Accardo: The Genuine Godfather

My grandmother's family were 42ers with great stories and I grew up with friends with first connections.This book is absolutely amazing because the author truly respects and confronts the Subject. My grade school was kitty-corner his second home.Crazy thing is the Bosa Brothers are his great grandchildren.Respect to the Tuna.

I have not read extensively on the subject but I knew the basics of the Chicago mob after reading "Double Cross" by Chuckie Giancana (which was superb). Roemer goes into extensive detail about the origins of the Chicago mob and how it gained maturity and brutal efficiency under Accardo. I was shocked at how callous and murderous the Outfit was...they killed off more members of their organization in the name of discipline and security than all the competing criminal gangs or the feds did combined. In this sense, the book is a never ending litany of mob hit after mob hit against criminals who failed to show respect to the Outfit, crossed the line concerning the payment of "street tax", bungled assigned assassinations, or were suspected of informing to the police. If one did not toe the line with the Outfit's code of conduct, you wound up as "trunk music"-shot in the head and left in the trunk of a car abandoned on some side street. But it was exactly this internal bloodletting that kept the Outfit members in line, resulting in a cohesive group that got things done in the name of the Outfit.I am critical of Roemer in several areas while remaining cognizant of the fact that he is now deceased and cannot defend himself. For one, he talks himself up throughout the book which detracts from the overall quality of the work (such as mentioning repeatedly that he went to Notre Dame and that he was a heavyweight boxing champ there.) Additionally, Roemer soft sells Hoover's massive failure in recognizing and targeting the mob because it appears Roemer was dedicated to polishing the image of a man who stayed too long in a powerful position that inevitably lead to his own corruption. Finally, Roemer punts on the very important subject of the Outfit's connection to the CIA (which is well documented) and Giancana's role in the assassination of JFK. Roemer claims to have bugged most of the conversations of the mob leadership from 1959-1965 but doesn't even mention a single word about the mob's involvement in or their reaction to the JFK hit (something the book Double Cross addresses in depth).And just to top it off, Roemer does not come clean with the ultimate hit on Giancana himself who was being protected by a squad of Chicago's finest at the time. Roemer says the police "were conducting surveillance of Giancana's house" before he was shot to death, as if they were just happening to be watching his house for a little while, and then left when their limited duties were done. In actuality, the squad was assigned to protect Giancana 24/7 until he testified before a senate committee. However, "someone", i.e. the government, pulled this protection, allowing an assassin to approach and enter Giancana's residence. In the end Giancana got his like so many others he had whacked in the decades before the night of his demise.Overall, this is a well written book with a great deal of detail about the rise of the Outfit in Chicago. I recommend it to any one just now diving into the subject. However, I suggest you read several other sources (like Double Cross for one) to get a more complete picture of these events to compensate for the obvious slant of Roemer.

This is a really interesting book about the effort of the FBI which as I understand it have a tough task of building up cases against the Organized Crime and thanks to them it is a safer place no doubt! The dubious part is always how to do it and that is the thin line between legal and illegal ways of attacking the organized crime which is explained in this book. Most of it is only one side of the legal story, but he was and is and interesting figure this Roemer he did what he had to do. That besides he tells the story of Accardo in a good way and it is obvious that he felt lots of respect for him and maybe because Accardo was a low profile kind of boss next to let's say a Sam Mooney however his arrogance sometimes takes over this is definitely a close look at the inside of the investigation of the FBI to catch Accardo once a feared boss of the outfit. Surely a must have for all Outfit addicts.

As a lifelong Chicagoan and hoistorian, even I was shocked at the amount of crime, corruption, and the power of the synducate in Chicago. Roemer tells a great tells of a man who was with the mob from Capone's heydey (1925-30) the St. Valetine's Day Massacre, The Frank Nitti days, the founding of the syndicate in New York in 1930/31, through the 50's, 60's and modern erea. As a northwest side resident I was amazed to learn that his "headquarters" on Harlem and Lawrence, was blocks from where my wife grew up and not far from where I live now. In fact, all the locations given for the mobsters hangouts, could make for a mini-tour, save that the original structures have been torn down. But the best part may be the stories about the "freindship" between Roemer and Accardo. Roemer makes it evident Accardo was a brutal killer, but still had some decent qualities as a person--a truely complex character worthy of studying.

Did you ever read a book that you were sorry to finish? This was one of those books. I read everything I can find about the history of the Chicago Mob, and this is one of the best. You get to know Anthony Accardo as a person as well as the boss of all bosses, much in the same way as the author did in his years of FBI work. If you grew up in Chicago, as I did, this book is a must read. Lots of recognizable names and places as well as filling in the blanks on things you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask.The author does a great job of tracing the history and development of organized crime in Chicago as well as describing Anthony Accardo's rise and long running reign at the top.

The inside info is amazing and not sure if you can find recollections of these stories without sitting with The Man himself, which by proxy of Mr Roemer, you get. The Outfit was a definitive course of history, in Mafioso socio economic politics, underground and above board.I only gave it four stars, because I find Mr Roemer's conclusions obvious, tedious, and can only be described as self serving.Tony Accardo is the like Babe Ruth of the Mafia. The game existed but he re-made it.

Starts off very strong. Gets off to an interesting middle when talking about LCN across the country and then the author throws in his opinion every other paragraph about who is or not someone that he likes and what a great agent, judge, lawyer, or prosecutor they are. He turns this into a bit of an autobiography, and I personally think he loves praise (he quotes himself from newspaper articles several times) but it is a decent book, highlighting alot about a man (Accardo) I knew little about.

One of the greatest infamous men in Chicago outfit history. Rip. Big Tuna

A detailed, informative book about Tony Accardo (aka Joe Batters) and the Chicago Outfit. Written by Bill Roemer, a veteran FBI agent, who, having worked as an officer investigating organised crime and various members of the Outfit, has an in depth knowledge on this subject.Previously, I had only read about the Outfit in 'Double Cross' by Chuck Giancana (brother of another infamous Chicago mob boss, Sam 'Mooney' Giancana) and when going through the reviews of this book I picked up the name Tony Accardo and was lead to this book.Both books are a good read for anyone interested in the Chicago Outfit but I would say this book reads more like an FBI investigative report rather than a story. In saying that, you have to believe that this book is more accurate and honest than Double Cross as Roemer is writing from the point of view of someone who has to be more impartial (although you do get the feeling that sometimes he is not) and investigative rather than from the point of view of a family member (in the case of Double Cross, Sam Giancana's brother) who may embellish the story to the benefit of their family.However, Roemer does a thorough job in detailing the various crimes and businesses that the Outfit were involved in and how Accardo influenced them albeit from the perspective of someone from the outside looking in.I would compare The Genuine Godfather to Double Cross by saying this book is like watching the documentary Mafia's Greatest Hits compared to Double Cross which is like Goodfellas (a story more from an insiders perspective). Whatever your opinion on either, by reading this book, you will definitely learn about the Outfit and how law enforcement has slowly got to grips with organised crime throughout the US.Either way, judging by what I have read, I would agree that in Chicago, Tony Accardo probably was 'The Genuine Godfather'.

There morals are so evil yet when caught they cry like babies

Very well written, balanced and interesting although Roemer is a little vain. For those interested in la cosa Nostra beyond the goldfish bowl that is New York this is very informative

very good

Good read