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Mafia Prince

Inside America's Most Violent Crime Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra
By: Phillip Leonetti, Scott Burnstein, Christopher Graziano
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
4.5 out of 5 stars (85 ratings)
Regular price: £23.49
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Summary

Mafia Prince is the first-person account of one of the most violent eras in Mafia history - "Little" Nicky Scarfo’s reign as boss of the Philly family in the 1980s - written by Scarfo’s underboss and nephew, "Crazy" Phil Leonetti.

The youngest-ever underboss at the age of 31, Leonetti was at the crux of the violent downfall of the traditional American Mafia in the 1980s when he infiltrated Atlantic City after gambling was legalized, and later turned state’s evidence against his own. His testimony directly led to the convictions of dozens of high-ranking made men including John Gotti, Vincent Gigante, and his own uncle, Nicky Scarfo - sparking the beginning of the end of La Cosa Nostra.

Just as The Godfather and Boardwalk Empire defined the early 20th century Mafia, and Wiseguy and Casino depicted the next great era through the ’70s, Mafia Prince concludes this epic genre revealing the Mafia’s violent final heyday of the 1980s straight from the horse’s mouth.
©2012 Phillip Leonetti, Scott Burnstein and Christopher Graziano (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Now that was good.

Would you consider the audio edition of Mafia Prince to be better than the print version?

N/A

What did you like best about this story?

The story is fantastic. I listened and felt like I was having a chat with the author. It is told very well and feels like it was an honest description to the story's. Every person you expected to be in the book are there and more.

What about L. J. Ganser’s performance did you like?

L. J. Ganser's performance was great. He helped make the book more enjoyable. The sroys is gripping at times and L.J. must have enjoyed the book because there was no drop in performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I drive to and from work listening to audiobooks. I found the time was flying while I listened to book. I was looking forward to the drive. (From work yes :) )

Any additional comments?

There is little I didnt enjoy about this book. I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. So many books on the Mafia and most are a let down. I was disappointing when the book finished just because it was so enjoyable I wanted more.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Audiobook

I really enjoyed listening to this Audiobook, the narrator done a great job telling the story. There was a few too characters but that's understandable due to the story being about the Cosa Nostra. I'll definitely listen to this more than a 2nd time.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wow

What a book I can’t believe how good this book is .what a insight into the mafia

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Family breakdown

A gangster turns informant to bring down his kingpin uncle in a bloody Mafia saga...
The intersection of this story, about the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Mob, with the New York Mafia is fascinating for organised crime enthusiasts: characters like Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante and John Gotti, bosses of power New York crime families, are revealed as puppetmasters deciding the fate of gangsters beyond their city limits. This is a forensic dissection of the unravelling of the Philadelphia Mob as told by Phil Leonetti, former underboss and acting boss, who turned informant to reduce a massive jail sentence. His uncle Nicodemo Scarfo is portrayed as a power-hungry Mob chieftain who begins eliminating even his closest allies in the paranoid belief that they pose a threat to his leadership. The narration is clear and the story enthusiastically told, but there’s a lot of needless repetition of key phrases - I lost count of the number of times ‘La Cosa Nostra’ was explained and defined. Overall this is an excellent glimpse of life inside one of the most ruthless and successful Mafia families in the US.

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decent worth a read

The start is a bit hard to follow you seem to be thrown about 500 Italian names but once the book gets going it's a good read

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  • Tim
  • United Kingdom
  • 13-03-16

Brilliantly

If you like true life gangster story's you will love this. It's difficult to believe that people can be so awful. I very much enjoyed googling all the characters on Google image to add flesh to the names.

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  • Nurture Learners and Able Observers
  • 28-03-14

Guilty pleasure.

What did you love best about Mafia Prince?

An honest read. The best kind. Not one dull minute.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The narrator was the best!

Which scene was your favorite?

When Philip decided to become a whistle blower and think of himself and his family. Sometimes it is very difficult to make the intelligent choice. Everybody loves a winner.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.

Any additional comments?

I really couldn't put this book down. It is very well written and well read. I felt like someone was sitting across the table from me talking just to me. I love honesty in a story, and this book takes the academy award for that.

18 of 19 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Unapologetic
  • 03-01-15

Honest and predictable

Narrator did an excellent job with his spot on accent. Book itself is nothing shocking or revealing for anyone who has read about the mafia in the past. However, on a deeper note, it is fascinating to learn about internal working of organized crime. The depiction of treachery and deceit between phil and his no good uncle is what makes this a worth while listen. Also enjoyed the mafia lingo and the related terms. Especially the "sign of the gun", which I now use during safety briefs to warn my troops to either behave "or else it's this....".
God bless Phil for changing his ways, wish him all the luck.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

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  • John R.
  • 27-07-16

Goodfellas sucks compared to this

This makes goodfellas or any other crime novel seem terrible. Great story, great narrator and outstanding performance.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Matthew
  • 16-01-16

Not bad, not exceptional

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Nothing wrong with it, but it's not a book I will remember. It's an OK mafia story, well told, but it wasn't, in any aspect, outstanding.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 23-01-18

An interesting book.

A good read. Very believable. Did a term paper on the mob once, and enjoyed this.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • There, they're, their...
  • 28-12-16

I felt like I was watching a movie

LJ Ganser did a great job of performing this book. He made you feel like you were there in the room with Philip Leonetti and his uncle Little Nicky. I would definitely recommend this.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • K.A.P
  • 02-05-16

Normalizing Murder, Torture, Theft and Evil

Would you consider the audio edition of Mafia Prince to be better than the print version?

I've not read the print version, but assume the audio version goes further to endear the criminals to the reader, which, in my humble opinion is unfortunate.

If you’ve listened to books by the authors before, how does this one compare?

I haven't read any other books by this author

Have you listened to any of L. J. Ganser’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard any other books by this reader

If you could give Mafia Prince a new subtitle, what would it be?

"The Way it Was"

Any additional comments?

I had mixed feelings about the book. It's generally well written, the story, however, seems to work hard to exonerate the Mafia Prince from his crimes. The FBI might have given him his freedom but in my opinion he should have had many more years in prison to reflect on the lives he damaged, either through violence, theft, intimidation, torture and cold blooded murder. There were a lot of references on being a "Man's Man" and "Family & Honor"; these are not the qualities that I saw in this biography, I saw greed, evil, and the monster of psychotic mental illness in these characters and it saddens me that they weren't just characters, but actual human beings that confused their personal choices with "tradition" and "honor". As an Italian, I resent and am disgusted at any suggestions that this is "This Thing".
of Ours". Millions of Italians came to North America with nothing, suffered through poverty, while living law abiding, honorable lives, raising families with real notions of respect, pride, honor and decent family traditions. Once I remove my disgust with the personal choices made by the people in this book, I can concede that the story itself is well told.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • John S. Powell
  • 24-04-16

Best True Crime book ever written

Where does Mafia Prince rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is by far the best true crime book I've ever listened to on Audible. L.J. Garser does a fantastic job of narrating the scenes and personalities involved. He read the entire book using perfect verbal emphasis and voice inflections on the action involved. The book is well written without the diversionary repetitions so common in many crime books. My interest never flagged and I couldn't wait (I listen to an hour's worth of audible on my daily walks) for the next chapter. It's a gripping story of Mafia history and personal honor (from a reformed criminal's viewpoint). I highly recommend this audible book to anyone interested in true crime

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

How well it explained the inter-workings of the colorful cast of Mafia members in Atlantic City and Philly during the Mafia's heyday in the 1980's.

What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It's amazing how much Ganser's reading adds to the impact of the story. He presents the action and characters in an extremely conversational manner which keeps the listener's attention throughout the narration.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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  • Carol
  • 14-06-18

Incredibly well read

The reader makes you convinced he is the author. There is such a sense of reality. The book is great. It brings the reader
into a strange and forbidding world of murder and the psychopaths who commit those murders. Yet the author has a point of view as an honorable person within an insane context and as the victim of this way of life since birth.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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  • Kevin
  • 24-03-18

this book was excellent.

love the book love the narration highly recommended to anyone that enjoys mob stories. great detail to timelines and history of Philadelphia mob. tells the story all the way from the 1950s to current times in Philadelphia mob history

1 of 1 people found this review helpful