The Goodfella Tapes

This is the story of the Philadelphia mob in the 1990s, a story so ridiculous it's almost hard to believe it all really happened. But happen it did; take the characters from Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, lower their IQs by about thirty points, and you have the people in this book. Anastasia's "can you believe this?" writing style used throughout the book to underscore the insanity is highly effective. Ivan Rorick

This book picks up where MOBFATHER left off. It was early-90's Philadelphia: Nicky Scarfo and his confederates were all dead, in jail, or hiding in the Federal Witness Protection Program. The Philly Mob was leaderless at best -- until a Sicilian immigrant named John Stanfa vowed to rebuild the Philly Mob and turn it back around to what it used to be: a venerable institution of loyalty, honor, and omerta, the sacred code of silence.To that end, he collected an assembly of Sicilians whom he hoped would literally and figuratively whip the Philly Mob back into shape. Stanfa's nemesis was Joey Merlino, a flashy, in-your-face, young Italian American who cared more about nightclubbing, manicures, and hitting on girls than he did about the old-world ethos of organized crime. And so the two men of different generations and cultures clashed, turning the streets of South Philadelphia into a battleground.The hilarious irony lay in the fact that Stanfa's recruits, whom he lauded as a much-needed infusion of Sicilian-born blood that would enhance the Philly mob, were the biggest band of misfits ever assembled. To say they couldn't shoot straight was an overstatement; these fools could barely shoot at all! The botched attempt to blow up Merlino's car was the funniest scene in the book!The Philly Mob of the early 90's was called the most dysfunctional mob family in America. This book shows why.

What an awsome book. It was almost as if you were there living it as you were reading it. I thought this book was very well written. I am into these types of books lately. I am getting ready to read Murder Machine now, I can't wait! I also have read Underboss.(great book too)

The FBI tapes provided here in the book allow for a great insight into the Philadelphia Mafia at a time of great confusion, botched hits, and mutiny in the ranks. It's an overall good, quick read but there's better out there if you're not looking specifically to find out about the Philly Mob. A good buy is MURDER MACHINE by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci. It's good to see that the FBI recordings are left untampered with so the "evidence" allows you to draw you're own conclusions. Although this sometimes proves confusing with many unfinished sentances and people cutting in to another's sentance. I do recommend this book as it does provide a quick and cheap read which is quite fascinating.

This was a good read because it shows the Philly family at a crossroads. It gives a good account on the bloody and brief reign of John Stanfa. He was about as able to lead a family as a baboon. It was amazing how the previous boss Nicky Scarfo held the family together while nearly losing his mind. Then to watch Stanfa attempt to re-organize it A good read.