Accardo: The Genuine Godfather

Tony Accardo was the most successful mob boss of all time.At the top for 48 years!To put that in perspective Al Capone was boss for 5 years(1925-30)and John Gotti from 1985 to his death in 2002,but more than half of that he was in jail.Accardo did it all,from young apprentice of Capone favorite "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn to shooter in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre(according to Accardo's and Murray Humphrey's secretly recorded conversations in the 1950's and 60's)to Las Vegas kingpin to running the infamous Teamster's union(bet Accardo could tell you what happened to Jimmy Hoffa).This guy was responsible for literally hundreds of deaths,many of them very brutal,but reigned almost completely free from police interference save a few nuisance i.r.s. cases and congressional hearings.As others write,Roemer has a rather scattershot way of writing(it's even worse if you've read his other books as he likes to repeat his stories)but almost all info(except his Notre Dame mentions and his extreme love of God)is mob related and ain't that what you're here for?Some people find that there wasn't enough Accardo personal info but so what.What's there to wonder about?Did Accardo love his wife and kids?Did he kick his dog?Who cares.The guy was the mobster of mobsters and his criminal life is well documented and that's all that matters to me.I guess there is one story in the book that gives you a look into Tony Accardo' soul.His close friend of 40 years(the guy wasn't a mobster,he was the Accardo house caretaker)gave testimony in front of a grand jury and disappeared off the face of the earth days later.How's that for knowing Tony personally?

I grew up in the Chicago area, and I would hear Tony Accardo's name in the news from time to time, so when I found this book I was interested in knowing about the man that I heard about. Roemer a former FBI agent in Chicago , dealt with Accardo and the whole Outfit in Chicago. Roemer has given us a novel that gives us some insight in the the life of Accardo from being a bodyguard for Al Capone to his rise of the boss of the Outfit. It is a good read, but Accardo was a mobster who never spent a night in jail, and avoided the limelight, so how much is really known about him? Accardo wasn't a fool that is why he stayed at the top for so long and watched the others who came after him such as Sam Giancanna, be more flamboyant and go down the tubes. The book shows him to be a fair person, but it also shows us how he could resort to violence and order killings when he thought they were necessary. I feel if you are a fan of organized crime books, this is a must for you to read, and it will be a welcome change of pace than reading another book about some New York family

After reading roemers bio of "spilotro" i was a little dubious about roemers litera- cey skills.But after a few chapters i couldnt put it down.Roemers research is absolutely phenominal and how he captures the ambience of the old chicago town is quite wonderfull.This book covers nearly a century of chicago organized crime and all the major players from capone right up to the mid nineties are here.His description of Tony Accardo couldnt be more nailed on, and after reading about this unique godfather you realise just how useless some of the modern todays lcn bosses really are when this guy who died at the grand old age of 86 never spent one night in jail as more and more of his people were falling from grace all ove america he continued to stand tall and pul the strings.If you are getting tired of reading about the new york families then read this you will not be dissapointed.r

This has got to be one of the greatest LCN books ever. This book will give you great detail about the man who who was "the man". You will read about how Tony Accardo grew from a low level associate of the mob when was in the Circus Cafe gang to how he became a soldier under Capone and then a capo and then underboss and then boss and then consigliere. Tony Accardo is the most powerful boss ever. Dont listen to the bad reviews. Roemer did a great job researching this one and writting it. Its very well written. The fact is that if Roemer didnt write this book or his others then nobody would know nothing about the Outfit. Buy this book. If you are a true organized crime fan then you will like this book. If you are just a wannabe fan then you will not like it.

ROEMER DOES A GREAT JOB BRINGING US THE STORY OF THE REAL GODFATHER. GROWING UP IN THE CHICAGO AREA I WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE NAMES AND OF THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE BOOK. THE ONE THING THAT TAKES AWAY FROM THE BOOK IS THAT IN ALMOST EVERY CHAPTER, THE AUTHOR HAS TO PAT HIMSELF ON THE BACK AND TELL US HOW GREAT HE IS.IT IS A WEAKNESS BUT IT DOESN'T KEEP THE BOOK FROM GETTING 5 STARS. TONY ACCARDO WAS THE MOST POWERFUL MOBSTER THAT WE HAVE EVER HAD, THE WANNA-A-BE IN NEW YORK WISH THE WERE AS GOOD AS HIM AND AS POWERFUL. WE SEE THE BRUTAL SIDE OF THE "BIG TUNA" BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT HE DIDN'T USE VIOLENCE WHEN IT WASN'T NECESSARY.EVERYTHING HE WAS KEPT HIM OUT OF JAIL AND ALIVE, NO OTHER MOBSTER OF THE TIME HAD IT AND NOW THEY ARE ALL IN PRISON OR DEAD.