Cullotta

Cullotta
Author: Dennis N. Griffin
Publisher: Huntington Press Inc
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2007
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0929712455

From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it -- and in graphic detail. This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro's gang of organised lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta's was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information -- lots of it -- about many of the FBI's most wanted. In the end, that information was his ticket out of crime, as he turned government witness and became one of a handful of mob insiders to enter the Witness Protection Program.

The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster

The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster
Author: Dennis Griffin
Publisher: Wildblue Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2017-04-19
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 9781942266952

The Chicago organized crime family known as the 'Outfit' dates back to the reign of the infamous Al Capone and prohibition. As the years passed and prohibition was repealed, Outfit bosses had to adapt and seek new ways to make money illegally. One of those was the expanding gambling and entertainment oasis in the desert: Las Vegas. A lot of cash passed through the Vegas casinos and the mobsters devised a way to get some of it, using a process that came to be known as 'the skim.' To protect their interests, the Outfit sent an enforcer to Sin City in 1971 He was to make sure their casino operations ran smoothly and deal with interlopers, employees who were skimming the skim and other troublemakers, by any means necessary. His name was Tony Spilotro. To help him run his empire Tony imported several heavies from Chicago. Among them was his childhood friend Frank Cullotta, who would function as Tony's street lieutenant. His assignment was to assemble a crew of thieves, arsonists and killers to provide muscle for Tony as necessary, and carry out lucrative burglaries that Tony brought to their attention. Frank and his crew were dubbed by the news media as the Hole in the Wall Gang. The Spilotro era in Vegas was dramatized in the 1995 blockbuster movie Casino, in which Joe Pesci played a character based on Spilotro. Character actor Frank Vincent played 'Frankie' based on Frank Cullotta. The real Frank Cullotta was a technical consultant to the film and appeared in several scenes as a hit man. As screenwriter Nick Pileggi said, 'Without Frank Cullotta there would have been no Casino.' In 'The Rise and Fall' of Tony Spilotro, Frank tells the true story of Tony Spilotro, his rise up the ladder to become an Outfit boss, his subsequent fall from power and murder at the hands of the Outfit. Frank also talks about the many murders Tony committed, ordered or planned. In several instances Frank names the killers in cases that are officially unsolved. It's a story that only Frank Cullotta could tell.

Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits

Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits
Author: Frank Cullotta
Publisher: WildBlue Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2020-11-10
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1952225396

The mobster portrayed in Casino “swaps his gun and fedora for an apron and chef’s hat and shares the recipes for some of his favorite dishes.” —Nicholas Pileggi, #1 New York Times–bestselling author and screenwriter of Casino Includes over 40 color photographs Frank Cullotta was best known for his exploits as an associate of the Chicago Outfit and his role as Tony Spilotro’s enforcer and street lieutenant in Las Vegas. However, he had another interest besides crime. He loved to cook. In this book he shares some of his favorite recipes for your eating pleasure. Dennis Griffin first met Cullotta in 2005, and the two became close friends and co-authors of four books, including the bestseller The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster. As Cullotta’s health failed, he was determined to bring their final collaboration into the world. The result is this collection of anecdotes, photos, and recipes—from the pizza served at the Las Vegas restaurant Cullotta opened (using stolen money) in 1979 to the mostaccioli his mom made and much more. “I have known Frank Cullotta since he served as a technical consultant for the movie Casino. Frank’s reputation is primarily that of a master criminal and an enforcer for Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro. While that is true, he also had a softer side that few people knew about. He loved to cook . . . If you like to prepare and eat delicious meals, this is the book for you.” —Nicholas Pileggi

Surviving the Mob

Surviving the Mob
Author: Dennis N. Griffin
Publisher: Huntington Press Inc
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2010
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1935396382

What do you do when the law wants you behind bars and the New York crime families want you buried? Surviving the Mob is a cautionary tale of the harsh reality of a criminal, inmate, fugitive, and witness who -- so far -- has lived to tell the tale.

Brewster: A Novel

Brewster: A Novel
Author: Mark Slouka
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-08-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0393240517

"Intense and elegiac…devastatingly agile." —New York Times Book Review The year is 1968. The world is changing, and sixteen-year-old Jon Mosher is determined to change with it. Racked by guilt over his older brother’s childhood death and stuck in the dead-end town of Brewster, New York, he turns his rage into victories running track. Meanwhile, Ray Cappicciano, a rebel as gifted with his fists as Jon is with his feet, is trying to take care of his baby brother while staying out of the way of his abusive, ex-cop father. When Jon and Ray form a tight friendship, they find in each other everything they lack at home, but it’s not until Ray falls in love with beautiful, headstrong Karen Dorsey that the three friends begin to dream of breaking away from Brewster for good. Freedom, however, has its price. As forces beyond their control begin to bear down on them, Jon sets off on the race of his life—a race to redeem his past and save them all. Mark Slouka's work has been called "relentlessly observant, miraculously expressive" (New York Times Book Review). Reverberating with compassion, heartache, and grace, Brewster is an unforgettable coming-of-age story from one of our most compelling novelists. A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice A Washington Post Notable Book of 2013 A Barron’s Favorite Book of the Year, selected by Daniel Woodrell A Booklist Best Adult Books for Young Adults Editor’s Choice 2013

Enforcer

Enforcer
Author: William F. Roemer, Jr.
Publisher: Ivy Books
Total Pages: 353
Release: 1995-04-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0804113106

Bugsy Siegel built Las Vegas, but it was Tony "The Ant" Spilotro who ran the show. Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!

The Daughters of Erietown

The Daughters of Erietown
Author: Connie Schultz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2020
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 052547935X

Hidden desires, long-held secrets, and the sacrifices people make for family and to realize their dreams are at the heart of this powerful first novel about people in a small town. By the popular Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. In the 1950s, Ellie and Brick are teenagers in love. As a basketball star, Brick has the chance to escape his abusive father and become the first person in his blue-collar family to attend college. But after Ellie learns that she is pregnant, they get married, she gives up her dream of nursing school, and Brick gets a union card instead. This riveting novel tells the story of Brick, Ellie, and their daughter Samantha, as the frustrations of unmet desires for sex, love, identity, and meaningful work explode their lives. The evolution of women's lives over decades of the second half of the 20th century is explored, in a story that richly portrays how much people know about each other and pretend not to--the secrets at the heart of a family.

Hollywood Godfather

Hollywood Godfather
Author: Gianni Russo
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2019-03-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250181399

Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour. Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny—played by James Caan—up for a hit. Russo didn't have to act—he knew the mob inside and out: from his childhood in Little Italy, where Mafia legend Frank Costello took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger for New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club. Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, who mentored his career as an actor after trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to fire him from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, and scores of other celebrities. He went on to become a producer and starred in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films. Hollywood Godfather is a no-holds-barred account of a life filled with violence, glamour, sex—and fun.