Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss

by Philip Carlo

Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso is currently serving thirteen consecutive life sentences plus 455 years at a federal prison in Colorado. Now, for the first time, the head of a mob family has granted complete and total access to a journalist. Casso has given "New York Times" bestselling author Philip Carlo the most intimate, personal look into the world of La Cosa Nostra ever seen. This is his shocking story.

From birth, Anthony Casso's mob life was preordained. Michael Casso introduced his young son around South Brooklyn's social clubs, where "men of honor" did business by shaking pinkie-ringed hands--hands equally at home pilfering stolen goods from the Brooklyn docks or gripping the cold steel of a silenced pistol. Young Anthony watched and listened and decided that he would devote his life to crime.

Casso would prove his talent for "earning," concocting ingenious schemes to hijack trucks, rob banks, and bring into New York vast quantities of cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. Casso also had an uncanny ability to work with the other Mafia families, and he forged unusually strong ties with the Russian mob. By the time Casso took the reins of the Lucchese family, he was a seasoned boss, a very dangerous man.

It was a great life--Casso and his beautiful wife, Lillian, had money to burn; Casso and his crew brought in so much cash that he had dozens of large safe-deposit boxes filled with bricks of hundred-dollar bills. But the law finally caught up with him in his New Jersey safe house in 1994. Rather than stoically face the music like the old-time mafiosi he revered, Casso became the thing he most hated--a rat. It broke his family's heart and made the once feared and revered mobster an object of scorn and disgust among his former friends. For it turned out that a lifetime of street smarts completely failed him in dealing with a group even more cunning and ruthless than the Mafia--the U.S. government.

Detailing Casso's feud with John Gotti and their attempts to kill each other, the "Windows Case" that led to the beginning of the end for the mob in New York, and Casso's dealings with decorated NYPD officers Lou Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa--the "Mafia cops"--"Gaspipe" is the inside story of one man's rise and fall, mirroring the rise and fall of a way of life, a roller-coaster ride into a netherworld few outsiders have ever dared to enter.

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

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Philip Carlo was the author of The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer, his New York Times bestselling book about Richard “Ice Man” Kuklinski, murderer of 200 people and a favorite among all seven of the East Coast crime families. He was also the author of Gaspipe, The Butcher, and The Night Stalker, which chronicles the brutal career of serial killer Richard Ramirez. Carlo grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, amidst the world’s highest concentration of Mafia members. When he was 16, Carlo was shot in the head in a gang war, and while recuperating, he read voraciously, discovering the magic of books for the first time. His intimate knowledge of Mafia culture—their walk and their talk—helped Carlo become a successful crime writer. He died in 2010 from ALS.

Reviews

[Opiated · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been titled Gaspipe: Delusions of a Mafia Boss. That is how it reads. This is Casso's version of events during his reign as a deranged mobster. Murder after murder and crime after crime are justified as something Casso just had to do because he was a 'man's man'. When other mafiosi turn informants they are rats. When Casso turns informant he is using the FBI as an 'electrician uses a wire' as a means to an end.
Philip Carlo's writing leaves a lot to be desired. I lost count of how many times he wrote these exact words: 'He loved his wife dearly' which appears almost every time after a reference to his infidelity. Cringe inducing metaphors are tossed about generously throughout the book. 'He fought like a Bengal Tiger'. Ugh.
I don't claim to know much about the NY mafia but after searching over the internet for information on Casso and the five crime families one can't help but come to the conclusion that while this book tries to paint a picture of Casso as a smart and successful mafioso the truth really is that he was a crazy, bloodthirsty and greatly paranoid killer.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hagiographical look at one of the most prominent mafia leaders of the late 20th century. Feels a lot like it was designed to be turned into a Scorsese flick. I still enjoyed it but I’m always skeptical of these biographies that have specific conversations on things that happened 30 years prior to the book being written. Good for what it is.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A somewhat biased, but no less enthralling biography of the author's next door neighbor, mob boss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. Carlo does a great job painting the portrait of a self-made man of the criminal underworld. The book really helps to shed light on how a capo operates, as well as the interconnectivity between the various mafia families of the New York metropolitan area. A very smooth and enjoyable read!

[Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

15/100

Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss is basically 300+ pages dedicated to idolising a cold-hearted killer. I got 120 pages in before I started skipping chapters to see if the content or style was any different, before finally giving up on the book.

The author worships Casso at every opportunity, just as he attempts to justify every one of his violent deeds to the audience. Carlo spends more time talking up Casso than explaining his life, which leads to a very repetitive book. All of the characters are portrayed with little complexity, and as such they are one-dimensional, uninformative, and fail to reflect what the people in Casso's life were really like. Carlo clearly couldn't be bothered to get different perspectives on Casso's life from reputable sources, which makes it hard to take this book seriously. It's a shame that Casso picked such an incompetent biographer - I was really looking forward to reading about him.

[Edgarr Alien Pooh · Rating 4 out of 5]

While we all have our thoughts on the mafia and what they do this book will open your eyes to the competitiveness and brutality between the 'houses'.
Author Carlo grew up next door to the boy who was to become gaspipe. Rival street gangs of Irish and Italian youths and increased criminal activity lead to a life in one of New York ' s leading Mafia families. A standover man and gun for hire he works his way to the top where life should be sweet. Many women and millions of dollars, a loving wife and magnificent house can't replace the paranoia of being listened to by police or "taken out" by a rival faction.His decision to act first eventually brings things to a head.

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style was repetitive and extremely amateur (simple spelling errors, abrupt tone changes, stretched metaphors, etc). I generally like books about the mafia, but Carlo managed to make this one quite boring - which is hard to do with a mafia story! Also, he clearly has a slanted view of Casso so that everything he did is slanted as "just business," "clever strategy," "manly," or "his culture". It would have been much more interesting to hear about him as a human being with all the quirks and ambiguities a real person has.

[Mike Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like mafia books….

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but a bit unmotivated. Worth checking out if you're really into mafia/crime books, otherwise I'd give it a miss. Carlo's book about the "Ice Man" was more interesting.

[Austin Durling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Couldn't put it down! Philip Carlo is one of my favourite true crime authors, hands down.

[Andreea Neamțu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finished it. I gave up after 100 pages, though I tried really really hard to finish it, being my second time trying to (and this hasn't happened to me in a long time). It just didn't catch me. The action was too liniar, no intrigue, no fulminant points and a bad writing in addition. The subject could have been really interesting, it's about the sicillian mob after all and I was looking forward to see the other side of the story, the motives behind and so on. But there was nothing beside "it had to be done".

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlo made a valiant effort to produce an objective book about Anthony Casso, but we’re all human. I think Carlo’s unique perspective (Gaspipe’s neighbor for several years) gives Gaspipe more ‘benefit of the doubt’ that was given to Tommy Karate and I feel there’s a lot of Gaspipe’s side that is unchallenged & accepted at face value by the author. I still enjoyed it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

After virtually all of my family became obsessed by The Iceman (which I still haven't read), they went on a bit of a Philip Carlo mission, which is how I came to be handed this (and also, probably due to my love of The Sopranos).

I found this to be an interesting, matter-of-fact, yet flawed and occasionally repetitive account of how Anthony 'Gaspipe' Casso, former underboss of the Luchese family, came to rise through the ranks of La Cosa Nostra and meet his ultimate fate, to be played out behind bars.

Taking in his early family life and neighbourhood, which instilled in him the rules of the street and informed his choice of lifestyle, through his early money-maker days, cold-blooded murders and the mistakes that caused him to be apprehended, as an old family friend Carlo does appear to have really got Casso to open up about all of the aspects of his life. However, this also accounts for many of the books flaws. Whether it due to being Casso's version of events, or whether Carlo allowed his obvious liking of, and respect and admiration for Casso to influence him, Casso is written of in a completely different way to his peers. Whilst they're invariably described as greedy, egocentric psychopaths, Casso is often painted as the last 'decent' guy in crime even when the book is talking about the many, many murders that Casso either committed, facilitated or ordered.

I also found the time-line to be a little confusing; at times the book jumped around between events that could have happened years apart, leaving me to wonder when the hell things were supposed to have happened and having to go back and re-read paragraphs as I'd thought the subject had already been murdered pages ago.

Interestingly, whilst the book frequently glamourised the Mob lifestyle and sense of honour, many of the 'honourable traditions' that were upheld by La Cosa Nostra were also shown to be laughable. While the Commission (the board of bosses) forbade the selling of drugs, virtually everybody seemed to be at it due to the insane amount of money that the trade brought in, their greed overpowering the threat of equally insane jail terms and condemnation by the bosses. And as for the code of 'omerta', it seemed that virtually everyone sang like a canary once brought in, and Casso himself (who had been one of the biggest rat-haters and killed a huge amount them) seemed to flip quicker than a light switch at nightfall. With a tremendous amount of self-justification, naturally.

That said, law enforcement doesn't come off lightly in this - it is despicable not only how many people sworn to serve the law and protect the citizenry were happily in the Mob's pocket, even going so far as to carry out hits for them, or were happy and eager to cover up the misdemeanors of agents.

So, in summation, while this book did have flaws, I still found it an interesting insight into the world in which people such as Casso live.

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a biography of Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, one of the most influential figures in the 20th century Italian Mafia, written by some random guy who grew up next door to him.

I will start by saying that Carlo was far from a good writer. Very far. It's obvious that this book was written piecemeal with minimal editing and then combined. He alternates calling Casso "Anthony", "Casso", or "Gaspipe" repeatedly, often in the same paragraph, and often awkwardly calls him "Anthony Gaspipe Casso" at inappropriate moments. Repetition of key facts is frequent, and most of the chapters are just a few pages long and jarringly interleaved. It's a book that doesn't flow well at all. Also, Carlo's writing is too superficial, strictly written from the outside. You never really get the sense of being in Casso's head until the last third of the book, after Casso is arrested. And, of course, the book was also written a few years too soon, before the "current" events surrounding Casso at the federal level had concluded; it would have been better if the book had been written after Casso died, but since Carlo died first this is also understandable. As it is, though, this story feels unfinished.

However, in spite of the author's generally poor writing, Anthony Casso's life story is at the very least interesting, and at most a real-life Shakespearean tragedy. I equivocate here because Carlo is far from an unbiased recorder of events. There is no denying that Casso's case became very political very quickly. However, Carlo really seems to have a double standard in his portrayal because of his anger at the US government for how they treated Casso. For example, he bemoans the fact that Casso was incarcerated at ADX with a variety of terrorists, but he conveniently ignores the fact that Casso once blew a guy up with a car bomb on a public street and confessed to murdering at least 35 others. He describes the FBI agents who took Casso's testimony as a bunch of bullies and thugs, but...what was the Mafia? Carlo quotes an article in full in the appendix about how the government has a track record of abusing the rights of government witnesses, and that article makes some good points. However, it was also written by a lawyer whose business is defending terrorism suspects.

Overall, this is a marginal book. I appreciate that Carlo tries to focus on Casso's humanity and honor throughout, but it's a shame that his writing isn't good enough or unbiased enough to fully accomplish the task of making a Mafia boss like Casso, who sometimes comes off as an interesting character when quoted, into a fully sympathetic human figure whose story is effectively told.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “NO MATTER HOW TOUGH SOMEONE WAS, A BULLET TO THE HEAD WON ALL ARGUMENTS!”
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ANTHONY “GASPIPE” CASSO, FORMER HEAD OF THE LUCCHESE CRIME FAMILY IS CURRENTLY SERVING *THIRTEEN* CONSECUTIVE LIFE-SENTENCES “PLUS” 455 YEARS IN THE ADX FLORENCE PRISON, THE SUPERMAX PRISON IN FLORENCE, COLORADO.
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Anthony was born into the “life”, a synonym for being a Mafioso. His Father, Michael Casso’s nickname was “Gaspipe” because he always carried an eight-inch length of lead gaspipe that he used like a blackjack, or held in his fist to add additional destructive power when he threw a punch. Anthony inherited his Father’s nickname and it was attached to him for life. His Father took him everywhere with him including the mafia “social-clubs” where he learned firsthand how a man of “respect” was treated. Anthony said “his best friend in life was indisputably his Father.” It was only natural that while other kids his age dreamed of being doctors, lawyers, or firemen, Anthony dreamed of being a “made-man”. “Gaspipe” became part of an organization filled with men with names like: “Kid Blast”, “Crazy Joe”, “Ducks”, “Mad Dog”, “Blackout”, “The Horse”, “Sally Dee”, “Beansy”, “The Bull”, “Fat Pete”, “The Bug”, “Pep”, “The Iceman”, “Quack Quack”, “The Chin”, and countless others.
“Gaspipe” grew from an independent criminal with his own crew originally specializing in “B&E” (breaking and entering) into a full-service killing/torturing/bank-robbing/money-making machine whose talents were highly coveted by all the mafia families. Despite offers from multiple “families” “Gaspipe” chose the Lucchese family. In rapid fashion “Gaspipe” became known as a man of his word who shouldn’t be messed with, as he would just as soon kill you, as allow you to become a bothersome loose end he may have to fret about. Just as important as all of that, is the fact that he became an envied “EARNER”. By the very nature of the way the mafia did business, it would be logical that the La Cosa Nostra would be infested with cold-blooded murderer’s… but within this select group Casso stood out, and was feared and respected as a “SECRET SWEEPER.” “GASPIPE” KILLED THOSE WITHIN THE MAFIA’S COMMUNITY WHO NEEDED KILLING. HE WAS “A-KILLER-OF-KILLERS”. Concurrently with the rapidly growing number of murders, Casso like most other “made-men” were loving Fathers and husbands, and families were always of utmost importance, creating perhaps the greatest dichotomy within the La Cosa Nostra.
The mafia commission did not want any of the families involved in drugs. Not because of any altruistic values, but because the punishment was too severe. One mafia member “faced twenty to twenty-five years in jail-basically a life sentence” for selling a pound of coke. The old-school mafia leaders felt men so condemned, would be tempted to turn on their own. Despite the mafia ban on drugs, many members sold drugs “off-the-record”, and none did it more successfully than “Gaspipe”! He was selling so much grass, cocaine and heroin, that “he bought three shrimp trawlers to bring more grass over from South America, and trucks with secret compartments to transport the grass. He even bought a 707 cargo plane to bring drugs over from South America. This was in addition to his growing fortune from his B&E crew, loan sharking, drug dealing, no-show jobs at the docks, and an interest in five after-hour clubs.
The mafia was starting to change, as unauthorized internal “hits”, such as the John Gotti organized murder of Gambino boss Paul Castellano highlighted; century old rules were being broken. A power struggle between Gotti and “Gaspipe” that involved respect and old-school ways, as much as anything else, led to a failed assassination attempt on September 16, 1986 when Casso was shot six times, but “Gaspipe” escaped death. “Gaspipe’s” plan of “REVENGE” included mafia “owned” cops and mafia “owned” FBI agents leading “Gaspipe” to the failed assassin. Twenty-two days later the “mafia-cops” delivered a car to Casso with a package in the trunk. Casso drove the car with his gift in the trunk to a “safe-house” and opened the trunk. “Trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey was a big, blonde-headed man. His wrists and ankles were cuffed tightly, his mouth taped shut. When he saw Casso, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, cartoonlike.” Casso lifted him out of the trunk, carried him into the house, and laid him on a tarp covered floor. “Gaspipe” would not rest till he found out who ordered the “hit”. “He took out a knife and cut off the victim’s clothes. He drew out a 16 shot .22 automatic fitted with a silencer. He didn’t want to kill him, but he wanted to make him suffer, make him talk.” “With a hand as steady as a diamond cutter’s, Casso began the torture. The first bullet he put through the victim’s left kneecap, the next through his right knee, and the third through the space midway between his ankle and knee. POW! POW! Suddenly there were bullet holes in each of the victim’s shins. He then took aim at the space where Christ had been crucified, the area just above the metatarsals, and fired. The man furiously twisted and turned to no avail. The amazingly well-placed .22 slugs continued to drill holes in him-the left and right elbows, the wrists, and the shoulders were pierced. Satisfied that he had hit most of the major bones of the man’s body, Casso moved on to his large muscles. He shot holes in the biceps, the calves, the thick thigh muscles. He then scrupulously took sight of the folded mushroom that was his “manhood”. He pulled the trigger. The man’s shriveled up sex organ seemed to explode. It was suddenly no more. Calmly Casso reloaded the gun. He would leave the man alone for a while; he’d allow the wounds to swell and fester, the symphony of pain to begin… a Beethoven’s fifth of suffering.” “Silently, with the quiet stealth of a large cat, Casso turned and walked away, feeling whole and complete for the first time since he’d been shot. When, several hours later, Casso returned, be began the questioning… “WHO”, he demanded in little more than a growl, “hired you?”
Today the mafia is basically no more. What happened? The simple code… the entire heart… of what the entire mafia had been built on… oh so many years ago… the most powerful word in organized crime for generations… **** “OMERTA” **** “THE CODE OF SILENCE”****… existed no more! More Mafia rats began “singing” in the last decade-and-a-half, than had sung in every opera since time immemorial. If only all the “made-men” and their associates had truly taken to heart the old organized crime mantra:
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“IF ALL THE FISH IN THE SEA KEPT THEIR MOUTHS SHUT, THEY’D NEVER GET CAUGHT!”
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[Rick Boyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, this book gets 3.75 stars. It's really well written, fascinating, informative, and a window into the secret and violent world of the American Mafia. The book is enhanced by the fact that the author, Philip Carlo, and his family were personal friends of the Casso family... so there is some personal insight here that you might not get elsewhere.

On the other hand, that personal relationship at times seems to make Carlo want to present Gaspipe Casso as a sympathetic figure... a guy who told the truth to the Feds and got betrayed. Carlo regularly acknowledges the fact that Anthony Casso is a stone cold killer and criminal... but, at the same time, he stresses that Casso is also loyal, trustworthy, and a good family man. There may be some truth to that... but on the whole its a very hard sell.

At the end of the day, it's a very good book. If you are interested in the story of organized crime, or if you like true-crime reading, you will really like this book.

[Dave Gaston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carlo stole part of my life from me, he should go to jail with Gaspipe for the hours I lost. I blame the author and the sensational killer that he interviewed (and OK... maybe I blame myself ... a little). His book represents mafia bravado at it most expected and therefore it’s most mundane. Yes, yes he serves up the sizzle and I suppose that is exactly why I morbidly wanted to read another true crime NY Mafia confession. Carlo details a life long murder spree for hire, a series of double crosses, money schemes, organized drug chaos and a pathetic string of crooked and bumbling FBI agents. It is so one dimensional that smack in the middle of a bloody torture scene I caught myself flipping forward to see how long the chapter might be. Who does that? Note to one’s self: Remember the name “Carlo” and keep his pop trash off your shelf (if you can resist the primal male impulse.). 3/5/09.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the life and times of Anthony Casso. He got into a life of crime at an early age, and had quite the knack for it. He was involved in plenty of schemes, and was even responsible for, at minimum, fifty murders. Reading about all of his activities was quite exciting, and I was also very curious about how he managed to turn into an informant. This was a pretty good book, typical for Philip Carlo.

[Joseph Andolino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the story. Cool to hear about his human side along with the animal involved in all of the criminal activities. It seems as though he really laid everything out there. If he really did try to get the laws attention in regards to future terrorist activity and it was ignored, it sucks. Great read!

[Garrett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty weak. How can you screw up with such interesting subject matter? I think this might have been my favorite book ever if I was still 14 years old. The author doesn't really try to hide his man-crush on Anthony Casso and it gets pretty old. Some of the writing is just painfully amateur.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
The subject of "Gaspipe" is quite interesting, but I was not a fan of Carlo's writing. This is my second book by Carlo, and, like the first, it had a strong element of self-aggrandizement. Carlo makes sure the reader know that he's personally connected with his subject. Also like the first, it was overly repetitive. There were about ten words and phrases which were used far too often. For example, just about every man in the book was described as a "stone cold killer" or "psychopath." Yes, when talking about the mafia there undoubtedly are some actual psychopaths there, but please find some new descriptions, Carlo! Adding to the repetition in the book is how Carlo will refer to the same subject numerous times, as if the reader has the attention span of a goldfish and cannot remember people or events talked about earlier. An unrelated element of the writing which bothered me was how Carlo referred to woman as "females." "The females did this. The females did that. They protected the females." It felt so demeaning and de-humanizing. What's wrong with "women?" My discomfort with Carlo's using "females" instead of "women" is because there was also a slightly misogynistic feel to the other book. The men in Carlo's books, including himself, are real men with "big balls." The women are trophy wives and "females."
Carlo also doesn't come off as a non-objective third party in this book. He seems unable to criticize Casso, and, despite Casso's many crimes -- murder, ordering murders, theft, racketeering, money laundering, etc. -- often portrays him as the victim. The very last part of the book is about how Casso has been done such an injustice by the U.S justice system. This argument is rather hard to buy after reading how Casso was "an assassin's assassin" for over three hundred pages.
Overall, "Gaspipe" is an interesting subject which would have been better served by another author.

[Grump · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard mafia fare. Young guy joins the mob, thrives, kills a bunch of people, makes a bunch of money then eventually turns rat and/or goes to prison. It was interesting that Gaspipe tried to rat but his testimony would implicate corrupt FBI agents and call into question the veracity of Sammy 'the Bull' Gravano's previous ratting. The feds let Sammy off the hook for 19 murders in order to nail John Gotti. Fucking nuts. Gaspipe knew of more murders and some drug dealing. So Sammy lied. But pointing that out would open the door for defense attorneys to overturn convictions. Yadda yadda. All these guys are fucking scumbags but still fascinating.

My favorite part was when Gaspipe shot some dude in the head and his partner couldn't stop farting. So much farting that he couldn't help move the body.

The writing is a little clumsy. Certain points were repeated as if we hadn't read them before. Chapters were super short but felt like stand alone thoughts. The dude used some weird figurative language too. "As crooked as a NASCAR track." "Cool as a deadly cucumber." What.

All mafia members should be executed along with their sons. XOXO!

[Leanora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story, although at times Carlo is a bit repetitive. It's also hard sometimes to keep track of all the characters because they have a real name, and then sometimes several nicknames. It kind of reminded me of that movie "The Irishman" in that he's telling you the story after the fact, and you can imagine you're sitting at a kitchen table with Carlo with a cup of wine while he's telling this story. I am sure a lot of "the Sopranos" plot is based on this story, as well as the lives of the other Mafia bosses. Carlo is a methodical & direct writer, and doesn't give a ton of setting or detail, or use flowing language. But, he does help you get into Gaspipe's head, so there were times where I forgot Gaspipe is a stone cold killer, and I understood his actions and motivations (just like I did with Tony Soprano - you're thinking, this guy has so many troubles, and then he murders someone, and it's shocking! Same thing in this book.).

[Warbotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fascinating story , But it obviously has a agenda. This by itself is not always a bad thing. Criminal Justice is very narrow focused in its ways as well. But Its not what this book tells you but the nagging feeling of what it is leaving out. On first view you may even agree with basis of the agenda but you will find it hard to go full in with the author when you cannot deny a few pieces are being left out of this puzzle.

Now as a Mafia Info book alone. the book will teach you some things and has interesting theories on big cases that make more sense then others I have read before. it will also lay waste to a few ideas that are strongly believed in Mafia Lore [ Again its not about believability but rather the first time I have heard a certain tale that made any sense compared to the lore] .

You could do worse , The info is worth the obvious bias. When he's truthful it's amazing, But considering what up against I can't fault the guy for smudging it a bit.

[Bettye J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There wasn't much shocking about his murders and where his money came from, but it was very interesting to read about the beginnings of the Sicilian Mafia all the way back to about 1292. No wonder everyone is scared of the Sicilians. Only Sicilians were supposed to be Mafia. Neopolitans like Gotti were nuveau riche and too flashy. The way the DOJ decides which criminal gets the best deal is really shady. One mafioso had the best nickname.....Angelo "Quack Quack" Ruggiero because he somehow always managed to duck every indictment they threw at him. Hmmmmm, Quack Quack has a bright future ahead of him. He could be President someday. America loves a felon. I liked the detailed info in this book about the inner workings of the DOJ. This author knew Casso personally and every detail felt very authentic.

[John Ulrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Phil Carlo's style and he tells the story of Gaspipe really well. He actually managed to humanize him and set him apart from other Mafia captains and bosses. Phil paints him as the reluctant Capo and reluctant boss because all he really cared about was making money and not just having power to wield it. Becoming part of the leadership always brought problems with it because you're not just taking care of your own crew you now have to manage potentially hundreds of personalities in a very dangerous society. The govt used him as an informant ultimately but didn't reward him for putting other guys away and he died in prison in 2020. All that for nothing, to spend the rest of his life in jail.

[Ford Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is what it is. Its biased and I would take what the author says and the details of events with a lot of salt. however it gives you a look at the inside of what Gaspipe life was like and to a degree how it all crashed, not just for him, but for the whole life style. at the end he will forever be known as a rat. Which he is. Its a time in history that is interesting and complicated. However the it's hard to over look the undue praise for law enforcement, because they did the job with despicable tactics, actions and illegally attained information just to get the job done. This was a start in America on large scale of how the ends justify the means and rewarding unlawful police work.

[John McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthony Casso was a good looking young Italian guy whose mother and father, a hardworking guy who knew some of the Bensonhurst locals, could have chosen a different life but didn't. His nickname "Gaspipe" does not underestimate the horror this man could inflict with a pipe installed at his leg used during 1950s rumbles with other Brooklyn gangs. Casso became what he is, and so be that. At times, the author, who publicly admitted that Casso was a
psychopath, seems to want us to believe that Casso was a good guy who, like most Italian Americans love their families; how good he looked in tailored suits and shoes hand made from Italian leather; that he could afford (by spending stolen money, presumably) the best medical and legal talent around, whatever that means; and how he always kept his promises, except when (which the author overlooks) when he didn't. That literary perfume is never going to make Casso smell better.

One of the great myths of organized crime of any kind is the profoundly misplaced notion that criminals like Casso possess virtues that govern their behaviors to ordinary citizens. But, during his life Carlo tells us, Casso did all of the following:

--he stole from his friends.

--he cheated in a serial fashion on his wife, at the same time he relied on her loyalty and love for him to secret money so it wouldn't be seized.

--he cheated his subordinates out of money that was due to them.

--he murdered and either tortured himself or directed others to torture for him.

--he murdered his Mafia colleagues when it was to his advantage to get them out of the way.

--he accepted the brief of planning the assassination of other Mafia members, including the unsuccessful attempt on the life of John Gotti, an attempt durng which Ralph DeMeo mistakenly was assassinated.

--he murdered in situations that disregarded and did not plan for the safety of innocent men, women, and children'

--then he murdered and maimed some more, at one point prior to being incarcerated for life, seemingly any time he encountered a suspicious thought in his head about someone else, and worst of all,

--deciding to cooperate when there was no other way to get out of prison, he ran up against corrupt federal prosecutors (one now a federal judge) and FBI agents who didn't want his testimony because, it turned out, it implicated FBI agents and protected witnesses like Bull Gravanno in all manner of crime.

The is the guy of whom the author relates:

"In reality, Casso loved his life and had come to view himself as the CEO
of a large corporation. He knew most every great fortune in America had
been based on crime one way or another: the Kennedys had been
bootleggers; the Rockefellers had been racketeers, the Carnegies
treated their workers unfairly, the Hearsts were prone to blatant libel,
and the Duponts regularly fixed prices."

And just how many assassinations did each of these mythological figures from American economic history commit in the name of theft or increased market share? How many airliners did they hijack cargo from; how many bodies did they cause to be chopped up? After Casso's crimes, how much money did he donate to ensure the betterment of mankind (the answer of course is none). That's not much of remedy, but it's something, and Casso didn't even do that. If I had heard a self serving statement like this being made by someone assigned to prison for 455 years, I would have excised it from my notes and certainly my book. It doesn't do the author or the subject--Anthony Casso--any favors.

The accounts of the crimes Casso committed is searing and clear. The evidence of his crimes shines brightly, and he admits to all of it.

Reading this book is an affirmation that men like Casso recognize a only one law: believing themselves entitled to anything and everything without justification or explanation to anyone or anything else or restriction on the methods, means, or instruments necessary and used to obtain wealth, they do what they like to get it. The author talks about the rules of the Mafia, but each one of those rules was violated when a member decided adhering to it put him at a disadvantage.

I could not put the book down, and if I had been asked to edit all the author's phony, trumped up justifications for Casso's misdeeds, this would have been as good an account of a life gone wrong and a way of life so alien to decency that it would have ranked with the best of the journalists who wrote and reported on the Philadelphia, New York and Boston crime organizations.

There is a very sad epilogue to the story of Anthony Casso's imprisonment. After he had been incarcerated for about 10 years and after it became convincingly clear that a corrupt FBI and US Attorneys office would not honor its promises because it knew his testimony would implicate their own, Casso's wife, whom he truly seemed to love, was approached by a Mafia killer (Frankie the Bug) who threatened to kill Casso's children unless Vivian paid extortion money. She had developed, on her own with Casso's money,a very successful lingerie business selling undergarments to Mafia wives, who were a segment of her market. She knew the Bug would kill her and her children and she paid for a while, not telling Casso or the police, but then suffered multiple strokes and heart attacks. When she came out of the second stroke, she disconnected herself from the tubes running into her body and she died--alone. This was a Greek tragedy played out in Brooklyn that reminds us that evil ways one visits on other are visited in kind.

[Vermillion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t think of the best way to put it. But I felt cheated in the sense that he doesn’t quite give us a whole picture of what he was truly about.Some aspects of his tale just don’t mesh well with other things he says. And while I totally believe what he said about how the Federal Gov’t behaved in and out of court, I don’t feel he is being as honest as he could have been about his life. I mean what more did he have to lose? At this point I have read a handful of books about the LCN and Gaspipe has Ben named in several of them and was considered to be a thoroughbred .. But he seems to downplay it in this book.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book 2 stars since it was entertaining, but that’s about it. If you only read this book, and knew nothing else about Casso, you would think he was a simple honest man of integrity, a loyal doting husband, and a model citizen, rather than the cunning, calculated, sociopathic criminal he really was. Granted, I’m sure it’s hard to separate personal feelings of someone you and your family may have looked up to from the objective truth, but if that is a problem, it’s probably a sign that you shouldn’t write a book about that person. Has some interesting mob stories, but the entire book veers toward hero worship.

[Troy Sonnenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

While we all have our thoughts on the Mafia and what they do this book will open your eyes to the competitiveness and brutality between the houses. Author Carlo grew up next door to the boy who was to become Gaspipe. Rival street gangs of Irish and Italian youths and increased criminal activity lead to a life in one of New York ' s leading Mafia families. A man and gun for hire he works his way to the top where life should be sweet, but it isn't. Many women and millions of dollars, a loving wife and magnificent house can't replace the paranoia of being listened to by police or snuffed out by a rival faction.