Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hitman Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos

by William Hoffman, Lake Headley

A former hitman's candid account of forty-five years in organized crime includes detailed anecdotes about life in the underworld and provides answers to many unsolved crimes

Genres: Crime, True Crime, Biography, Nonfiction, History

225 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Carlos Trevino · Rating 5 out of 5]

True or not, every one of The Greek's anecdotes were wildly entertaining. I'd easily add this book to my favorite crime memoirs.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughters don't always give me high-brow literature to read. Here is an example of the other sort: a guilty pleasure of a book if ever there were one. Tony Frankos worked as a hitman for the Mafia. Because he was not Italian, he could not become a "made" man, but he did not let that stop him from a long and, er, successful career in killing people for money. It is interesting to see how one man can depersonalize other people such an extent, but the book is not particularly well-written. There is enough gore and information about the inner workings of the Mafia in here, though, to make this a superb beach book.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, which is probably a weird thing to say about a book about a hitman who went around murdering people. Tony the Greek really got himself into a lot of nefarious activities. This supposedly solved some crimes that were previously unknown or unsolved. It was pretty interesting, and I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in Mafia related materials.

[Laurie Stoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-fiction. A very informative indepth look inside the mafia.

[Anthony M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In detailed fashion, Frankos (born Frangos) takes the reader, through his resume of a dozen or so murders, cohorts, independence from the Mob, many prison sentences, and finally, not simply his inability to go straight, but his desire to remain a lifelong criminal, utterly addicted to the gangster’s lifestyle.

I cannot honestly believe every single story, but the tone of his retelling is enough to get the idea of just how bad some of these people were.

Many of the names in the stories are quite well-known: Joey Gallo, John Gotti, John Sullivan, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, and so on. Often there are so many people he mentions that it is difficult to keep track of which gangster belongs to which family; and so many of them turn on each other, which only adds to the confusion.

I can hear the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens accents in the dialogue he recalls, being from The Bronx myself.

It’s compelling reading because the reader knows what’s coming, just not how.

Easy to distinguish Frankos telling of a story from Hoffman and Headley’s contributions.

Frankos set a record for having been detained in the greatest number of prisons.

[Adam Foster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical gangster bio. Good story, but probably a signifcant amount of it isn't true. The amount of self pity for a piece of shit is remarkable, as he whines about how the government won't give him a break, while admitting to be a serial killer. I do find it amusing as William Hoffman almost breakes his arm patting himself and Headley's on the amount of time they took searching down his story.

[James Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting portrait of a killer. Well compiled biography with good care taken to have a satisfying narrative.

[kelvan Ceee]

Can someone tell me wtf,so I read the books or is this just a daft app

[Walt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage. Who would believe "they" left a guy out of prison to kill Hoffa? Just another among many convicts claiming they were privy to Hoffa's end.

[Phyllis]

Interesting! I thought "Contract Killer" was a real page turner. Hoe ever, the book does not tell if Donald Frankos, died in jail or not.