copyright 1981 "Third printing"; New York Times Books; hardback; very good condition with unmarked pages except for previous owner's initials inside front; dust jacket good with minor edge wear.
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The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno is a biographical novel detailing the life of American Mafia member Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno. It chronicles Fratianno's life from his childhood in Cleveland to becoming the acting Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Author Ovid Demaris gained the information for the book from Fratianno himself where they spent hours recording the pair's conversations. Demaris also conducted his own research. This was the first of two biographical books written about Fratianno; the other is Vengeance is Mine (1987) by Michael J. Zuckerman.
The book begins in 1947 with Jimmy Fratianno becoming a made man in the Los Angeles crime family, then headed by Jack Dragna. It then goes back to Fratianno's early childhood, growing up in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1920s and 1930s. The book then generally follows a chronological timeline of Fratianno's life up to 1978, when under the threat of death, Fratianno decided to turn against his crime family and become a FBI government witness. Events covered include his three prison stints, two failed marriages, numerous girlfriends, five murders, working for the Chicago Outfit, running a successful trucking company, and attempts at buying into a Las Vegas casino.
The book is a revealing tale of life in the Mafia. It gave an in depth look at the Los Angeles crime family, The Chicago Outfit, and The Cleveland crime family. Amongst the notable mobsters prominently featured are Jack Dragna, Mickey Cohen, John Roselli, Sam Giancana, Frank Bompensiero, Louis Tom Dragna, Dominic Brooklier, Michael Rizzitello, Frank Tieri, Leo Moceri, John "Peanuts" Tronolone Toyota dealer Dominic Longo, and Peter Milano. With dozens of Mafioso and their connections featured in the book, it quickly became an important source of the Mafia's history and workings. Notable non-mobsters featured are Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Joseph Alioto.