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Before Bruno: Book 1 - 1880-1931: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia Paperback – May 5, 2000

by Celeste A. Morello (Author)

4.4 15 ratings

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Book by Celeste A. Morello

About the Author

Celeste A. Morello, MS, MA completed two graduate programs specializing in Sicilian and U.S. History as they relate to the origins of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in the Philadelphia area. She is the only criminologist and only historian in the U.S. descended from and still related to Mafiosi in Sicily. For five years, while in effect, Morello lectured on the genesis of the Philadelphia Mafia and LCN to law students interning at the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney's Office. She also wrote, "Reviewing Illicit Narcotics Use & Distribution in Philadelphia before the Involvement of Organized Crime" for the Department of Justice's High Intensity Drug Traffic Agency (HIDTA-Phila./Camden, NJ) which also published by the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime and the Journal of Villanova University.

In Before Bruno: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia, Books 1 to 3, Morello received assistance from the families, friends and associates of the Philadelphia Mafia and LCN bosses to corroborate the law enforcement sources.

Ms. Morello specializes in this social/criminal history of the Mafia and LCN in Philadelphia area, but she also participates in the historical marker nomination process with Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission with more than twenty markers throughout Philly to her credit. Morello is also active in Philadelphia's famous "Italian Market" neighborhood where she lives and occasionally runs the popular "Italian Market Tour", (featured in "Food & Wine", May 1999)

Morello's national and international press includes: U.S. News & World Report, many references in the Associated Press, Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), Foodnetwork, CNN and the London Independent Newspapers.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The first and only history of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia was written by the only criminologist and only historian in the United States, descended from Sicilian Mafiosi. The series of three books documents the early settlement of Sicilian Mafiosi in the Philadelphia area and how this Family thrived up to the year 1959, when Angelo Bruno, the most notorious boss of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Family began his tenure.

This is an objective, well researched study which challenges past histories on organized crime and the Mafia in the U.S., as it brings to the reader the truth about local corruption and a history of changes in social attitudes towards Italian American criminals. Consider this one of the few scholarly works on revisionist crime history.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The Author
Publication date

May 5, 2000
ISBN-10

0967733413
ISBN-13

978-0967733418
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Author (May 5, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0967733413
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0967733418
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #2,730,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 15 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

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traveling lady

Good packing

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

We received the book today. Was impressed with the packing of item. With books you alway worry about damage. Will definitely order again infact waiting for a second book. Good luck to this company that evidently value’s there customers

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book has so much potential to be a classic. There isn't much about the Philly Mob's origins. The author is family to the Family...really. She is a Sicilian-American who has many family members who are part of the traditional Sicilian culture that is coterminous with Cosa Nostra. She is also a Philadelphian who studied criminology at Temple and worked with investigators on Organized Crime in the Philly area. Because the Philly Mob was never as organized as the NY mob nor was it as influential in local politics and popular culture, there aren't many primary and secondary sources that the typical criminal historian can go to in order to develop insight, especially regarding the early years. This is where the author's personal life helps as she had access to some of the surviving members of the formative years of the Philly Mob and inside ethnic knowledge of a culture that for the most part in America is nearly extinct.

On a more superficial note, the covers and titles for all the books are pertinent and beautiful.

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Thomas Hunt

The writing doesn't measure up to the research

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2007

Verified Purchase

As a crime historian, I treasure author Celeste Morello's two volumes on the early Philadelphia mob. As a reader, however, I was a bit disappointed. Morello appears to be a far better historian/researcher than she is a writer. She apparently had difficulty weaving an overabundance of facts into a coherent story. Accounts of underworld incidents often interrupt other accounts or character descriptions.

While those aspects of the books diminish the reading experience somewhat, they barely put a dent in the author's overall achievement. Morello seems to have a rare understanding of the Sicilian psyche and illustrates the importance of old-country rivalries in making sense of underworld conflicts.

Due to her willingness to tap into records neglected by other researchers, to her critical eye, and to her grasp of Sicilian tradition, the two volumes of Before Bruno contain a wealth of information that won't be found elsewhere.

7 people found this helpful

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WAZMAN

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

Good book at a great price with fast ship.

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

If you're looking for a classic Mafia book this isn't it. The book is more like a social studies/history book, it's got some interesting info but overall not an enjoyable read.

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Matthew Wolfe

Great both as a history and as a story

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2004

I thought that this was a wonderful book. I am from Philly and have been following the misadventures of the Philly mob all my life. This book works as an authoritative and documented history of an interesting field. It explains the roots of the mob to compare to its sorry state today. It is written in a style, however, more akin to that of a novel than an academic text. I highly recommend it.

4 people found this helpful

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The Cigar

Lifeless history

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2006

The author must be given a lot of credit for doing the research and bringing to light this negelected subject. This is the only book ever published that deals with the early days of the Mafia in Philly. Therefore it is essential reading for any serious students of the subject. However, the author's style of writing is bland and lifeless. She manages to transform a tremendously interesting subject into a dull and almost sterile story. Hopefully books number 2 and 3 are more exciting.

8 people found this helpful

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