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Mr. Rhode Island: A Harrowing Courtroom Thriller!

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When you're busy trying to make your fortune, being a suspect in a murder case can prove to be quite the distraction. "Mr. Rhode Island" tells the story of Stephen Rosati, a former bodybuilder trying to make his way as a real estate and fitness club mogul. But when he's accused of murdering a drug lord in Florida, his life spirals out of control as Marc J. Seifer details his story in this real-life courtroom drama. "Mr. Rhode Island" is a choice pick for community library Criminology Studies collections and the supplemental reading lists for those seeking a true to life legal tale.

Mr. Rhode Island plays out like a classic Greek tragedy. The book begins with a newspaper article concerning a quest by the father of a murdered man to find the scum who killed his son. Bent on revenge, Mr. Viscido prompts the Broward Police Department to fashion a complex case against three men for this murder: Pete the Greek, a Porsche-driving rogue of questionable repute; Stephen Rosati, a former nightclub stripper from southern Florida and now a businessman in his home state of Rhode Island; and Peter Dallas, who admits to the crime and says he killed Viscido with Rosati. Here's the problem, Rosati says he not only does not know the dead man or any of the witnesses, he also claims he never met Peter Dallas and further, he wasn't in Florida when the murder was committed. Since Rosati is co-author, he takes the reader inside the prison walls as we suffer along with him in his quest to survive in a very difficult environment. Meanwhile, on the outside, Rosati's parents hire Jack Cicilline, a lawyer for the mob, but also the best criminal attorney in Rhode Island, to battle wits against his old nemesis, Randy White, the state prosecutor. The scene shifts to the extradition hearing itself, which is presided by Judge Sheehan, who happened to have been Cicilline's former law partner! Well, that's Rhode Island for you! Seifer does an admirable job of letting the reader see Judge Sheehan's dilemma. If Stephen Rosati loses his court battle, he may very well face the electric chair in Florida. As Seifer makes abundantly clear, Judge Sheehan was convinced of Stephen Rosati's innocence, yet still he rules to extradite. Stephen's parents look on helplessly as the state judicial machines of Rhode Island and Florida move inexorably to end the life of their only son. This book is complicated, so you do have to concentrate. But because it is true, it is unpredictable with a surprising number of twists and turns as Rosati's lawyer does everything he can to save the life of an innocent man. Bravo, indeed! A great read.