Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers: Russo, Gus: 9781596912113: Amazon.com: Books

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Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers Paperback – September 4, 2007

by Gus Russo (Author)

158

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The widely praised and meticulously researched book that reveals the story of how, for fifty years, superlawyer Sidney Korshak and the nefarious Chicago Outfit pulled the strings of American business, politics, and society.

Investigative reporter Gus Russo returns with his most explosive book yet, the remarkable story of the "Supermob"―a cadre of men who, over the course of decades, secretly influenced nearly every aspect of American society. Presenting startling, never-before-seen revelations about such famous members as Jules Stein, Joe Glaser, Ronald Reagan, Lew Wasserman, and John Jacob Factor―as well as infamous, low-profile members―Russo pulls the lid off of a half-century of criminal infiltration into American business, politics, and society. At the heart of it all is Sidney "The Fixer" Korshak, who from the 1940s until his death in the 1990s was not only the most powerful lawyer in the world, according to the FBI, but the enigmatic player behind countless twentieth century power mergers, political deals, and organized crime chicaneries.

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Print length

640 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bloomsbury USA
Publication date

September 4, 2007
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.79 x 9.14 inches
ISBN-10

1596912111
ISBN-13

978-1596912113
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gus Russo is the author of The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America and Live by the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK. He is an investigative reporter who has worked for various major television networks, including PBS, where he was a lead reporter for the award-winning Frontline series.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury USA; First Edition (September 4, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1596912111
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1596912113
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.79 x 9.14 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,303,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,787 in Crime & Criminal Biographies
- #4,463 in Criminology (Books)
- #23,371 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
158

About the author

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Gus Russo

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For thirty years, Gus Russo has been an investigative reporter, author of nine non-fiction books, and writer and/or producer of many national and international documentaries for major networks. His books have received Book of the Month Club and History Book Club Featured Selections, three have been optioned for films, and one, "The Outfit," was a Pulitzer nominee. His October 2008 book, "Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, the Castros, and the Politics of Murder," was named Winner of the 2008 History Prize by the New York Book Festival. April 2011 saw the publication of his memoir, "Boomer Days." In 2013, he released "Where Were You?" with Tom Brokaw. A number of his book projects are in various stages of film and TV development.

Russo has worked an investigative reporter for PBS’ Frontline series, as well as ABC News Special Reports with Peter Jennings (Dangerous World: The Kennedy Years, and JFK: Beyond Conspiracy), Dan Rather’s CBS Reports, NBC's Tom Brokaw, and Jack Anderson Specials; he has been a consultant for programs such as Sixty Minutes, Sixty Minutes II, and Eye To Eye with Connie Chung; as well as documentary productions based in England, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico. Russo has appeared on countless radio and TV programs, including NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, The History Channel (numerous shows), A&E’s Biography (Jack Ruby), Hardball with Chris Matthews, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC’s Nachman, and Dan Rather’s 1993 special Who Killed JFK? Russo has been a research consultant to numerous writers, including Seymour Hersh, Gerald Posner, Anthony Summers, and Laurence Leamer, and has written for The Baltimore Sun, Variety, The Nation, The Washington Post, Book Forum, American Heritage, The Huffington Post, and for two years was a regular contributor to the health-related website Healthlynx.com. Russo produced and co-wrote a documentary feature film, "Generation 9-11," for Germany’s WDR and Academy Award-winning director Nigel Nobel.

In another life, Russo was a professional musician, composer, bandleader, and private instructor. In that incarnation, he played with, or in tandem with, many well-known acts including John Phillips, The New Mamas and Papas, Phoebe Snow, Michael Murphy, The Byrds, Livingston Taylor, Poco, Mary Travers (Peter, Paul and Mary), Commander Cody, and Firefall (w/ Rick Roberts). Russo the musician also wrote commercial jingles and low-budget film scores ("Basket Case," "Brain Damage," etc.)

He most recently fed his musical passions as leader of the Baltimore-based sextet, "String Theory," which featured ditties by Django Reinhardt, Johnny Mercer, Dan Hicks, and Nat King Cole.

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4.3 out of 5

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Absolutely superb

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015

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Gus Russo's Supermob is a meticulously researched, well-crafted piece of non-fiction that fascinatingly binds together history, politics, show business, and modern business banking schemes with the Outfit, the Chicago mob that drew indelible images on American culture as we know it.

Russo centers his book around Sidney Korhsak, the "Fixer," the man who could settle any dispute because you didn't want to become indebted to those he represented. Korshak, known by absolutely anyone of note in Hollywood, Las Vegas, Chicago and Washington, D.C., was the primary union boss—for all intents and purposes—for every union there was, as all were controlled by the Mob in mid-twentieth century America. Korshak was also the life-long best friend of MCA head Lew Wasserman, the last mogul, the man who virtually ran show business. And Wasserman was a life-long friend of Ronald Reagan. (Enough said.) Las Vegas, started by the Chicago Outfit, was basically two things to the mob: unions and the illegal skim from the casinos. Korshak oversaw it all.

Korshak was probably the shrewdest man who ever lived. He knew how to get things done in his world, but he was also smart enough to know that his life would go a lot smoother if he kept in the background, as anonymous as he could make himself. A lawyer who never kept notes who was on the phone if not having a meeting with someone. Even Hollywood protected him. When at a party, if someone innocently took a picture that contained even part of him in the background, that person would be met with a chorus of "You can't take a picture of Sidney"s. There was not a star of any note who didn't know him. Those who didn't, certainly knew of him.

Korshak's wide frame of reference also made him virtually untouchable to Federal authorities. All inquiries into his business dealings by government agencies were spiked when reviewed in Washington. How do you go after someone who knows where all the bodies are buried, both literally and figuratively?

Russo's investigative research here is extremely deep. There are so many players involved it's hard to keep them straight. To me, more pictures would have helped. And this book is not running some kind of anti-Jewish bias as some—like The New York Times—have contended. Such claims are ridiculous. Reviews like that go in with their own agenda, written before the book is even read. Russo presents the facts as he finds them, giving no group any kind of pass or blame that begins or ends with their ethnicity.

It's a competitive world. And these people banded together to increase their odds of success in it. But as Balzac said—and Russo quotes—"Behind every great fortune is a crime." Gus Russo's Supermob is full of them: great fortunes and great crimes.

22 people found this helpful

Educated Consumer

One of the better books about this subject.

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is a great book, my only complaint is that author Gus Russo clearly used actor Gianni Russo as his source on some of these things, some of which have since been either disproven, or others have distanced themselves from the allegations, such as the story Gianni Russo told of the doors being blown off the studio for the Godfather. No other person has ever made this allegation and in fact others have since repeatedly denied this incident as alleged by Gianni Russo, took place. Despite that one bad source the rest of the book has a lot of good connection points if not outright evidence on a subject many were afraid to talk about.

Great book.But does amazon edit their Ebooks? Shame on you!

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

This was a well researched,in depth, complete facts book.I cannot imagine the hours spent just in the research to this book.I would have given this 5 stars but the lack of editing was atrocious.When I pay over 9 bucks for a book that I do not even own I expect to not have to decipher.Very disappointed in that respect.
But that does not take away from the outstanding piece of work that Gus Russo put out.I hesitated in getting this book because I figured it would be a rehash of things made public.I was not even sure I knew who Sidney Korshak was.I do certainly know now.And it was also fact filled on things I did not know of others either.Now I know why and how certain people made their careers and money.
Even with the poor job by Amazon's people it did not take away that this is a great book.

4 people found this helpful

The Real Tom Hagen

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2006

Verified Purchase

Super Mob by Gus Russo is a fantastic tale of Sidney Korshak, fixer of all things, lover of beautiful younger woman, Jill St. John, and Stella Stevens for example, and the model for the " Tom Hagen " character, played by Robert Duvall in the " Godfather" series. ( 1 -2 )

From his graduation from DePaul University Law School in 1931 until his death more than sixty years later Sid Korshak was a power to be reckoned with wether it be making deals with the Hollywood moguls, Walter O' Malley owner of the baseball Dodgers, the Teamsters, the mob in Vegas, all backed by the powerful Chicago "Outfit", the term applied to discribe the Chicago mob. The " Outfit " is also the title of an earlier book by Russo. In this book more so than the first, which also has alot about Korshack, whose brother was Chicago City Treasurer, State Senator, and 5th Ward Democratic Committeeman (South Side Hyde Park ), and that the mob is much more than a bunch of Italian gangsters. Fans of Ronald Reagan will ( should ) get a far different impression of their hero after reading this book and observing Ronnie tenure as President of the Screen Actors Guild, where he is pictured as a stooge, working in cohoots with the Producers, to the detriment of those that he was supposed to be representing. A GREAT Book with one flaw,it does not explore the Jack Ruby - Sid Korshack connection, Ruby and the JFK assassination is touched on briefly. The author says that both Korshak brothers were grieved and upset over the Presidents death. I do not think so !

13 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

P. Hardy

A few books, some to look for.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2013

Verified Purchase

The Marx essays are essential , especially as we are now, the Lombardo has no info jus picture after picture, the Huckstes is a flawed bu interesting US post WW2 novel in which sex is a fact of life. it also well documents the radio industry of the day. live is a neat riposte to the self glorification of Clive Davis' latest opus, while the Dance Band Era, although dated, is eveything Lombardo isn't. It een admits that musicians are interested in money. A useful guide.

The Emperor

Very Entertaining but gets a bit repetitive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2010

Verified Purchase

It is an entertaining book and there are plenty of entertaining anecdotes. Ronald Reagan doesn't come out of it looking too good though! The amount of corruption is incredible.
However I am not certain exactly how true it is. A lot of the people that are involved are conveniently dead. I am certain that most of it is fact but the author doesn't seem to do that great a job of proving that it is true,

3 people found this helpful

vizer

Supermob indeed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book exposes how a small mob ( a cartel )can be controlling a nation

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