Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster—“one of the most respected crime reporters in the country” (60 Minutes)—comes the sure to be headline-making inside story of the Gotti and Gambino families, told from the unique viewpoint of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti who later testified against him.

In Gotti’s Rules, George Anastasia, a prize-winning reporter who spent over thirty years covering crime, offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.’s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis—including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership—that Anastasia exposes here. Drawing on extensive FBI files and other documentation, his own knowledge, and exclusive interviews with insiders and experts, including mob-enforcer-turned-government-witness Alite, Anastasia pokes holes in the Gotti legend, demystifying this notorious family and its lucrative and often deadly machinations.

Anastasia offers never-before-heard information about the murders, drug dealing, and extortion that propelled John J. Gotti to the top of the Gambino crime family and the treachery and deceit that allowed John A. “Junior” Gotti to follow in his father’s footsteps. Told from street level and through the eyes of a wiseguy who saw it all firsthand, the result is a riveting look at a family whose hubris, violence, passion, and greed fueled a bloody rise and devastating fall that is still reverberating through the American underworld today.

Gotti’s Rules includes 8 pages of black-and-white photographs.

About the Author

George Anastasia, who spent more than thirty years reporting on crime for the Philadelphia Inquirer, is the grandson of Sicilian immigrants who settled in South Philadelphia. He is the author of six books of nonfiction, including Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob—the Mafia’s Most Violent Family (which Jimmy Breslin called the “best gangster book ever written”); The Last Gangster; and The Summer Wind: Thomas Capano and the Murder of Anne Marie Fahey. He lives in southern New Jersey.

Praise For…

Forget about pulp fiction, what Anastasia churns out is pulp-nonfiction. — Philadelphia Weekly

“A fast-paced and compelling story that reads like a crime thriller.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“[A] compelling, occasionally frightening, often surprising journey into the world of organized crime . . . For anyone fascinated by organized crime, this is a must-read.” — Booklist

Praise for George Anastasia: One of the most respected crime reporters in the country. — 60 Minutes

George Anastasia [is] our most important chronicler of the decline and fall of Italian America’s dark glory, La Cosa Nostra. — Bill Tonelli, former editor, Esquire and Rolling Stone

Praise for Blood and Honor: Forget about it! This is the best gangster book ever written. — Jimmy Breslin

Praise for Mob Father: George Anastasia has crafted a gangland masterpiece. — Jerry Capeci, former columnist, New York Daily News

There have been a lot of books about the mob but never one like this. — William Knoedelseder, author of Stiffed: The True Story of MCA, the Music Business and the Mafia