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.

In a riveting page-turner, NBA referee Delaney reveals the clandestine life he had led before becoming one of professional basketball's most respected referees. 16-page b&w photo insert.

“Accurately describes ‘the Life,’ and the pros and cons of becoming a mobster . . . in a very unique manner that will no doubt have you in stitches.” —Frank Cullotta, coauthor of Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness For the first time in history, there is now an easy-to-follow self-help guide on how to join and rise in the most exclusive men’s club in the world—the Italian-American Mafia (aka La Cosa Nostra). Learn everything from loansharking to leg-breaking to corpse disposal, all without leaving the comfort of your mobile home or prison cell. Based on interviews with dozens of former high-ranking Mafiosi and many other hardcore mobsters from across the globe, true-crime auteur Roman Martín has risked life and limb to bring you this spellbinding tour de force. Whether you’re a couch-surfing gangster-wannabe or simply someone who’s watched The Godfather too many times, this breathtaking exposé of “the Honored Society” offers something for everyone. Pushing the bounds of the First Amendment to their breaking point, Don Martín also reveals the FBI’s most closely guarded secrets when it comes to “wiseguys” and “goodfellas.” Wanna know the one surefire way to find out who in your crew is an undercover cop or fed? Or the best way to deal with those annoying witnesses? Then look no further, friends, for all your questions about the outlaw lifestyle shall be answered in Underworld. “I laughed so hard at times that my jaws ached!” —Dennis N. Griffin, award-winning true-crime author of The Rise and Fall of a “Casino” Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story

“Couldn’t put it down.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy (Goodfellas) and Casino The extraordinary life and times of a legendary crime boss who refused to squeal—but who finally agreed to talk to an award-winning New York Newsday reporter shortly before his death at age 103 . . . John “Sonny” Franzese reportedly committed his first murder at the age of fourteen. As a “made man” for the Colombo crime family, he operated out of his Long Island home specializing in racketeering, fraud, loansharking, and other illicit deeds he would deny to his dying day. His career in organized crime spanned over eight decades—and he was sentenced to fifty years in prison for robbery charges. But even behind bars, Sonny Franzese never stopped doing business . . . This is the true story of an old-school mafioso as it’s never been told before. Newsday reporter S. J. Peddie interviewed Franzese in prison—and uncovered a lifetime of shocking secrets from the legend himself: * Why FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had a very personal interest in Sonny. * How Sonny managed to juggle numerous affairs with women, including a famous model. * How Sonny spent a third of his life in prison—and still managed to earn untold millions for the mob. * How Sonny accidentally revealed some of his worst crimes—to a “friend” wearing a wire. Through it all, Franzese refused to break the Mafia’s code of silence. Authorities believe he may have murdered, or ordered the murders of, forty to fifty people. Yet he earned a grudging respect from law enforcement and an absolute reverence from his fellow gangsters. Eventually he managed to outlive them all—until his death in 2020 of natural causes, a rare event in the Mafia. Thanks to a series of exclusive firsthand interviews, the astonishing life story of John “Sonny” Franzese can be told in all its bold, brutal, and blood-spattered glory. This is a must-read for anyone fascinated with Mafia history—and a rare look inside a criminal mind that has become the stuff of legend.

From Karen Gravano, a star of the hit VH1 reality show Mob Wives, comes a revealing memoir of a mafia childhood, where love and family come hand-in-hand with murder and betrayal. Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, once one of the mafia's most feared hit men. With nineteen confessed murders, the former Gambino Crime Family underboss—and John Gotti's right-hand man—is the highest ranking gangster ever to turn State's evidence and testify against members of his high-profile crime family. But to Karen, Sammy Gravano was a sometimes elusive but always loving father figure. He was ever-present at the head of the dinner table. He made a living running a construction firm and several nightclubs. He stayed out late, and sometimes he didn't come home at all. He hosted "secret" meetings at their house, and had countless whispered conversations with "business associates." By the age of twelve, Karen knew he was a gangster. And as she grew up, while her peers worried about clothes and schoolwork, she was coming face-to-face with crime and murder. Gravano was nineteen years old when her father turned his back on the mob and cooperated with the Feds. The fabric of her family was ripped apart, and they were instantly rejected by the communities they grew up in. This is the story of a daughter's struggle to reconcile the image of her loving father with that of a murdering Mafioso, and how, in healing the rift between the two, she was able to forge a new life.

You expect your parents to take care of you when you're a child. But if that doesn't work out you have to step up and take things into your own hands. I had a criminal record a mile long by the time I was 16. The story you're about to read is real of course, some of the names had to be changed, not so much to protect the innocent as to protect my butt.I believe I was about 10 when I learned things weren't safe at home. It was the normal crap, parents arguing all the time. Originally my mother left when I was five, but for some ungodly reason my father took her back, and that's when the fireworks really started. My mother, who was born and raised in a small town in Maine, called Bath, is about as insane as one can get, that's why I'm bringing her up. Ok, I think I'm going to get ahead of myself. But let's just say that she's playing an intricate part in this crazy circus that I call my life.It was June 1, 1978, when I heard my parents argue again. It was the same garbage every day and by now I was sick of it. Yet things were about to change, everything was about to change. When I woke up that morning, everything I had was gone. At some point in the middle of the night, my mother left taking my younger sister with her.Of course, by that time, my father told me they were halfway to Maine. Looking back, I'm not really sure how I got involved in organized crime. I think if I had to make an educated guess, it was out of desperation. Because within just 2 short years, I found myself standing in front of a movie theater in Newport Rhode Island. And when I realized, I was on my own. My mother had brought me to an afternoon matinee, and handed me a five-dollar bill, told me to use the rest to get something to eat and she would be back at five when the movie ended. Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened next. The fucking bitch, never came back.

-John forms his own international mafia ring, working with different factions all around the world, who then also stepped up to help him with hide-outs, fake passports, and transportation. -From millionaire to fugitive and capture. Bonus chapters and over 50 photos. -Chapters on: John Gotti, Sr., John Gotti, Jr., Johnny Ruggiero, Frankie Burke, Rikers Island, Amored Cars, Crooked Cops, Money, Drugs, Phil Barone, Greg Reiter, Stolen Car, People Stuffed in Trunks, Ronnie One-Arm, Court Document Excerpts, Anthony Tabbita, TT, Joe Gambino, Hells Angels, Joey Scopo, Terrorists, Claus, and more... "Men like Angelo Ruggiero, Johnny Carneglia, and Mark Reiter were true tough guys, and I respected them. They didn't go to the social clubs and play cards all day. They didn't want to sit there and talk shit. They would tell me to do anything except hang out at the club and smoke cigars like a moron."