On a cold, winter's night in early 1963, mob enforcer Rocco Anthony Balliro and a pair of associates stormed a darkened apartment on the outskirts of Boston and engaged in a fierce gun battle with several assailants (police officers, it turned out) waiting in ambush for the ex-convict and recent prison escapee. In the aftermath, a young woman and her toddler son lay dead. The story of Rocco Balliro, a petty criminal and enforcer for New England … [Read more...]
THE RISE AND FALL OF A ‘CASINO’ MOBSTER Gives An Inside Look Into The Life Of Outfit Boss Tony Spilotro
The True Story Behind The Hit Film 'Casino' From An ‘Enforcer’ Who Lived It The Chicago organized crime family known as the “Outfit” dates back to the reign of the infamous Al Capone and prohibition. As the years passed and prohibition was repealed, Outfit bosses had to adapt and seek new ways to make money illegally. One of those was the expanding gambling and entertainment oasis in the desert: Las Vegas. A lot of cash passed through the Vegas … [Read more...]
The Author & the Hitman: Dennis Griffin on the Collaboration That Brought THE RISE AND FALL OF A ‘CASINO’ MOBSTER
Ten years ago I met former mobster Frank Cullotta. We got together in Las Vegas to discuss the possibility of me writing Frank’s biography. It was an odd experience to say the least and the following year I wrote an article about it. As Frank and I await the publication of our third book together, I thought it would be appropriate to post that article again. I hope you find it informative and possibly amusing. In the spring of 2006, if anyone … [Read more...]
Meet Award Winning True Crime Author Dennis Griffin
Dennis Griffin is an award winning true crime author, focusing on organized crime in Las Vegas and the Tony Spilotro era in particular. His books have been the basis for multiple organized crime documentaries; and he has frequently been a featured speaker at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library’s Mob Month. * * * I retired in 1994, after a 20-year career in investigations and law enforcement in New York State. In 1996 I wrote my first novel, The … [Read more...]
Neil Gordon’s JOE BATTERS Cover Contest
Help Us Finalize A Cover For Neil Gordon's True Crime Book JOE BATTERS Please vote on the cover for Neil Gordon's historical true crime book, JOE BATTERS, that you think works best for the synopsis below. The synopsis: Tony Accardo had secrets. Not the boyish yarns of pranks and horseplay, but Hitchcockian tales of the macabre. The mastermind of close to 800 murders, his notorious portfolio included Jimmy Hoffa, Sam Giancana, Bugsy … [Read more...]
Mobsters On True Crime Uncensored
Saturday 2pm PT/4pm CT/5pm ET CHRIS CIPOLLINI IS BACK WITH MURDER, INC. When the Big Four of crime - Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Frank Costello - essentially reshaped the structure of the New York underworld in 1931 – a new era of mobster was born. Details Saturday on True Crime Uncensored on Outlaw Radio, 2pm PT/4pm CT/5pm ET. Listen in at http://truecrimeuncensored.com to Burl Barer, the author of MAN … [Read more...]
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