one who makes up stories. Neither was Trafficante. So that is why when Ragano reveals what was told him by Trafficante about Hoffa's and JFK's murders, accounts which jive with other and most prevelant thoughts about those killings, I think he can be taken at his word. Clearly, it should come as no suprise that the Mafia was involved in those murders. And while not much is added to details of JFK's assassination, the death of Hoffa is clearly related, including the names of the triggermen and who ordered the hit.

Unlike some mob-insider accounts I have read, where the subject's integrity is of little worth and the story sometimes hard to swallow, 'Mob Lawyer' is both profound, soul searching and entertaining.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling!, February 1, 2003

By 

kooky Kid "Bookfiend1818" (east coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mob Lawyer (Hardcover)

I read the book years ago and in my opinion the most compelling "insider" account of mafia mores...It is true that most true crime mafia tales are written by or with the help of mob members, hence the dubious veracity of some facts.(I was reminded of this book, as I just finished For the sins of my Father, written poignantly by Al Demeo, the son of a murderous mobster. We get to see another avenue in this certain world of horror.)
Mob Lawyer provides this same kind of insight, as Ragano was invited in to the mob world for a function, but he was not involved in the criminal activities.Extremely insightful.