Product Description

Forget Hollywood's version of the "Mafia"; this is the real inside story from a man who observed the day-by-day behaviour of these 'instinctual killers' and for whom 'it was a matter of principle to destroy them'. FBI Medal of Valour recipient Joe Griffin, with the help of writer/researcher Don DeNevi, provides intimate details of mob intrigue, drug deals, gambling rings, hits, bloody gangland wars, and even a plot to plant a 'mole' in the Cleveland FBI office. All the more fascinating because it's true, "Mob Nemesis" is an engrossing story of the underworld from a man who took them on and won.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #861641 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Retired Special Agent in Charge Griffin, currently CEO of an investigative firm, found his way to the FBI for pragmatic reasons: hailing from humble West Virginia beginnings, he wanted to work for the government in order to attend Georgetown at night. Initially rejected as too "immature" for special agent training (he was given a job as a clerk), Griffin was eventually accepted and soon developed an appetite for crime fighting. And as with many younger agents, he wanted to go after infamous La Cosa Nostra; how he does so is the subject of this no-frills memoir of the FBI-mob wars of the 1960s and '70s. Griffin details several protracted campaigns in unglamorous locales like Cleveland and Buffalo, which were hotbeds of Mafia activities like gambling, loan-sharking, prostitution and drug-related murders. His distant, hardboiled perspective is appropriate to the material, though the prose might be described as workmanlike at best, wooden at worst. Still, Griffin and DeNevi (Riddle of the Rock) offer ample unadorned recollections of the nitty-gritty a part of American underworld in its death throes. While the aging Rust Belt gangsters Griffin pursued were extremely violent and mercenary, their downfall seems foretold by their cheapness (they refused to hire lawyers for jailed underlings, whom Griffin was then able to "flip") and stupidity (they failed to dispose of cars, guns and loot from major crimes). (Jan.)Forecasts: Although this book's limited stylistic palette may fail to engage casual readers, mob and crime-fighting cognoscenti and die-hard Sopranos fans will certainly enjoy Griffin's detailed recollections of these lesser-known mobsters' downfall.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
When Griffin joined the FBI in 1957, La Cosa Nostra hadn't even been officially acknowledged, but the Mob families had a stranglehold on many American port cities. Soon after, though, the reality of La Cosa Nostra couldn't be denied. J. Edgar Hoover declared war on the Mob, and FBI Special Agent Griffin, who later won the FBI Medal of Valor, found his calling. After providing a very brief history of the Mafia in America, Griffin (with research help from DeNevi) details his experiences in fighting the Mob in Cleveland, Youngstown, Rochester, and Buffalo, describing the surveillance, the stings, the frustrations, and triumphs. He also discusses some internal problems, including feuds between law enforcement groups and the discovery of a Mob mole in their Cleveland office. The prose, written by a man who filed reports for a living, isn't stylish, and the not-quite-chronological order of the anecdotes and the vast number of names can be confusing. But Griffin comes off as a hard-working guy with a job to do, one that made the country a lot safer for the rest of us. For all true crime collections. Deirdre Root, Middletown P.L., OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Griffin, a retired FBI agent who worked for the bureau for 31 years, offers a first-person account of early FBI efforts to destroy Mafia operations in the Northeast. Griffin was part of a team that succeeded in convicting Mafia leaders in Buffalo, Cleveland, Rochester, and Youngstown. Because of J. Edgar Hoover's early skepticism, the FBI was initially slow to catch on to the menace of organized crime. It was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that the FBI began gathering intelligence on Mafia operations. Griffin joined the FBI during that period, learned to speak Sicilian Italian, and began the long process of developing informants. His contacts led to surveillance, wiretapping, and eventual raids on betting operations in upstate New York. Griffin remembers the interbureau politics, camaraderie, and determination of the FBI agents. And in contrast to the glorified image of the Mafia presented in movies, Griffin recalls mobsters who were violent, petty thugs. The combination of FBI and Mob intrigue makes for compelling reading. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Dull
I guess this book was kinda interesting. It just seemd to drag on and go deep into FBI procedures and not so much into the everyday life of a gangster. Compared to other Mafia books I've read this is by far the worst. But it is still a mafia book, so I found it to be at least somewhat interesting. I would not recommend this book unless you are more interested in how the FBI fought organized crime, and not the everday operations of a mafia family.

If you like Mob Books, you'll love this one
This book detailed the FBI's fight against the mob and was very informative with regard to the psychological makeup of the so-called "Godfathers". In contrast to the constant portrayal of these characters as "upfront" and "honorable", Griffin shows their true colors in vivid detail. It was a quick, interesting read and a must for Mafia "aficionados". This book would make a great movie someday.

The real deal
This book presents the mob and their actions as what they are...vicious, greedy, and cowardly. Mr. Griffin tells the story of the rise and fall of La Cosa Nostra in down-to-earth regular language. Sometimes it seems as if you are sitting across the table from him listening to him reminisce.

As a reader of crime stories and international intrigue, I found this book to be gripping, and interesting, all the more so because it is true. I don't usually read true crime, but in this case, I was glad I opened this book.

Hey Hollywood...here is a story that would translate well to the big screen, along the lines of Donny Brasco.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is at all interested in the mob, the FBI, or the US legal system. It moves well, is an easy read, and well-told.