âRivetingâŚan electrifying true crime story of the Mafia-smitten eighties and nineties. Suspenseful and multifaceted, The Gotti Wars canât be missed.â âEsquire, The Best Nonfiction Books of the Year
A âmeticulous chronicle of good triumphing over evilâ (The Washington Post) from the determined young prosecutor who, in two of Americaâs most celebrated trials, managed to convict famed mob boss John Gottiâand ultimately took down the Mafia altogether.
John Gotti was without a doubt the flashiest and most feared Mafioso in American history. He became the boss of the Gambino Crime Family in spectacular fashionâwith the brazen and very public murder of Paul Castellano in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan in 1985. Not one to stay below law enforcementâs radar, Gotti instead became the first celebrity crime boss. His penchant for eye-catching apparel earned him the nickname âThe Dapper Don;â his ability to beat criminal charges led to another: âThe Teflon Don.â
This is the captivating story of Gottiâs meteoric rise to power and his equally dramatic downfall. Every step of the way, Gottiâs legal adversaryâJohn Gleeson, an Assistant US Attorney in Brooklynâwas watching. When Gotti finally faced two federal racketeering prosecutions, Gleeson prosecuted both. As the junior lawyer in the first caseâa bitter seven-month battle that ended in Gottiâs acquittalâGleeson found himself in Gottiâs crosshairs, falsely accused of serious crimes by a defense witness Gotti intimidated into committing perjury.
Five years later, Gleeson was in charge of the second racketeering investigation and trial. Armed with the FBIâs secret recordings of Gottiâs conversations with his underboss and consigliere in the apartment above Gottiâs Little Italy hangout, Gleeson indicted all three. He âflippedâ underboss Sammy the Bull Gravano, killer of nineteen men, who became historyâs highest-ranking mob turncoatâresulting in Gottiâs murder conviction. Gleeson ended not just Gottiâs reign, but eventually that of the entire mob.
A spellbinding, page-turning courtroom drama, The Gotti Wars âtells us in electrifying detail how the good guys finally won, how justice triumphed over evil, and how Gleeson himself was transformed by his long warâ (Nelson DeMille).