Thomas Hunt's Blog - Posts Tagged "mafia"
DiCarlo book
Michael Tona and I are putting the finishing touches on DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime. A great deal of time, labor and information went into the project, which produced a massive manuscript with tons of endnotes. Mike and I considered whether to pare down the book into something more palatable for traditional publishers. In the end, we decided that it would be a better service to those who (like us) are deeply interested in the subject to make it available in its entirety. So, we will soon be publishing DiCarlo in two volumes (printed books and e-books). We'll work on trimming it down for a traditionally published edition a bit later on.
DiCarlo available (or soon will be)
DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime is now available for purchase in hardcover, trade paperback and e-book formats for Kindle and Nook/iBooks. Well, sort of. Whether it is available to you at this moment depends in large part on where you are looking for it. Purchase links to the current sellers (basically the publisher's bookstore, though Amazon is carrying the Kindle version) are available on the book website, buffalomob.com, along with plenty of interesting information about the book and its authors.
Due to the nature of the book-catalog process, it could be another month or so before DiCarlo appears in Amazon.com (as I mentioned, the Kindle version is there already) or Barnes and Noble. As I understand it, the ISBN information needs to be circulated, the distributor needs to manually update a database and then booksellers need to update their databases and each update is performed on a monthly basis ... whatever.
There is an additional wrinkle involved with the Nook and iBooks EPUB-format e-books, as those must be individually authorized before they can go on sale through B&N and the Apple store. I don't really know what they do to authorize books or how long it takes, and I'm trying my best not to be in any way critical of the EPUB Ministry of Acceptable Books (guess I just failed). I am assured that the process has begun and must be content with that information.
Bottom line is this. If you want DiCarlo now, it is available in all formats through the limited channels shown on the website. If you want to buy it through your favorite seller, you may need to wait just a bit longer (should be there long before Christmas!). That's the book-biz.
Due to the nature of the book-catalog process, it could be another month or so before DiCarlo appears in Amazon.com (as I mentioned, the Kindle version is there already) or Barnes and Noble. As I understand it, the ISBN information needs to be circulated, the distributor needs to manually update a database and then booksellers need to update their databases and each update is performed on a monthly basis ... whatever.
There is an additional wrinkle involved with the Nook and iBooks EPUB-format e-books, as those must be individually authorized before they can go on sale through B&N and the Apple store. I don't really know what they do to authorize books or how long it takes, and I'm trying my best not to be in any way critical of the EPUB Ministry of Acceptable Books (guess I just failed). I am assured that the process has begun and must be content with that information.
Bottom line is this. If you want DiCarlo now, it is available in all formats through the limited channels shown on the website. If you want to buy it through your favorite seller, you may need to wait just a bit longer (should be there long before Christmas!). That's the book-biz.
Civil War black market and Macheca
150 years ago today (Aug. 28, 1863), Joseph Macheca of New Orleans was tried and convicted in a Union military occupation court in connection with a scheme to steal and sell barrels of U.S. Army pork and beef.
Shortly after his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly engaged in smuggling. He later returned to New Orleans with a small fortune.
Often erroneously labeled America's earliest Mafia boss, Macheca was in fact a strong patron of the fledgling Mafia (though never its boss and probably never a member).
Read more here.
Shortly after his conviction, Macheca left New Orleans for Texas, where he reportedly engaged in smuggling. He later returned to New Orleans with a small fortune.
Often erroneously labeled America's earliest Mafia boss, Macheca was in fact a strong patron of the fledgling Mafia (though never its boss and probably never a member).
Read more here.
Underworld biographies on DiCarlo book site
In addition to the biography of "Jew Minnie" Clark mentioned earlier in this blog, our website for DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime includes writeups on these individuals linked to the Mafia of western New York:
- Salvatore "Sam" Pieri,
- Frederico "Lupo" Randaccio,
- Joseph Fino,
- John Cammilleri,
- Daniel Sansanese, Sr.,
- Pasquale "Pat Titters" Natarelli, and
- Isadoro Crocevera.
More Buffalo mobster bios
We've added brief biographies of Buffalo Mafia leaders John Montana and Rosario "Roy" Carlisi to the website. (Click on a name to view the corresponding writeup.)
Additional mob bios
To bring everyone up to date, since Sept. 24 we have added several organized crime biographies to our DiCarlo book website: Cassandro "Tony the Chief" Bonasera (1897-1972), Salvatore "Sam" Frangiamore (1905-1999), Antonino Magaddino (1897-1971), John "Peanuts" Tronolone (1910-1991).
Don't forget to enter the DiCarlo Vol. I giveaway here on Goodreads. There are no obligations or strings attached. Just click to enter and be sure Goodreads has your correct mailing address. Five winners will be chosen by Goodreads from all entries. Promotion ends Nov. 2.
Don't forget to enter the DiCarlo Vol. I giveaway here on Goodreads. There are no obligations or strings attached. Just click to enter and be sure Goodreads has your correct mailing address. Five winners will be chosen by Goodreads from all entries. Promotion ends Nov. 2.
John Montana's birth
On this date in 1893 - John Montana, later a successful businessman and Mafia leader in Buffalo, is born in Montedoro, Sicily.
Read more about Montana on the DiCarlo book website: http://buffalomob.blogspot.com/2013/09/john-montana-july-1-1893-march-18-1964.html
Read more about Montana on the DiCarlo book website: http://buffalomob.blogspot.com/2013/09/john-montana-july-1-1893-march-18-1964.html
"What's coercion?"
On this date in 1938: Buffalo Mafia member Joseph DiCarlo is arrested.
But (he says) he doesn't understand why.
Click here to read a bit more about it.
But (he says) he doesn't understand why.
Click here to read a bit more about it.
'Wrongly Executed?' book now available
Sing Sing Warden Lewis Lawes had no doubt on the evening of January 5, 1939: He had just presided over the electric-chair-execution of an innocent man. The prison chaplain and many guards also felt that convicted cop-killer Charles Sberna had been sent to his death unjustly.
Lawes made his feelings known in a published book a short time later. Syndicated Broadway columnist Walter Winchell also called attention to the flawed case against Sberna in the summer of 1939 and again early in 1942. According to Winchell, the government knew that District Attorney Thomas Dewey's office had sent an innocent man to the chair and was providing "hush money" payments to Sberna relatives. Since then, opponents of capital punishment have included Sberna's name in collections of those deemed "wrongly executed" and have used the case as a somewhat vague example of the possibility of death penalty error. Still, little is known about Sberna or the circumstances that led him to the electric chair.
The story is a complex and controversial one, involving celebrity attorneys, Mafia bosses, violent political radicals, media giants and ruthless establishment figures, all set in a period in which Americans sought stability and government-imposed order after years of political upheaval, economic depression and Prohibition Era lawlessness.
A fair trial may have been denied to Charles Sberna. Given the mood of the time, the background of the defendant and the circumstances of the case, a truly fair trial may have been impossible.
Wrongly Executed? - The Long-forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution
Wrongly Executed? - The Long-Forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution is now available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats. (At the moment, only the Kindle ebook shows up here on Goodreads.) For more information and purchase options, visit the Wrongly Executed? website: http://mafiahistory.us/wronglyexecuted/
(I wish to express my appreciation to Christian Cipollini, C. Joseph Greaves, Ellen Poulsen and Robert Sberna for their support and assistance on this project.)
Lawes made his feelings known in a published book a short time later. Syndicated Broadway columnist Walter Winchell also called attention to the flawed case against Sberna in the summer of 1939 and again early in 1942. According to Winchell, the government knew that District Attorney Thomas Dewey's office had sent an innocent man to the chair and was providing "hush money" payments to Sberna relatives. Since then, opponents of capital punishment have included Sberna's name in collections of those deemed "wrongly executed" and have used the case as a somewhat vague example of the possibility of death penalty error. Still, little is known about Sberna or the circumstances that led him to the electric chair.
The story is a complex and controversial one, involving celebrity attorneys, Mafia bosses, violent political radicals, media giants and ruthless establishment figures, all set in a period in which Americans sought stability and government-imposed order after years of political upheaval, economic depression and Prohibition Era lawlessness.
A fair trial may have been denied to Charles Sberna. Given the mood of the time, the background of the defendant and the circumstances of the case, a truly fair trial may have been impossible.
Wrongly Executed? - The Long-forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution
Wrongly Executed? - The Long-Forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution is now available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats. (At the moment, only the Kindle ebook shows up here on Goodreads.) For more information and purchase options, visit the Wrongly Executed? website: http://mafiahistory.us/wronglyexecuted/
(I wish to express my appreciation to Christian Cipollini, C. Joseph Greaves, Ellen Poulsen and Robert Sberna for their support and assistance on this project.)
1939: Sberna goes to The Chair
On this date in 1939: Charles Sberna was executed in Sing Sing Prison's electric chair. Though convicted of participating in the killing of an NYPD officer, many to this day insist that he was innocent.
As the son of a fugitive wanted for orchestrating a series of bloody anarchist-terrorist bombings and the in-law of a family of Mafia leaders, could Sberna possibly have been handled objectively by authorities?
' Wrongly Executed? ' provides the details and historical background of the Sberna case. The story is a complex and controversial one, involving celebrity attorneys, underworld bosses, violent political radicals, media giants and ruthless establishment figures, all set in a period in which Americans sought stability and government-imposed order after years of political upheaval, economic depression and Prohibition Era lawlessness.
Click to visit the website.
As the son of a fugitive wanted for orchestrating a series of bloody anarchist-terrorist bombings and the in-law of a family of Mafia leaders, could Sberna possibly have been handled objectively by authorities?
' Wrongly Executed? ' provides the details and historical background of the Sberna case. The story is a complex and controversial one, involving celebrity attorneys, underworld bosses, violent political radicals, media giants and ruthless establishment figures, all set in a period in which Americans sought stability and government-imposed order after years of political upheaval, economic depression and Prohibition Era lawlessness.
Click to visit the website.
