(Reviewed by Don Jung)
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There are a lot of family histories out there to read about, but this one is different. While Alan Geik’s parents were not directly in the mafia, many of their relatives and friends he met growing up were gangsters.
This is an amazing story of the East Coast Jewish, Irish, and Italian mafia gangs from the Prohibition era through the 1970s. The writer’s family was intertwined with Murder, Inc. and the notorious Cleveland Four mob. However, to a young kid growing up in 1950s New York, they were just part of the family.
While his father, Lou, was not involved in the 1930s gangster scene, his two brothers and those around them were into illegal activities. His Uncle Charlie was a member of Murder, Inc., and became a hired assassin for various mafia gangs. The story goes back to their upbringing in the Prohibition era and how bootlegging became more profitable. It makes you wonder what you would do to make money.
The writing is brilliant as he tells us what these characters were like. They were bad guys, but they knew how to work within the system and that kept them from getting arrested.
When Prohibition ended in 1933, Uncle Charlie and Uncle George became part of the gang that set up and owned gambling casinos in New York and Ohio. When World War II erupted, the mafia ran the shipping and fishing unions, and they aided the United States military in fighting the Nazi threat. When the war ended, they started to focus on Cuba and Las Vegas as new sites for their gambling empire.
As part of the mafia, they helped finance the endeavor to make Israel its own country
and Alan’s father-in-law, Lou Lenart, became involved in setting up their first Air Force. Who would have thought of the mob setting up a new nation in the Middle East?
This book has so many detailed facts and is so fast paced that I could not put it down. I finished it in one day. Quite an interesting family and what a memorable story!
