The Deadly Don

BOTH FRANK COSTELLO AND VITO GENOVESE FEATURE AS MAIN CHARACTERS PLAYED BY ROBERT DE NIRO IN THE FILM THE ALTO KNIGHTS, WRITTEN BY NICHOLAS PILEGGI AND DIRECTED BY BARRY LEVINSON

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author Anthony M. DeStefano presents the definitive book on Vito Genovese, the namesake of a crime family which is still considered one of the most viable and dangerous in the U.S. today. From enforcer to Godfather, Vito Genovese rose through the ranks of La Cosa Nostra to head of one of the wealthiest and most dangerous crime families in American history.

THE BOSS OF BOSSES

The first comprehensive biography of the legendary Mafioso Vito Genovese—from his childhood in Naples, Italy, and the beginnings of his bullet-ridden criminal career on Lower Manhattan’s mean streets, through his self-exile in the mid-1930s back to his homeland where he ran a black market operation under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, and his return to New York where Genovese made a fortune as the head of an illegal narcotics empire.

As a member of Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria’s gang in New York City, Genovese ran rackets before joining forces with Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel as bootleggers during Prohibition. He helped orchestrate Masseria’s slaughter on behalf of Brooklyn crime lord Salvatore Maranzano, consolidating his position and power before ensuring Maranzano, too, was knocked off. For the next three decades, Vito Genovese—shrewd, merciless, and utterly savage—killed countless gangsters in his bid to become the capo di tutti i capi—boss of bosses—in the American Mafia. Don Vito would betray some of the Mafia’s most notorious bosses, including Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello, to eventually seize control of the Luciano crime family, one that still bears the Genovese name today.Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano

JIMMY THE GENT

“At last! Anthony M. DeStefano’s Jimmy the Gent explains the mystery behind Jimmy Burke being the only Irishman at the Mob’s Italian table.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino

BROADWAY BUTTERFLY: VIVIAN GORDON

“Mob expert Tony DeStefano tells the little-known story of Vivian Gordon, one of Prohibition’s most notorious racketeers, who, along with the corrupt cops and politicians of her day, set New York on a crooked path that is often followed today.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino

“DeStefano wrangles the sprawling implications of Gordon’s still unsolved murder into an entertaining package. DeStefano paints an alluring portrait of Prohibition-era New York and the mobsters and millionaires who ran it.” —Publishers Weekly

GOTTI’S BOYS

“In this solid true crime account, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano explores the inner machinations of the New York Mob and John Gotti’s rise to the head of the Gambino family . . . DeStefano does a fine job capturing the essence of New York . . . Aficionados are sure to relish the finer, exhaustively researched details.” —Publishers Weekly

TOP HOODLUM

“DeStefano vividly recalls the crime boss whose wounding by an assassin in 1957 got a bigger headline in the Daily News than the death of Senator Joseph McCarthy.” —The New York Times

“Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano draws from recently released FBI documents, family testimony, and court records to construct an engrossing chronicle of the life of notorious Mafia boss Frank Costello, a ‘reluctant prince of the Mafia’ . . . The book provides ample historical background, including a fascinating historical twist in which Costello’s quest for legitimacy plays out during WWII when Costello and cohort Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano supplied the military with vital information on Sicilian geography just before the Allied invasion in 1943. DeStefano’s canny insight into the don’s mind and motivations set this biography apart from others on Costello.” —Publishers Weekly

“Biography of a low-profile ‘original gangster’ who connected the Prohibition era and the Five Families, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist DeStefano creates another readable, well-researched take on organized crime . . . Will appeal to readers of criminal histories and tales of New York’s political underworld.” —Kirkus Reviews

THE BIG HEIST

“Terrific. DeStefano finally gives us a fitting end to the murderous and fabled story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino

“A comprehensive account of the legendary 1978 heist . . . impressive.” —Publishers Weekly

“A longtime journalist, DeStefano writes clearly about the case . . . Readers also know when they are in capable hands. DeStefano knows gangsters and Mob history.” —The Star-Ledger

VINNY GORGEOUS

“A dark, informed, and effective bio, and DeStefano is a master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia hierarchy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Dramatic . . . thrilling . . . tantalizing.” —Kirkus Reviews

KING OF THE GODFATHERS

“Riveting.” —Nicholas Pileggi, bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino

“The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, bestselling co-author of Murder Machine and creator of GangLandNews.com

“Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Good Rat

“Tracks the downfall not only of Massino himself but all of the old organized crime families . . . DeStefano gives us unique insights.” —New York Law Journal
Anthony M. DeStefano is a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award–winning journalist, author, and preeminent Mob historian. He has covered criminal justice and organized crime for more than four decades as a reporter for Newsday and appeared as an expert source on HISTORY’s documentary series American Godfathers: The Five Families. His books on the subject include Jimmy the Gent, Broadway Butterfly, The Big Heist, King of the Godfathers, The Deadly Don, Top Hoodlum, and Gotti’s Boys, among others. He can be found online at TonyDeStefano.com.