THE MAFIA IS STILL WITH US:
A UNIQUE NEW BOOK LAYS IT OUT

Is the Mafia thriving? Are the Five Families still scooping up illegal cash? Where are they and what are they doing?
In his new book, Mafia Hits, Misses, Wars, and Prosecutions, Jeffrey Sussman, author of six books about organized crime, claims that the Mafia is operating smoothly and efficiently. It no longer has bosses in the media spotlights; no longer are colorful tough guys swaggering into courtrooms; no longer are Mafiosos dancing in trendy night spots; no longer are Mafiosos giving interviews to 60 Minutes; instead, the Mafia is operating in shadows; its members are keeping their heads down.
After the famous Mafia Commission Trials, where bosses were sentenced to 100-year prison terms, their replacements are doing all that they can never to be indicted, tried, and sentenced on RICO charges (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). In the days before RICO, bosses, underbosses, capos, consiglieres, soldiers, and associates expected they might have to serve short prison sentences, from five to ten years; they would say they could do the time standing on their heads, but nobody wants to do a 100 years headstand. So, now they call their lawyers, getting advice about how to be extra cautious, how to avoid being indicted under the curse of RICO. And they are succeeding. The big Mafia trials are operatic performances of the tabloid past.
Mafia Hits, Misses, Wars, and Prosecutions is the only book that focuses on how the mob has adapted to the murders of its bosses, failed hits, internecine wars, and to prosecutions, yet continues to thrive throughout the United States. It covers pivotal events that changed the way the Mafia has done business since its establishment in American cities. It vividly reports on the murders that ended the careers of Mafia bosses from Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano to Paul Castellano and Carmine Galante. There are riveting accounts of how prosecutors Thomas Dewey, Robert F. Kennedy, and Rudy Giuliani built successful political careers following their high-profile convictions of some of the biggest names in Mafia history. Sussman covers the notorious murders and wars the mob engaged in from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre to the Castellamarese War to the Gallo and Colombo/Profaci Wars as well as to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The book offers insights into how obstacles provided lessons and opportunities, so the mob could adapt and go right on making money.
“For over a century, the Mafia has been known for its many murders, schemes, bloody wars, and prosecutions. The list is long, and for anyone trying to get an insight into that history, the job can be daunting. Thankfully, Jeffrey Sussman’s Mafia Hits, Misses, Wars, and Prosecutions has arrived to give us an encyclopedic volume that will satisfy anyone interested in the history of La Cosa Nostra and its cast of characters.