Jeffrey Sussman - Big Apple Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in New York

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Backbeat Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Rock Music

Backbeat Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Rock Music is the latest Rise and Decline Mob books by popular author Jeffrey Sussman. The book is a shocking expose of the early days of rock and roll when the mob used every tactic they could, from creating their own record labels, bribing radio DJs and stacking jukeboxes with their own artists, to exploiting and intimidating performers, and creating their own black market of bootlegged records, to make millions.

Nicholas Pileggi, author of Casino and co-author of Goodfellas, wrote, "Jeffrey Sussman exposes how the mob controlled much of the music business and shaped much of American culture. It will fascinate anyone interested in organized crime, rock & roll, and American history."

It began in the 1950s, when rock and roll music burst upon the scene. The major established record companies thought that the new music was a passing teenage trend, but mobsters were there and pounced on the new business opportunity. They opened small independent record companies, signed ambitious young singers and musicians, and produced truckloads of 45 rpm records. To make sure that their records would be successful, the mob bribed disc jockeys in major cities to play the records and made sure jukeboxes, which were already mob-controlled, were filled to capacity with the new music. Whatever it took to gain airtime and repeated plays of their songs, the mob made sure it happened.

Backbeat Gangsters includes the stories of the most sinister people who took control of the record business during the early days of rock and roll, as well as those of the numerous, young performers who were exploited and received threats and beatings instead of the compensation they were promised. The Mafia used intimidation and violence to achieve their ends and made millions from denying royalties, maintaining copyrights and trademarks, bribing DJs, and numerous scams like flooding the market with counterfeit records which didn't have the burden of paying royalties. In yet another well-researched and thorough account, Jeffrey Sussman, details how the mob was able to infiltrate and control another aspect of American culture with devastating results.

Tinseltown Gangsters; The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Hollywood

Tinseltown Gangsters is an exciting, in-depth account of how mobsters controlled movie studios, movie stars, directors, and producers during the 20th century. Its narrative is as engaging as a gripping gangster movie.

Sin City Gangsters:The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Las Vegas

Sin City Gangster provides an exciting, eye-opening account of how the mob created and controlled Las Vegas. In addition, it contains fascinating accounts of celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra and others, who were controlled by the Vegas mobs and were paid with favors.

Big Apple Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in New York

Big Apple Gangsters is a a true crime thriller, an engaging page-turner for anyone interested in the history of the mob in New York

Big Apple Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in New York

Big Apple Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in New York is an exciting page turner of a book about the history of the mob in New York (pub. date, November 15, 2020). It begins with the father of organized crime, Arnold Rothstein, and his four protégés: Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, and Frank Costello. Those were the men who eliminated the two initial Mafia families run by Joe “The Boss” Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Luciano and Lansky then set up the National Crime Syndicate, whose board of directors actually oversaw the five Mafia families. The author explains the relationship between the Italian and Jewish gangsters, who worked as partners through much of the 20th century. The author then explores the exploits of the bootleggers during prohibition, the wave of murders conducted by Murder Inc, the labor racketeering of Louis Lepke Buchalter, the only mob boss to meet his end in the electric chair at Sing Sing. There is a a devastating portrait of Dutch Schultz; the author recounts how his great uncle, a bootlegger, was indicted but not tried for the assassination of the Dutchman. The author also details the battles for control waged by Vito Genovese, and his fall from power engineered by Lansky, Costello, Luciano, and Carlo Gambino. In addition to Gambino, there are gripping portraits of Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, “Crazy” Joey Gallo, John Gotti, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, Greg Scarpa (the real hero of Mississippi Burning and a FBI informant), and the two infamous Mafia cops who were on the mob’s payroll. The book concludes with the take down and conviction of the bosses of the five Mafia families and the estimations of the mob’s continuing role in the commerce of New York.
Publishers Weekly, in its review of Big Apple Gangsters, wrote: “The introduction, in which the author tells of his own family’s mob encounters and connections, is alone worth the price of admission. This is perfect for Godfather fans.

“Throughout the book Sussman provides fascinating portraits of a who’s who of gangland. His narrative moves excitingly and entertainingly through the pivotal events and history of organized crime, explaining the birth, growth, maturation, and decline of various illegal enterprises in New York. He also profiles those who prosecuted the mob and won significant verdicts that ended many careers, responsible for bringing many organized crime figures to their knees and then delivering a series of coups de grace.”