Customer Reviews

Murder Machine (Onyx)

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I used to live 3 blocks away from a bar called the Gemini Lounge in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. Little did I know that scenes of such ghastly brutality were taking place there such as body dismemberment, drug and child pornography dealing, etc. If truth is stranger then fiction, then real life horror stories are far worse then any fiction authors imagination. Roy DeMeo - one of the most brutal, (who had a "relationship" with the equally revolting Irish mobsters called the "Westies") conscienceless killers you will ever meet (hopefully only in print)- assembled a group of cretins from the Flatlands/Canarsie neighborhoods he frequented that is so frightening in that we know we must have passed such "ordinary" looking people many times on the street not having a clue as to their deadly business. It frightens me that a simple argument over a parking spot, or being the proverbial innocent bystander - can lead to such quick, brutal death. On a personal note, I once briefly met one of DeMeo's crew a thug named Joey Testa who is a major player in the book, and I am not surprosed to have read about him being a sadistic killer. This is really a book that is hard to put down and a perfect antidote (along with "Wiseguys" called "Goodfellas"in the movie) to those like Puzo who glamorize the mob. This book is a good companion book to T.J. English' book "The Westies" and you will recognize many of the hoods in both books.

This is a true story of the Brooklyn DeMeo gang who specialized in murder during the 1970s and 80s and how they were finally brought to justice. Some of the information came from Dominick Montiglio, a witness who testified against the mob. However, much of it is written from his point of view and somehow managed to deny his direct involvement with any of the murders, therefore making me wonder about every aspect of book's accuracy. It details his heroism in Vietnam, his marriage and family life, and includes photos of him as a two-year old at his birthday party as well as his 1965 high school graduation.

There are no photos of course of the shocking and brutal murders which are described in gruesome detail throughout the book. The realism was what was so horrible, and opened my eyes to something that was going on right in my city which I was totally unaware of. I still shudder when I think of it.

For the time I was reading the book, it was like a bright floodlight was shed on a part of New York City history which illuminated the criminal mob underbelly of the times. Its clear writing style pulled no punches. The book was meant to shock and it delivered on this promise and is certainly not for everybody. But for all those willing to explore this world from the safety your armchair, I certainly recommend it.

As a New York journalist, I had a passing acquaintance with the sinister reputation of the DeMeo Crew of Canarsie. Once I started Murder Machine, I couldn't put it down. It literally cost me sleep, both because I stayed up late reading and because I stayed up later cringing at this true story of uncontrolled murder and unimaginable butchery. This story is told in an absorbing narrative. The characters are introduced and fleshed out with layers of extraordinary detail, the result of insightful reporting. The Soporanos is a nice fairy tale, but this is the mob as it lives and breathes in real life. Read it and be afraid, very afraid. If you only can read one book about the mob in America, read this one.

This is a very huge book. I read it in like 3 days because it is so engrossing and enthralling and it is just plain CRAZY!! Roy DeMeo is one psychotic man....or should say WAS since they found him in a trunk of a car riddled with bullet holes with a chandelier on top! GREAT BOOK! DONT PASS IT UP! Higly recommended to anyone who digs mob books or movies! The part about the DeMeo crew ordering a pizza while dismembering bodies they hang upside down in the shower is enough to grab your attention but this entire book is very interesting! Great book title too!

Murder Machine is a book written in the brazen tradition of Wiseguys and the Westies. It provides readers with a snapshot of street life, magnifies it, and follows it up with a sea of rich description. The DeMeo Crew had to be the most vicious gang of killers in the history of the mob, and, despite being loosely associated with the Gambino Family, there wasn't much organized about their criminal nature. An arrest, an insult, a wrongly phrased statement, the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time could result in one getting whacked by the likes of Harvey "Chris" Rosenberg, the Gemini twins, or Roy DeMeo himself. Books like these are important because if one refuses to study foul, corrupt men then they willfully choose not to know the truth about human nature. The dealings and interactions of this gang, as described by turncoat Dominick Montiglio, are juxtaposed with those of the Castellano pre-Gotti Gambino Family in these pages and the ensuing portrait of the mobsters is both revealing and entertaining. Indeed, the tale is so fast paced and action packed that you'll be surprised you finish it as quickly as you do.

Parts of this book were really gruesome and sickening, but after getting through those parts the story was very interesting. I bought this book because someone else wrote that it was the best Mafia book that they had ever read. I agree with that reviewer. I have lived in New York all my life (a few years in Canarsie and many in Ozone Park, while teaching in Howard Beach). I have always been surrounded by "that life" but I never realized the lengths these people went to to get rid of people that crossed them. Killing wasn't enough...they had to destroy and dismember the bodies as well. The one thing that I would like to know is how the authors got so detailed a story when most of the people involved were dead by the time this book was written, and I can't imagine that anyone with inside connections spoke to them. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the Mafia but keep in mind that parts of this story are degenerate.

In response to many of your reviews, thumbs up to those smart enough to determine fact from fiction. For those of you who believe this "thriller" and comment as if you know the characters, all I can say is "poor judgement!" I am one of the fortunate to know many of these men, and all I can say is that this book is extremely exciting to read, but full of nonsense. I only wish today's generation was filled with more of these men. Maybe we should look deeper into the people behind this story, such as Dominic. Another weak and screwed up drug user crying poor me and looking for a pity party. This creature told many lies all to try to make himself look like a hero. As for Roys son, another pity party. Poor thing; so it wasn't drugs but booze, lets blame it on dad.

So go on and enjoy the story, but if you are all that interested, try looking up the actual cases involved and see the real truth. It is then that we might learn a thing or two about what we call justice. A perfect example would be Henry Borelli serving 150 years in a maximum security prison far away from his family, and all for 15 stolen cars; nothing more. God, I have heard of lighter sentences for murder and rape.

Maybe more people should take the time to look deeper into our justice system, before they comment on a book such as this.

I thought this book was a lot of fun. It is written by 2 NY Daily News crime reporters so the book does not have an over arching narrative, like most true crime novels do. For a mafia book an episodic structure works well because it allows the authors to jump from cool story to cool story.

Despite some reviews here that state that Dominick Montiglio was never a Green Beret, never a war hero, maybe never even in combat, I still give this book credence. While Montiglio was a source for this book, it's clear to the reader that he was not truly involved in the Demeo crew but really more of a servant to Nino Gaggi his uncle. So there is no way Montiglio could have known all these horrifying details about many of these murders. Capeci and Mustain would have to have had other sources that they learned about these murders from. The book definitely focuses too much attention on Montiglio, he was basically a down-and-out deadbeat cokehead.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that this book is a complete fabrication. Too much law enforcement has found out too much information about the Demeo crew for someone to think that the information about these murders was fabricated. As for the Dominick Montiglio war hero stuff, well it's a minor part of the book at best so take it with a grain of salt. The real point of this book is that the Mafia is not the Sopranos or The Godfather. It's these people. People who have zero intelligence or practical function on this planet, but who kill innocent people in gruesome ways just so their crimes can continue. This is a very good read.

If you like Mafia type stories this a good read. The book is about the DeMao crew from NY. There are many people involved in this story from the top of the chain such as Paul Castellano on down the line to just wanna be's in the mafia regime. The story is basically about a crew that works under Big Paulie and is involved in drugs, racketeering, extortion, auto theft, pornography, and of course Murder. The title Murder Machine is no lie when it comes to this crew as the will kill anybody, anytime and just about anywhere. Some graphic details are laid out how the crew make people disappear or how they are left to be found for intense purposes. Killing for the DeMao crew is every day nature which is kind of creepy but just business in there eyes. The story is goes through high's and low's of the crews personal lives and "professional" lives and gives a good insight to how the crew operated day in and out and all the thing's that they were involved in to make money for themselves, there capo's and for "the family". At some points it's amazing how one minute everyone is a loving family and friends laughing, drinkning, eating and the next minute someone is aced out by the same people. Nothing lasts forever or at least that's what they say in the crime world but these guys eventually get busted due to some persistent FBI/NYPD guys. Of course in the mafia world being a "rat" is outta the question unless you feel you got no other choice or choose a different life. The book goes through differnent aspects of the characters lives and how it all comes to an end.