Book Review: Mafia Prince

Book Title: Mafia Prince

Book Author: Phillip Leonetti

I love true crime books about the mafia.  So much so that when my wife wants to get me a book for Christmas or my birthday, she knows to head for the true crime section.  The second choice is the sports section.

At any rate, I got this book for Christmas and couldn’t wait to read it.  Phillip Leonetti was born in Philadelphia.  Shortly after his birth, his father left his mother and he was raised by his single mother and his uncle, Nicodemo Scarfo, a made Mafia member and boss of the Scarfo crime family.

His uncle taught him the ways of La Cosa Nostra (This Thing of Ours).  At an early age Phillip was running errands for his uncle and other made members of the mafia.  When he graduated fro high school he became a full time employee of his uncle and at age 23 was inducted into the mafia as one of the youngest made members ever.  In his 30’s he was the underboss of the Scarfo crime family.

Over the years, Phillip earned the nickname “Crazy Phil” for his unpredictable and violent behavior.  His uncle Nicodemo was known as “Little Nicky” and together they were as feared as any gangster of their times.  They ruled Atlantic City and Philadelphia through intimidation, fear and murder.  Other mafia feared them and gave them a wide berth.

The book chronicles Crazy Phil’s and Little Nicky’s rise to power, including the gambling, racketeering and murder that enabled them to make millions and gain control of the Philadelphia and Atlantic City mafia.

It also chronicles the legal ramifications of all these actions, the inner tensions and squabbling amongst the Scarfo crime family, the resentment Crazy Phil developed for his uncle that ultimately led to him to flip and testify against his uncle and other members of the mafia.

I loved the book, the insight it offers into the inner workings of the mafia and the honesty Phillip displayed while testifying against his uncle and in telling his story, including his involvement in more than 10 confirmed gangland murders.

The book is graphic in nature, especially in describing the violent crimes committed to intimidate and gain control of organized crime in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.  The language is crude and graphic as well and the book is not for the faint of heart or young children.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Book Review: Blind Faith

Book Title: Blind Faith

Author: Joe McGinniss

Blind Faith is a true crime novel about The Marshall family, Rob and Maria Marshall and their three sons, Roby, Chris and John of Tom’s River, New Jersey.  Rob Marshall is an insurance man and took great pride in being successful and being a part of the upper class in Tom’s River.  Maria is the All-American mother who is the most stylish dresser in the community and the official team mom of all of her kids sports and school activities.  The family had the best of everything money could buy and didn’t want for anything.

The book begins as summer is ending and Roby is heading to a local Community College to finish his freshman year of college. Chris is beginning his freshman year at Lehigh University and had just left for school.  The youngest son, John was still in junior high.

Shortly after arriving at Lehigh University, Rob Marshall shows up at Chris’s dorm room early one Saturday morning to tell him that his mother has been murdered. Rob claims it was a robbery attempt.

With the exception of Chris, Rob’s sons and family believe and support him.  The police never believed him and as they dig into Rob’s life they gather more and more evidence that confirms their suspicions.

Rob was having an affair with a women from their social circle, was deeply in debt and had recently taken out a series of life insurance policies on his wife totaling more than $1 million dollars.

As the police gather more and more evidence, build their case and prepare to arrest Rob the evidence seems overwhelming.  The evidence and rumors against Rob drives a wedge between friends and family who are torn between believing someone they’ve known and loved for years and the villain the police and prosecuting attorney are making him out to be.

I liked the book, specifically the way the author told the story from the point of view of the main parties involved.  He first described the events leading up to the murder, the story Rob told of how the murder happened and then the events after the murder.

From there he proceeds to tell the story from law enforcements side.  By writing in this way, the author allows the reader to see what each party was doing chronologically.  As Rob Marshall was holding his wife’s funeral, the police were tracking evidence down about possible mob connections to the murder.  As Rob was sneaking away with his lover, the police were discovering the extensive life insurance policies Rob had taken out on his wife.

I won’t give away the ending, but I do recommend this book.  It’s an easy read and a fascinating story about greed, lust and murder.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

You Must Be Famous

My wife and I are moving and over the last couple weeks have been boxing things up in preparation for the move in about 5 or six weeks.  This weekend as we were boxing things up, I came across my copy of the August 13, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated.  On the cover is Usain Bolt, the Jamaican speedster and fastest man on the earth.

I love the Olympics and had fun watching the Olympic last summer.  When I saw this cover with Bolt, it reminded me of the time several years ago when my dad met one of the all-time American track and field greats.

My dad has been running for the last 30 years.  As the 1990’s were coming to an end and we were preparing for Y2K, he was the Vice President of the Utah Chapter of USA Running.  In this capacity he would travel once a year to the USA Running’s national meetings where the committee would host a luncheon to honor the Runner Of The Year.  In 1999, the meetings were held in Los Angeles, California.

The annual lunch is proceeded by a pre-lunch networking event with snacks and drinks.  As my dad was mingling and talking to other attendees he started talking to one individual who seemed really nice.  They talked for several minutes until an announcement came over the loud speaker saying the luncheon was starting.  After the announcement, the doors to the banquet hall opened.  My dad and the guy he was talking to were standing right near the entrance and as they turned to walk in, they were greeted by hordes of photographers.  The flashes and clicks from the cameras were going crazy and my dad turned to his new friend as they walked in and said, “Wow, you must be famous.”

As he and his friend continued walking into the banquet hall they were joined by the hundreds of other attendees and were separated. As the lunch started, the program to honor the Runner Of The Year began.  The host stood up and introduced the Runner of The Year, Maurice Greene.

At the time of this honor, Greene was the world record holder in the 100 meters.  As the host went through Greene’s qualifications and accomplishments he invited Greene to accept his award as Runner Of The Year.  As Greene stood up and approached the podium, my dad was shocked to see that his new friend, the guy he had been talking as the doors opened and the cameras started flashing was none other than Maurice Greene.

Suddenly his “you must be famous” comment took on a whole new meaning.  Dad didn’t say anything to anybody at the luncheon about talking to Greene or his comments as the cameras started flashing.  It wasn’t until he got home a few days later that he told me about it.

I work part time for the Utah Jazz and one of the things that struck me when I first started working for the Jazz is how different the players look in street clothes.  As a fan you get used to seeing your favorite players on the court or field of play and in their teams uniform.  In that venue it becomes very easy to recognize them and pick them out.  It’s another story when you see them out of context or off the field of play.

The first picture I included in this blog entry is of Maurice Greene in a suit.  The second is Greene in his running gear, specifically his Olympic uniform.  The second photo is they way most people are used to seeing Greene.  In this setting, he’s easily recognizable, but in the suit, it’s easy to not notice or recognize him.

I know many people who treat people differently simply because of their position, title, job or some other status. In a recent Forbes column, Ty Kiisel after hearing of the passing of Stephen R. Covey reflected on his leadership teachings and highlighted the two things he learned from him.  First, people are not resources like computers or office furniture and second, techniques fall flat, a genuine interest in other’s success creates successful organizations.  In reference to the second point, Kiisel pointed out something that I think is critical and important in the way people should treat each other:

“All you need to do is peruse the local bookstore or visit Amazon.com to learn the latest and greatest business management techniques. I spend a lot of time reading them myself—however, if they merely become techniques to manipulate (or manage) people, your colleagues will see right through you. Because business is personal, a genuine interest in the people you work with and a desire to help those you lead achieve success is what really drives business performance. What’s more, honesty and integrity are not techniques—they should be the way we are, the way we do business and the way we interact with people. This type of atmosphere is created from the top. A “Do what I say and not what I do” approach to how you manage your business does not work. However, there is hope for those of us less inclined to interact genuinely with people. Jean Kerr said, “Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes polite.” I think this is true of developing a genuine interest in our relationships with colleagues as well (for those of you who feel you might be lacking).”

My dad has always been outgoing and is a great example to me of how to treat people.  The fact that he was nice to somebody he thought was a stranger only to find out later that it was Maurice Greene is the perfect example of how to treat somebody.  Throw away titles, positions and status and just be sincere, genuine and nice to somebody.  It should be really simple but I think at times people get caught up in “networking” and worrying what the other person can do for them.  It’s my belief that if you worry less about what somebody can do for you and just treat them with respect and in a way that you would want o be treated you’ll build a stronger relationship that will lead to long term benefits as opposed to quick and meaningless interactions.

Thanks, Dad, for another example of how to be a good person.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+