My Review Of Ben Macintyre's Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

Counterterrorism magazine published my review of Ben Macintyre's Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

You can read my piece below:

Philadelphia Mob History Lesson: Former Hit Man Peter "Pete the Crumb' Caprio Testifies At Philly Organized Crime Trial

John P. Martin at the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the Philadelphia organized crime trial.

A rear courtroom door opened and a slight man shuffled to the witness stand, clad in a black V-neck sweater over a white collared shirt and patterned tie.
 

Now 83, he looked too frail to lift a baseball bat, much less crush it against another man's skull, as he said he once would.

"Wow," a defense lawyer blurted out. "He got old," someone else whispered. A dozen years have passed since Pete "The Crumb" Caprio became a turncoat against his associates in the Philadelphia mob. At least three times since, federal prosecutors have trotted out Caprio, a once-feared captain, to tell juries about his life, exploits, crimes, and similar details about others.  The Crumb was back again Monday, called to deliver a history lesson for jurors at the racketeering trial of reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six underlings.

You can read the rest of the story vai the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20121119_Now_83__former_hitman_testifies_at_Philly_mob_trial.html

Mafia Prince: Inside America's Most Violent Mafia Family And The Bloody Fall Of La Cosa Nostra

The New York Daily News offers an excerpt from a new book by Philip Leonetti, the former underboss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra organized crime family.

Mafia Prince: Inside America’s Most Violent Mafia Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra,” is the book that came together after gangster and stone cold killer Philip Leonetti emerged from hiding to tell his story to Scott Burnstein and Christopher Graziano. Once the underboss to and the nephew of possibly the most vicious psychopath the mob has ever produced, the Philadelphia boss Nicky (Little Nicky) Scarfo, “Crazy Phil” turned and testified, sending dozens of mobsters to jail.

Now, years after leaving the federal witness protection program with a $500,000 bounty still on his head, he recalls a critical killing in 1978 from their salad days in Atlantic City, when the two murdered a mob associate that had offended Scarfo.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/book-excerpt-mafia-prince-america-violent-mafia-family-bloody-fall-la-cosa-nostra-article-1.1203881

You can also read a piece on Philip Leonetti by George Anastasia, the author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster, via the below link:

http://www.jerseymanmagazine.com/mobscene-leonetti.php

My Philadelphia Inquirer Review Of Dennis Lehane's 'Live By Night'

The Philadelphia Inquirer published my review of Dennis Lehane's new crime thriller Live By Night today.

Dennis Lehane's new crime thriller opens with a gripping scene.

"Some years later, on a tugboat in the Gulf of Mexico, Joe Coughlin's feet were placed in a tub of cement," Lehane writes. "Twelve gunmen stood waiting until they got far enough out to sea to throw him overboard, while Joe listened to the engine chug and watched the water churn white at the stern. And it occurred to him that almost everything of note that had happened in his life - good and bad - had been set in motion that morning he first crossed paths with Emma Gould."

Hard to top that for getting your attention.

You can read the rest of the review below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

Oliver Stone's Film 'Savages'

I saw Oliver Stone's film Savages on cable TV last night.

I liked the book better.

Don Winslow's Savages was a good crime thriller, but Stone's film version failed to deliver the novel's irreverent humor and cleverness along with the suspense and action.

I also fault the director's casting of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the three principal leads. The three young actors were, to me, unremarkable.

The three actors portray California pot growers and dealers who run afoul of a vicious Mexican drug cartel.

Salma Hayek portrays a female Mexican crime boss that wants to take over the California pot operation and Benicio del Toro portrayed her ruthless chief henchman. The two performances were the best part of the film. I also liked John Travolta as a corrupt DEA special agent.

You can read my review of Don Winslow's Savages via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-crime-thrillers-don-winslows-savages.html

Federal Prosecutors Say Whitey Bulger's Claim Of Immunity Is 'Frivolous And Absurd'

Milton J. Valencia at the Boston Globe reports on the prosecution of Boston's notorious crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger.

Federal prosecutors have asked a federal judge to determine whether James “Whitey” Bulger has any standing to raise an immunity claim before trial, arguing that the “frivolous and absurd” claim should not be brought before a jury in the high-profile case.

“Otherwise, the trial of this matter will become unduly elongated and unmanageable,” prosecutors said late Friday in court filings.

Prosecutors said the notorious gangster’s “pure fantasy” that he was granted immunity for his crimes should not continue to slow down the case.  

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/11/16/federal-prosecutors-say-whitey-bulger-claim-immunity-frivolous-and-absurd/WAigbr3iU0LVpA9WOSsztK/story.html

Intel Officials Unable To Say Who Changed CIA Talking Points On Libya, Lawmaker Says

FoxNews.com reports on the reaction to the Congressional testimony of former CIA Director David Petraeus (seen above in his official CIA photograph).

Former CIA Director David Petraeus stoked the controversy over the Obama administration's handling of the Libya terror attack, testifying Friday that references to "Al Qaeda involvement" were stripped from his agency's original talking points -- while other intelligence officials were unable to say who changed the memo, according to a top lawmaker who was briefed.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told Fox News that intelligence officials who testified in a closed-door hearing a day earlier, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Acting CIA Director Mike Morell, said they did not know who changed the talking points. He said they went out to multiple departments, including the State Department, National Security Council, Justice Department and White House.

"To me the question right now is who changed those talking points and why. ... I'd say it was somebody in the administration had to have taken it out," King told Fox News. "That, to me, has to be pursued."

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/16/petraeus-to-testify-knew-libya-was-terrorism-from-start-source-says/