The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath

If you are a fan of the Mob stories like I am - this is your book. I grew up in these same streets of Brooklyn and it is horrifying to know what has happened on these same blocks. The mind, body and soul of Tommy Karate is frighting but extremely intriguing. You will find yourself disgusted but also addicted! This book will completely engulf you and you will find it hard to put it down!

spell binding tale of a psychopath. to think this guy really existed and conducted these horrific acts of violence in my own backyard is really scarry. ( i grew up the exact area of brooklyn described in the book, where one survived by simply minding your business.) 'The butcher' was like reading about the sopranos for real. An interesting insight to the psyche of the underworld mentality, code of conduct and cultural background. A non-stop read.

I'll keep my review short and sweet - if you are interested in organized crime and enjoy content that you would see in the show "The Sopranos", AND you enjoy learning some history, this book is for you. The true stories that are encompassed in this book paint a fascinating and disturbing look at organized crime, and the real life characters that make up the criminal element. Highly enoyable and recommended!

The story is great, practically beyond belief, and completely horrifying. Mr Carlo's writing style and tendency to repeat himself obviously rubs some people the wrong way, and I can understand why, but it also lays an effective foundation for a quick and aggressive read, that in this case will leave you with nightmares. Regardless of whether you love, hate or are indifferent to Mr Carlo's abrupt style, it remains a fact that his is the ONLY book available on psychopathic Bonanno crime family drug dealer and hit-man Tommy "Karate" Pitera, and therefore a must read for all True Crime and Mafia aficionados. 5 stars therefore, on the strength of the story, coupled with the fact that Mr Carlo had huge balls writing this in the first place considering Pitera is know to be overly sensitive and humorless, has never admitted guilt, refused to be interviewed, and has never "ratted" therefore maintaining his position within the Bonanno crime family regardless of incarceration and could probably have Mr Carlo killed with a phone call.

Thomas Pitera was one of the most sadistic and gruesome hit men who ever worked for the mafia. This book gives you a detailed portrait of his life and times: his victims, his methods, his cold blood... and all the goes on inside the mind of such a man. Reading the book left me wondering about how horrible the Human mind can go. The book also show in vivid detail the investigation that led to Pitera's arrest, trial and imprisonment (for life). Final notice... this book is not for those who get impressed easily. The violence here is over the top (especially because it was real!). Pitera is, nevertheless an impressive character.

Greed and fame (infamy) are the reasons individuals choose to join the mafia. Forget the oath of omerta. When it comes to saving one's skin mafia members will turn on one another. Paranoia reigns! "I better kill him before he kills me." An early grave or a prison sentence await their members. I enjoy reading about gangsters while keeping in mind there is nothing cool about being one. In the case of Tommy Pitera the man with the Minnie Mouse voice became a target for bullies while growing up in a Brooklyn neighborhood that preyed upon the vulnerable. The die was cast. Philip Carlo has done a wonderful job in bringing the tragic case of Tommy Pitera to life. It is even more tragic for the many individuals he murdered and cut up into six pieces before depositing the bodies on Long Island or in a wildlife refuge on Staten Island. Especially gruesome was his habit of placing the dead body in a bathtub, stripping naked, and carving up the corpse. Even other mafia members felt this went over the line particularly with the corpse of a woman. Pitera would also save rings and other jewelry from his victims, chopping off digits if necessary. This provided additional evidence of those he killed. Author Carlo does an excellent job in describing the job of law enforcement in getting these thugs off the street. It wouldn't be proper for me to say I enjoyed this book, but I did find it to be a riveting read and hard to put down. I also appreciated the fact that the author spared us much of the gory details just for the sake of including them in the book. He included what was necessary while not getting carried away. If you enjoy reading books on the mafia this is one to include in your library. These people are thugs pure and simple. Certainly not anyone to look up to.