The Good Rat: A True Story

Based on the 2006 trial of the NYPD Mafia cops, Eppolito and Caracappa, "The Good Rat" details the documented testimony of Burton Kaplan: government witness, informant, stool pigeon, rat, and criminal. Though Kaplan is no Sammy Gravano, his own participation in mob activities and hits over the years was substantial. This is the story of a man that talked his way out of the consequences of his career choice by playing main witness for the government in a RICO prosecution. The talented and witty Jimmy Breslin offers profound insight to consider. In chapter six, Breslin states: "Years ago the state looked upon gambling as a low vice, a depravity, and those who profited from it were no better than cheap pimps and deserved years behind bars. That opinion held right up until the government took it over..." This account incorporates Kaplan's trial testimony throughout while giving the reader the background by way of flashbacks in this shockingly true narrative of two seriously bad cops. As a trial and organized crime enthusiast I loved it!

I have been a so-so fan of Breslin in the past, but I really think this book is excellent. he weaves trial excerpts with his own commentary and humour and Iw as kept interested throughout.

Long before "The Sopranos," Casino and Goodfellas, Jimmy Breslin wrote a book in 1970 called THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT that was also made into a movie. It was one of the first fictional looks inside the feared Cosa Nostra, written a year after Mario Puzo penned THE GODFATHER. There might never have been a fictional Tony Soprano if not for Breslin and Puzo. Breslin knew his subject. He spent many a long night back in the day drinking in mob joints with characters such as Jimmy Burke, who was portrayed in Goodfellas by Robert De Niro. Breslin points out here that a young De Niro consulted with him to find out how to play wiseguys before filming The Gang. It was one of Bobby D's first screen roles before Godfather: Part II. So who better to cover what was billed as the first great mob trial of the 21st century? Two NYPD detectives were accused of being hitmen for the Lucchese crime family, fulfilling contracts on eight victims. Breslin approaches the trial with a sense of gloom. "And the idea of cops who use their badges to murder depresses me," he writes, "It is dreary and charmless and lacks finesse. It promises no opportunity to marvel, much less laugh." And then Burton Kaplan, the good rat in this tale, takes the stand to inform on the cops. Breslin observes, "He testifies in simple declarative sentences, subject, verb and object, one following the other to start a rhythm that is compelling to the jury's ear...Kaplan comes out of all the ages of crime, out of Dostoyevsky, of the Moors Murders, of Murder Inc. A few words spoken by Burt Kaplan on his Brooklyn porch sent animals rushing out to kill." Breslin found his book, as Kaplan tells the court about his life in crime. He uses Kaplan's story to link us to the history of the mob over the past half century, as witnessed firsthand by reporter Breslin. Kaplan is not a mob boss. He is not even a "made man." As a Jew, he can't be a member of the Sicilian mob. Kaplan is a legitimate businessman with a lot of illegitimate sidelines. Whether dealing in drugs or stolen goods, Kaplan is an "earner" for the mob. He also becomes right-hand man to Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, a Lucchese crime boss who uses Kaplan as the go-between to the alleged "killer" cops. At 72 and facing 18 more years in prison on drug charges, Kaplan quite reluctantly and with great sorrow breaks the code of silence he has lived his life by in order to see his grandchild as a free man. He becomes a rat. THE GOOD RAT is a classic mob book. It is a fascinating and compelling read made even better by one of America's greatest writers working his craft at the top of his game. Breslin does not just write sentences --- he chisels them as if working in stone. Most writers just get the words down, but Breslin works the words until they are sharp and precise and paint clear pictures. This has become a lost art in corporate journalism today and especially on the Internet. Consider Breslin's description of one of the cops: "He m

This is the book only Breslin could write, on a subject that has captivated everybody for the past half-century. As I write this, the NYC tabloids are on fire with the story of a not-so-good rat who wore a wire and gave up dozens of Gambino family gangsters. Breslin tells the tale of the greatest rat since Valachi, the man who ran the so-called mafia cops, and does that story magnificent justice. But then he goes farther, telling his own lifetime of mob tales, from his childhood on the streets of Queens to the barrooms and courtrooms all over the city. This is the greatest nonfiction mob book since Wise Guys, Nick Pileggi's masterpiece, and this is maybe even a better book owing to how Breslin's autobiography/memoir sneaks into the tale of so many of the city's best bad guys. People will be reading this book 50 years from now.

Jimmy Breslin is a New York original. I was thrilled to find he had a new book out. I have been reading Breslin for years and this easily ranks alongside his very best. Gritty tales of crime and corruption told in full technicolor as only he can. Take a tour through the underbelly of New York City by a guy who knows it better then anyone. The era of giants like Breslin is sadly fading just like the great city that he chronicles so vividly. Still, it is heartening that we continue to have a witness as strong, trustworthy and hysterical as Jimmy Breslin. The Good Rat is a great book. Thank you Mr. Breslin for sharing another story.