"""When Mom got out of jail, it was great having her home.""
Mondo
the Dwarf. Frankie Shots. Joseph ""Little Lolly Pop"" Carna. Larry ""Big
Lolly Pop"" Carna. Salvatore ""Sally Boy"" Marinelli. Johnny Tarzan. Louie
Pizza. Sally D, Bobby B, Roy Roy, and Punchy.
They were THE PRESIDENT STREET BOYS of Brooklyn, New York.
Frank
Dimatteo was born into a family of mob hitmen. His father and godfather
were shooters and bodyguards for infamous Mafia legends, the Gallo
brothers. His uncle was a capo in the Genovese crime family and
bodyguard to Frank Costello. Needless to say, DiMatteo saw and heard
things that a boy shouldn't see or hear.
He knew everybody in the neighborhood. And they knew him. . .and his family. And does he have some wild stories to tell. . .
From
the old-school Mafia dons and infamous ""five families"" who called all
the shots, to the new-breed ""independents"" of the ballsy Gallo gang who
didn't answer to nobody, Dimatteo pulls no punches in describing
what it's really like growing up in the mob. Getting his cheeks pinched
by Crazy Joe Gallo until tears came down his face. Dropping out of
school and hanging gangster-style with the boys on President Street.
Watching the Gallos wage an all-out war against wiseguys with more
power, more money, more guns. And finally, revealing the shocking
deathbed confessions that will blow the lid off the sordid deeds,
stunning betrayals, and all-too-secret history of the American Mafia.
Originally self-published as Lion in the Basement
Raves For THE PRESIDENT STREET BOYS- Growing Up Mafia
""Frankie
D was born and raised in this life-and he's still alive and still free.
They don't come any sharper then Frankie D. A real gangster story. Read this book!"" -Nicky ""Slick"" DiPietro, New York City
""I
know Frankie D from when i was a kid living in South Brooklyn. It was
hard reading about my father, Gennaro ""Chitoz"" Basciano, but I knew it
was the truth. Frankie's book is dead on the money-I couldn't put it
down."" -Eddie Basciano, somewhere in Florida
""It's been forty
years since I've been with Frankie D doing our thing on President
Street. This book was like a flashback, Frankie D nails itfrom
beginning to the end. Bravo, from one of the President Street
Boys."" -Anthony ""Goombadiel"" DeLuca, Brooklyn, New York
""As a
neighborhood kid I grew up around President Street and know firsthand
the lure of 'the life' as a police officer and as a kid that escaped the
lure. I can tell you the blind loyalty that the crews had for their
bosses-unbounded, limitless, and dangerous. As the Prince of President
Street, Frank Dimatteo, is representative of a lost generation of
Italian Americans. If any of this crew had been given a fair shot at the
beginning they would have been geniuses in their chosen field."" -Joseph ""Giggy"" Gagliardo, Retired DEA Agent, New York City
""The President Street Boys takes me back as if it was a time machine.
Its authenticity is
compelling reading for those interested in what things were really like
in those mob heydays; not some author's formulation without an inkling
of what was going on behind the scenes. I loved the book because I was
there, and know for sure readers will love it too."" -Sonny Girard, author
of Blood of Our Fathers and Sins of Our Sons"
By:
Frank Dimatteo Imprint: Kensington Publishing Country of Publication: United States Dimensions:
Height: 228mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 261g ISBN:9781496705471 ISBN 10: 1496705475 Pages: 272 Publication Date:18 August 2016 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Frank DiMatteo is a lifelong Brooklynite, Mafia survivor, and publisher of Mob Candy magazine.
