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9781451642872 English 1451642873 In the bestselling tradition of Wiseguy comes a mobster's behind-the-scenes look at how drugs and greed and the decline of traditional family values brought down an American institutionthe New York Mafia. Told in his own words, The Sinatra Club recounts Sal Polisi's life of crime in riveting detail during the last great glory years of the New York Mob, before that notorious American institution was destroyed from within by drugs and greed. It is a fascinating story that begins when the Five Families were at the height of their power and ends with their demise, tracing the downfall of the Mob through Polisi's firsthand experiences. Polisi's life as a mobster consisted of robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling heists, running gambling and loan shark operationsand years of nonstop thrills and excitement. Then Polisi moved into a second, secret career as a distributor of heroin and cocaine, a desperate and dangerous business in which he risked life in prison if caught by the law and certain death if discovered by his brothers in crime. Finally, a bloody arc of death and betrayal plays out in the last part of the story, as Polisi's double life finally catches up with him and he becomes a federal informant. Wearing a wire proved to be as dangerousand almost as thrillingas the life he lived outside the law. And because he gave evidence and testimony against old friends and colleagues, including two mob bosses, a courthouse full of corrupt judges and lawyers, and a gang of drug dealers, arms smugglers, and bomb makers, Polisi lives under a death sentence to this day., In the bestselling tradition of Wiseguy comes a mobster’s behind-the-scenes look at how drugs and greed and the decline of traditional family values brought down an American institutionthe New York Mafia. Told in his own words, The Sinatra Club recounts Sal Polisi’s life of crime in riveting detail during the last great glory years of the New York Mobbefore that notorious American institution was destroyed from within by drugs and greed. It’s a fascinating story that begins when the Five Families were at the height of their power and ends with their demise, tracing the downfall of the Mob through Polisi’s firsthand experiences. Polisi’s life as a mobster consisted of robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling heists, running gambling and loan shark operationsand years of nonstop thrills and excitement. Then Polisi moved into a second, secret career as a distributor of heroin and cocaine, a desperate and dangerous business in which he risked life in prison if caught by the law and certain death if discovered by his brothers in crime. Finally, a bloody arc of death and betrayal plays out in the last part of the story, as Polisi’s double life finally catches up with him and he becomes a federal informant.Wearing a wire proved to be as dangerousand almost as thrillingas the life he lived outside the law. And because he gave evidence and testimony against old friends and colleagues, including two mob bosses; a courthouse full of corrupt judges and lawyers; and a gang of drug dealers, arms smugglers, and bomb makers, Polisi lives under a death sentence to this day., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America--too dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklyn--the same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz ("Crazy Sally"), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas--Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heists--and getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob money--were fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his life--a rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumble; by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America-too dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklyn-the same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz (Crazy Sally), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas-Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heists-and getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob money-were fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his life-a rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumble; by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in Americatoo dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklynthe same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz ("Crazy Sally"), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellasHenry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heistsand getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob moneywere fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his lifea rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumb≤ by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened.
9781451642872 English 1451642873 In the bestselling tradition of Wiseguy comes a mobster's behind-the-scenes look at how drugs and greed and the decline of traditional family values brought down an American institutionthe New York Mafia. Told in his own words, The Sinatra Club recounts Sal Polisi's life of crime in riveting detail during the last great glory years of the New York Mob, before that notorious American institution was destroyed from within by drugs and greed. It is a fascinating story that begins when the Five Families were at the height of their power and ends with their demise, tracing the downfall of the Mob through Polisi's firsthand experiences. Polisi's life as a mobster consisted of robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling heists, running gambling and loan shark operationsand years of nonstop thrills and excitement. Then Polisi moved into a second, secret career as a distributor of heroin and cocaine, a desperate and dangerous business in which he risked life in prison if caught by the law and certain death if discovered by his brothers in crime. Finally, a bloody arc of death and betrayal plays out in the last part of the story, as Polisi's double life finally catches up with him and he becomes a federal informant. Wearing a wire proved to be as dangerousand almost as thrillingas the life he lived outside the law. And because he gave evidence and testimony against old friends and colleagues, including two mob bosses, a courthouse full of corrupt judges and lawyers, and a gang of drug dealers, arms smugglers, and bomb makers, Polisi lives under a death sentence to this day., In the bestselling tradition of Wiseguy comes a mobster’s behind-the-scenes look at how drugs and greed and the decline of traditional family values brought down an American institutionthe New York Mafia. Told in his own words, The Sinatra Club recounts Sal Polisi’s life of crime in riveting detail during the last great glory years of the New York Mobbefore that notorious American institution was destroyed from within by drugs and greed. It’s a fascinating story that begins when the Five Families were at the height of their power and ends with their demise, tracing the downfall of the Mob through Polisi’s firsthand experiences. Polisi’s life as a mobster consisted of robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling heists, running gambling and loan shark operationsand years of nonstop thrills and excitement. Then Polisi moved into a second, secret career as a distributor of heroin and cocaine, a desperate and dangerous business in which he risked life in prison if caught by the law and certain death if discovered by his brothers in crime. Finally, a bloody arc of death and betrayal plays out in the last part of the story, as Polisi’s double life finally catches up with him and he becomes a federal informant.Wearing a wire proved to be as dangerousand almost as thrillingas the life he lived outside the law. And because he gave evidence and testimony against old friends and colleagues, including two mob bosses; a courthouse full of corrupt judges and lawyers; and a gang of drug dealers, arms smugglers, and bomb makers, Polisi lives under a death sentence to this day., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America--too dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklyn--the same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz ("Crazy Sally"), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas--Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heists--and getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob money--were fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his life--a rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumble; by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in America-too dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklyn-the same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz (Crazy Sally), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellas-Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heists-and getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob money-were fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his life-a rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumble; by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened., The Mob was the biggest, richest business in Americatoo dangerous and too deadly to fail. Until it was destroyed from within by drugs, greed, and the decline of its traditional crime Family values. And by guys like Sal Polisi. He was born in Brooklynthe same place that spawned Murder, Inc., Al Capone, and John Gotti, the future Mob godfather who became his friend. Polisi was raised on a family legacy that led him into the life he loved as a member of the Colombos, one of the New York Mob's feared Five Families, and came of age when the Mafia was at the height of its vast wealth and power. Known by his Mob name, Sally Ubatz ("Crazy Sally"), he ran an illegal after-hours gambling den, The Sinatra Club, that was a magic kingdom of crime and a hangout for up-and-coming mobsters like Gotti and the three wiseguys immortalized in Martin Scorsese's GoodFellasHenry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Tommy DeSimone. For Polisi, the nonstop thrills of glory days spent robbing banks, hijacking trucks, pulling daring heistsand getting away with it all, thanks to cops and public servants corrupted by Mob moneywere fleeting. When he was busted for drug trafficking, and already sickened by the bloodbath that engulfed the Mob as it teetered toward extinction, he flipped and became one of a breed he had loathed all his lifea rat. In this riveting, pulse-pounding, and, at times, darkly hilarious first-person chronicle of his brazen crimes, wild sexual escapades, and personal tragedies, Polisi tells his story of life inside the New York Mob in a voice straight from the streets. With shocking candor, he draws on a hard-won knowledge of Mob history to paint a neverbefore- seen picture of the inner workings of the Mob and the larger-than-life characters who populated a once extensive and secret underworld that, thanks to guys like him, no longer exists. *** I was always a street guy. I was into robbing and stealing and gambling and loan sharking. I wasn't involved in the bigmoney sit-downs, the labor racketeering and construction company shakedowns, the Garment District and garbage and cement company kickbacks. . . . For guys like me and Fox, my blood brother and crime partner, the thing we loved about being in that life was the action, the excitement. . . .We were in it for the money, sure. But it was the danger, the thrills that made the life of crime something special. A guy like John Gotti was different. He was far more ambitious than me and Fox. He wasn't just in it for the rush and the riches. He wanted the power and the glory. John Gotti's tragedy, if you can call it that, was that he was born too late for the old-school gangster crown that he craved. He began his rise as the Mob was beginning to crumb≤ by the time he got to the top, the bottom had dropped out. From the beginning, John was charismatic and smart. He just wasn't cut out to be godfather. Once he became boss, he drove the bus right off the bridge. Or maybe it was the bus that drove him. Either way, I watched him go. Here's how it all happened.