... meticulous ... Gleeson manages to make the oft-told tale of Gotti’s downfall fresh with new perspective, insight, wisdom and humor ... The book convincingly argues that, along with ensuring Gotti’s conviction, other information Gravano provided and the precedent he set caused other high-ranking mobsters to flip, dealing a virtual death blow to the American Mafia.
Gleeson’s book...is a useful reminder, especially for Mafia romanticizers, that we’re dealing with sociopathic knuckle scrapers who settle scores with casual brutality ... Gleeson...is an able storyteller, though readers may find themselves flailing now and then in the dense weeds of who’s who and who did what. Maybe this is hard to avoid, given that the writer lists at the get-go the vast array of wiseguys, lawyers, investigators and politicians ... There is the stray ugh-inducing phrase...and at least one wince-inducing error ... But the imperfections are more than offset by keen insights and neat turns of phrase.
Readers may be daunted by the four-page cast of characters, but Gleeson’s writing is so compelling and organized that the list of names is almost unnecessary. He leaves almost nothing out and unabashedly admits his own missteps along the way. Gleeson has crafted this retelling as carefully as he prepped the two cases ... Do we need yet another book on Gotti? Gleeson answers the question with a resounding yes.
Exceptional ... Gleeson pulls back the curtain to reveal intriguing information previously not made public, including his daring and risky choice not to inform his superiors of his negotiations with Gravano, out of fear that the U.S. Attorney might accidentally disclose that sensitive development. This is a must-read for anyone interested in organized crime.
Gleeson is a thorough writer, so much so that his chronicle drowns in detail, a boon for procedural adepts but less so for civilian true-crime buffs. Still, the author is admirably generous with credit where it’s due ... Gleeson earns that trust, as this lumbering but nonetheless valuable narrative reveals ... A courtroom drama that, albeit without much drama, offers a realistic portrait of how big cases are pieced together.
