The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino

by Simon Crittle

Book Overview

As head of the Bonanno clan, Joey Massino was the last don, and ran his world with an iron hand--until he got hit with a murder rap, and turned on his own people. Here, for the first time, is his shocking true story--a glimpse inside the world of organized crime that we may never see again.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425209393
• ISBN13: 9780425209394
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

book to read

if this is a topic that is of intrest of you i recommend this book. easy to read and gives you a small insight in the world that the Cosa nostra lives in. Even as a Dutchman the written text is easy to follow not to many difficult English words.

Excellent book

In my own personal opionon this book is excellent. It recounts Joe Massiono's entire crime career, and the crimes of his associates. It recounts several murders and jackings, and the fact that everything in this book is real chills my spine. The timeline doe's jump around alot, but i personally didn't mind, because it would jump to grab supporting evidence from the future or past in a naerrative storytelling fashion. All in all this is the only mob book i have ever read so i may be overrating this, but it gives you an abudant amount of information on the crime underworld and for that i gave it 5 stars.

True Crime That Flows Like A Novel

Crime, greed, murder, betrayal, the mafia, a twist at the end...what more could a reader ask for? Simon Crittle did a great job of individualizing the Bonanno Family members, their role in the family, the orders they gave and carried out and eventually how they betrayed the values of the mob by testifying against Massino. Don't miss out on this one!

Good, Quick Read, on the Bonanno/Massino Family

This book is a quick read that captures the reader's interest from the start. The book takes the reader through the life and times of Bonnano Gangster Joey Massino, detailing his rise through the Bonnano family, to his ultimate ascension to Boss of the Bonanno Family, which he renames, the Massino Family. After dropping out of high school, Massino starts his gangster career under the tutelage of former Bonanno Boss Phil Rastelli, working in Rastelli's catering business. Massino quickly rises from soldier to "acting captain", and acquires a Lunch Wagon business that he uses as a front to take numbers bets & tips on scores from customers. Massino uses food businesses throughout his career as "fronts" for illegal, albeit profitable, enterprise. The book takes the reader through Massino's rise to power, the episode of FBI agent Joseph Pistone(Donnie Brasco), the murder of 3 rival mafia captains in the early 1980's, the Bonnano's being banned from the official Mafia Commision, to the Bonnano's resurgence as one of the most powerful New York Mafia Families in the late 1990's/Early 2000's. Massino proves time and time again to be very cagey gangster. Massino outsmarts almost every one of his enemies while holding on to a traditional old code of honor for most of his criminal career. My suggestions for improvements of this book would be that the author include more details of the way mafia schemes work (for the uninitiated), and more day-to-day details of what life is/was really like for a Bonnano Mafioso. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and think that anyone who is interested in true crime would also find it to be an enjoyable read. I give it 5 stars.

True Crime that Reads Like a Novel

This is a great book. Simon Crittle takes us inside the Mafia; into their homes and into their haunts, giving the reader a front seat on what could be the set of the Sopranos. But Joey Massino, the guy the book is about, makes Tony Soprano look like a sissy. Massino is the real live boss of one of New York's Five Families. He's bad and he's brillant. The book take you on a journey from his rough days on the street, through his murderous asent to the top and finally inside the day to day life of a Mob boss in New York today. Crittle avoids all of the familiar mistakes of true crime Mafia books - a zoo of names without defined characters, and a million end-on-end facts that read like a newspaper article - and keeps you on the edge of your seat with this gritty yet beautifully written story.