Ok read. Felt it could have been better by giving more information about Carmine and his personal life. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

An interesting read of how Carmine “The Snake” rose to power. The author takes you from the beginnings of his early childhood and then into the first few crimes that he was associated with. Even from the very beginning, he had a knack of getting off even when they went to court. This is explained in detailed. You are shown how he begins to rise through the ranks and the friends and enemies that he makes. But do they actually make any friends in the Mafia? He is always watching and learning seeing how the police and the FBI are taking the members down. He will not talk in cars, or in a bar he does not want to be on tape giving out any information. The book also goes into associates that were around him. Some that worked with him and some that wanted him killed. You also hear about the crimes he committed and how the government came up with the RICO laws for men like him so they could put him away since they could not actually tie him to any one thing but because of his association with certain people he was, therefore, a criminal. Trying to fight it in court he lost. Overall a good book and shows you what was going on during that time period. If you are into these books you will recognize most of the names that are mentioned. A really well-written book.

Many years ago my interest in reading started after reading a series of biographies about a variety of Mafia figures; and while my reading interests have expanded over the years into a variety of other genres, "mob" books (both fiction and non-fiction) still remain as one of my favorites. Having liked the author's The President Street Boys: Growing Up Mafia, I was happy to receive an advance ecopy of DiMatteo's (and Benson's) newest book, Carmine The Snake from NetGalley and the publisher.

Having now finished Carmine The Snake, I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in these types of books. DiMatteo and Benson pull no punches in providing an in-depth, comprehensive street-level accounting of Carmine Persico's life in crime, spanning about 70 years.

Just a few of the various aspects of Persico's life you'll learn about include his teenage years as the leader of the Garfield Boys gang in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, his recruitment into the Profaci (which subsequently became the Colombo) crime family, his roll in betraying the Gallo brothers, his involvement in the assassination of Albert Anastasia and being suspected of personally murdering as many as 60 other people and ordering the hits of many, many more, and his becoming the Boss of the Colombo Family, which (with the help of some other Persico relatives) he's been in control of since the 1970s -- despite his currently being 84 years old and being incarcerated for decades.

The one factor I would have liked to have learned more about in this book is Carmine Persico’s personal life and his relationships with his wife, brother, son, etc. While the book does a very good job in informing readers about what he did, I would have liked to know more about the type of person he is/was when he wasn’t “taking care of business.”

The author did a great job of capturing the highs and lows of Carmine Persico's life as the head of the Colombo Mafia. He was arrested for murder as a teenager and was behind some of the bloodiest and brutual mob hits over decades. Even being in prison hasn't stopped Carmine from having control. This was a great read!

I found this to be a wonderful book to learn about Carmine “The Snake” Persico, Jr. aka “the Immortal” and “Junior”, who was known for being the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family. It tells a lot about his family and how he got started so young on the streets even in primary school. He was head of his own youth gang, the Garfield Boys. He was investigated for murder by the time he was just 16 years of age when a young man was killed during a fight between rival gangs over a girl supposedly. Other places (and sources) cite age 17 in the book for the age of the arrest. His older brother Alphonse “Allie Boy” eventually took the rap and went away for the murder.

The book shows good insight into Persico, sharing his life during the years on his way coming up through the ranks as he learned by watching and listening. Carmine started out doing bookmaking and loan-sharking, and later moved up to burglaries and hijackings. He was very intelligent and a good earner. Then as he got closer to the seat of power, watching how things were done. And of course his years when he was in charge, after turning ‘snake’ to become head and claim power for himself. Fascinating to see how he handled it, and the overall effect it had on the people under him, and on his real family, in the end. He made a lot of money, “enough for ten lifetimes” he claimed to someone he trusted.

Persico is one of the few from that era still alive surprisingly, at least as of this writing. Born August 8, 1933, he just had his 85th birthday a few weeks ago. The book ended with his lawyers trying to get him out on time served, using some recent discoveries from documents from the government’s case against him, including one crime he’d been convicted of he may not have committed, and others exaggerated, plus his rapidly failing health. So he may be out of prison by now, released from his 100+ year sentence. Very well researched and put together, It flows easily and for the most part has a straight time-line with few jumps back and forth. Overall, an excellent true crime and mob read I’d recommend if either interests you. It surely gives a great life lesson to anyone considering a life of crime.

The first thing you need to know
about gangsters back then is they
were cowboys—and the streets of
South Brooklyn was the Old West.
Gangs ruled. The street corner

Garfield Boys of Carmine’s youth
were a starter program, a farm
system, feeding the behemoth of
Joseph Profaci’s South Brooklyn
brugad”--i.e., the borgata.


Street Tough
Carmine was first arrested for
murder at sixteen, brawling in a
gang fight straight out of West Side
Story, a rumble that left one youth
still and cold on the dark side of
Prospect Park and another
screaming in agony with a stab
wound to the guts.



An advance electronic copy was provided by NetGalley, authors Frank Dimatteo & Michael Benson, and the publisher for my fair review.

Citadel
Pub: August 28th, 2018

I have had the opportunity to read other books on organized crime, some of them visiting the same topics covered by the author of “Carmine the Snake.” However, these books had more of a historical feel to them and did not come close to the intimacy reflected on the pages of author Frank DiMatteo’s retelling of the same events.

Mr. DiMatteo tells the story of Carmine Persico in chronological order, and when he detours away from the timeline, it is for a good reason and he gives the reader fair warning. The book begins in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, offering us a view of Carmine’s parents before his conception, moves on to Carmine’s early days of leadership with a neighborhood gang, and onward through his tumultuous life both in and out of prison.

What separates this book from others is the author’s unique perspective, provided due to his upbringing as the son of a member of the Gallo gang. Mr. DiMatteo personally witnessed some of the events during the gang wars and he adds those memories to the book. You almost feel like you are sitting with the author while he relates tales of what happened over the last 80 years. Details scrambled in other books are explained and corrected, and Mr. DiMatteo is not shy about seasoning his book with colorful expressions and language that match the stories but may offend or redden the ears of more delicate readers. Using words typically not found in most history books definitely added to the book’s personality.

One helpful addition might have been an appendix of names. There are many people that Carmine Persico interacted with during his lifetime. To his credit, the author included full names, nicknames, or other identifying factors to jog our memories, so while I felt there were many characters, Mr. DiMatteo did his best to help me through the pages.

This is an interesting book, and I would recommend it to anyone who has read other books on organized crime as well as those who are new to the subject. The author, while focusing on Carmine Persico’s life, still describes many of the major events that affected the five crime families in New York. Five stars.

An insider's look at the story of mafioso Carmine Persico, the head of the Colombo family. Persico (later nicknamed the Snake, or Mr. Immortal) began his criminal career at a very young age in the streets of New York City. Already at age 17, he was charged with his first murder. The book documents his rise in the rank and his participation in many of the infamous mafia hits.
Through it all, Persico emerges as a highly intelligent man, with an incredible sense of honor to the code of "Omerta". Despite being in prison on repeated stints, and now locked up for the rest of his life, he never "rats" out anyone.
The book discusses the huge impact the "RICO" laws had on the mafia. Basically, no matter how careful you were, and how many levels you had between you and the actual crime, it was "guilt by association".
The author is in a unique position. As the son of an actual "hitman' for the Gallo crime family, he witnessed the life firsthand. His level of insight is unique. While you would think you would be repulsed by Persico, the author manages to make him come across as an almost normal character. One who, if his life had taken a different direction, could have been a respected and successful business man or politician. The author's disgust for the judicial system and it's RICO laws is palpable. Not to give anything away, but Rudy Giuliani is lucky to be alive today.
The book was great, and very readable. The nicknames tended to confuse me, one almost needs an index to keep track of who was who. In fact, that would be a great idea for the next publishing of this book.
Finally, on a personal note, I spent over 20 years working in the Federal Prison system. Over the course of my career, I met and interacted with many incarcerated members of the "Mafia". While I know they were dangerous and violent men, and I have no doubt they were criminals, they always acted with honor and respect towards the officers. If you didn't harass them, you would never have a problem with them. They had their rackets, but they never ran around the prison creating havoc and disorder like many of the other inmates.
To be sure, they were running their rackets, but they never ran around the prison creating havoc and disorder like many of the other inmates. And they never whined about their conditions, as did most of the "white-collar" criminals incarcerated.