The only thing better than reading a great book is sharing it with someone else who also enjoys it. Such is the case with “Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss”. I finished the book last night and when Tammy told me this morning she needed something to read, I handed it to her and told her she had 2 weeks left before it was due at the library. By time we met mid-afternoon to do our weekly Sam’s shopping, she was already 1/3 of the way through it!
For the record, Gaspipe is not his real name – in fact, only his closest friends were allowed to mention that nickname and they shortened it to “Gas”. His given name was Anthony Casso and he was the underboss of the Luchesse family – one of the 5 families that “ran” New York City for many years.
I have no idea when/how I ever became entranced with true crime or the Mafia but as I’ve mentioned earlier, “The Godfather” is my favorite movie of all time. When Tammy was born I was in the middle of “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote and actually remembered reading news stories of that murder in Garden City, KS in the 50′s. It didn’t involve organized crime but was still a fascinating story for me. I finished the book while still in the hospital with my newborn and apparently transferred the mob gene to her because she also loves this stuff.
While Gaspipe was/is one of the baddest of the Mafia bad asses ever to live, I actually found myself liking the guy while I was reading the book. I won’t give away what happened to him but the book (written by a former neighbor of his) is truly slanted to Gaspipe’s point of view. I’m sure his victims, the FBI and the federal prosecutors would have a totally different take on this guy.
Methinks I need to Google Gaspipe and find out what’s going on with him since the book was written.
