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Product Identifiers

PublisherArcadia Publishing

ISBN-101596298340

ISBN-139781596298347

eBay Product ID (ePID)79848242

Product Key Features

Book TitleLast Rites: : the Final Days of the Boston Mob Wars

Number of Pages112 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2009

TopicUnited States / State & Local / New England (Ct, mA, Me, NH, Ri, VT), General, Organized Crime, United States / General

IllustratorYes

GenreTrue Crime, History

AuthorWilliam J. Craig

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.3 in

Item Weight7.1 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2009-040849

Dewey Edition22

Dewey Decimal364.1/0609744

SynopsisLast Rites chronicles one man's dramatic descent into the seedy world of New England mobster Raymond Patriarca and his underboss, Gennaro Jerry Angiulo. In the early 1980s, Gigi Portalla, a well-liked student, athlete and Revere prom king, transformed into a mafia hit man after discovering that his biological father was Big Eddy Marino. Portalla rose through the ranks within the Angiulo organization, joining famous Boston wise guys like Sean Cote, Joseph J.R. Russo and Bobby Carrozza. Drawing on wiretaps, court testimonies and interviews through personal relationships with the criminals in question, Revere writer William J. Craig uncovers the depths of criminality. Portalla clung to a self-imposed moral code, striving to find honor within thievery, even as the lure of his family's past eclipsed his promising future., From Whitey Bulger's Winter Hill Gang and the Patriarca crime family to Sacco and Vanzetti, New England - especially Boston and Providence - boasts a long history of mob activity, and an equally long fascination with these incidents of organized crime. The legal trials and Mafia scandals are well-publicized in the media, and have even infiltrated popular culture. For example, the 2006 hit film The Departed (which grossed $26,887,467 its opening weekend) is based on Boston's Whitey Bulger. This book follows the life of local mobster Gigi Portalla (aka Vincent Marino) and examines the mentality of Revere in 1950s and 60s that made the city a center of mob activity through the last 90s when the mob fell apart. With a police force known for corruption - its sergeant's scam made headlines and its police chief was tapped by the FBI saying to a mob member "I'll give you the town if you can guarantee me $1 million a year-Revere Beach became a mob hangout, attracting local bookies who sent money-filled briefcases to the Patriarca family of Providence, a member of "La Cosa Nostra" who controlled New England mafia operations. Portalla's journey began uneventfully - he was an A student, prom king, and a promising recruit for the Massachusetts State Police - until he discovered his family's darkest secret-that his biological father was actually "Big Eddy" Marino, a leg breaker for Gennaro Anguilo, who controlled the racketeering throughout Massachusetts and worked for Patriarca. After learning this, Portalla began working for Gennaro Anguilo, the same mob boss his father served. And so began a long and storied career of crime in New England's seedy underworld. Eventually Frank Salemme took over the crime organization from Patriarca and moved the family's base back to Boston. Salemme's ascension to the position of boss, however, sparked tensions among family factions. Gigi Portalla was one of the six men who formed a "renegade faction" to take over the mob from Salemme, whom they attempted to assassinate in the early 90s. Today Portalla is serving a 35-year sentence in a federal prison. William J. Craig will paint a realistic picture of the man behind the legend while simultaneously detailing the historical climate of Revere and Boston that shaped Gigi Portalla's destiny., Last Rites chronicles one man's dramatic descent into the seedy world of New England mobster Raymond Patriarca and his underboss, Gennaro Jerry" Angiulo. In the early 1980s, Gigi Portalla, a well-liked student, athlete and Revere prom king, transformed into a mafia hit man after discovering that his biological father was "Big Eddy" Marino. Portalla rose through the ranks within the Angiulo organization, joining famous Boston wise guys like Sean Cote, Joseph "J.R." Russo and Bobby Carrozza. Drawing on wiretaps, court testimonies and interviews through personal relationships with the criminals in question, Revere writer William J. Craig uncovers the depths of criminality. Portalla clung to a self-imposed moral code, striving to find honor within thievery, even as the lure of his family's past eclipsed his promising future."

LC Classification NumberHV6452.M42M343 2009