My interest in organized crime has lead me to devour a range of different books on the subject. I have read books that involve mob wives, daughters, families and gangsters themselves. Americas fascination with organized crime has lead to several fictionalized books and movies. I can surely say that no nonfiction book I have read tells of a glamorous life like the one portrayed by Hollywood. Normally a mobsters existence is one filled with stress, fear and ultimate betrayal. Underboss tells the story of Sammy” The Bull” Gravano a small time racketeer who gained power and control in the Gambino crime family. His detailed biography tells of the hits he did and his relationships with famous bosses such as Paul Castellano and John Gotti.

The Beginnings of a Gangster

Salvatore Gravano was born to Italian owners of a dress factory in New York City. He grew up in the close knit Italian influenced community of Bensonhurst New York. After getting kicked out of several schools Sammy decided to quit altogether and join a gang called the Rampers. As a member of the Rampers Sammy fights robs and manages to get into trouble with the police. As part of a sentence in an assault case Sammy agrees to join the military while the war in Vietnam is escalating. He served his time in the military without much fanfare and returned home instead of making the military a career. The streets of New York were calling and Sammy was not far away.

When Gravano returned to Bensonhurst he realized that things had changed. Most of the Rampers realized that they could rob cars and establishments, but that there was definitely a limit as to how high their gang activity could go. The Mafia families held court in New York and any one who crossed them surely was either murdered or marked for death. In 1968 Gravano realized that he was going to have to join forces with a family to make more money and through a twist of association he became part of the Gambino crew. This enabled him to take on more lucrative prospects such as racketeering and being a true gangster. This also marks a turning point in Gravano himself. He now has the ability to do contract hits and seems to have no qualms in doing so. He describes most of them in detail and on several occasions he reveals that he had to do them to simply stay alive. In other words going against orders would have resulted on someone putting a hit on HIM. Obviously being involved in organized crime was a double edges sword for Gravano.

A Family Man- In Both Uses of the Word

In 1970 Gravano meets and begins dating Debra Schibetta who later becomes the mother of his children. In the book it is apparent he loves her but the reader does not get much more information than that. It is really interesting to get the families perspective but in Underboss Debra’s viewpoint is glaringly missing. With a family on the way Gravano began realizing that his life needed to change. One week he would have full pockets and the next week he would be broke. Debra could only afford to cook spaghetti and ravioli with the money that Sammy was pulling in. In 1976 Sammy is introduced to Paul Castellano and is then a “made” guy.

Being made entailed Gravano to have a crew. His life consisted of racketeering and being a shylock. He is then expected to do more hits on family members and enemies. Sammy also becomes a club owner and he meets John Gotti for the first time even though it means nothing to him. He claims that Gotti was into hijacking something that Gravano refused to involve himself in. Just about every other kind of criminal activity was Mr. Gravano's thing, however. He was a burglar, bank robber, car thief, extortionist, loan shark, intimidator and, finally, murderer. The author Peter Maas tells us that Mr. Gravano admitted to involvement in ''18 or 19 murders.” He was a significant part of the corruption in New York City's construction trade, in the teamsters and other unions, in the garment business and, of course, trash hauling. That he didn't have time for hijacking is probably explained by the fact that he was a good family man, as well as a good ''family'' man, and liked to spend his evenings at home with his wife and children.

The Relationship with Gotti

John Gotti and Sammy Gravano could not be more different than they were. While Gravano worked to remain out of the public eye, John Gotti fought to remain in it. Gotti would talk about “his public” and was a very flamboyant person. He rose to power after orchestrating the murder of Paul Castellano every day had his hair cut and washed and silk suits tailored to keep up his image. The media was immediately attracted to the boss who crowed that the FBI would never take him down. For awhile business went smoothly but when Sammy was finally arrested and charged with the murder of Paul Castellano (among other charges) things began to change dramatically. Sammy was put in jail with Gotti and another captain named Frank Locasio. Gotti refused to let Gravano sever his case or have his own lawyers or build his own defense, saying they had to stick together for the good of Cosa Nostra. Gravano and Locasio began to see Gotti crumbling because of the pressure and he was also becoming more erratic. He didn't know it yet, but he was on the brink of learning something about loyalty, and the lesson finally took hold when he realized Mr. Gotti was setting him up. Sammy realized that the jury would take one look at the “Dapper Don” and think that he had lost control of Sammy, the Underboss. He figured he would immediately be convicted with stars such as Anthony Quinn and Mickey Rourke coming into the courtroom. While Sammy was not very educated he made the decision fast to turn states evidence. He knew it was his only ticket to getting out of jail. There is not much detail in the book about his actual testifying John Gotti received life without the possibility of parole. At the end of the book it is revealed that Sammy left the Witness Protection Program and his wife divorced him. He runs a legitimate business and spends time with his kids when he can.

My Thoughts

While Underboss can be slow at times it a very captivating story overall. Peter Mass adds the right flair in telling the story of Gravano with his dry humor and solid facts. Its not exactly the details about Mafia life that make this a good book, it the fact that it tells a story of a man’s life all the ups and downs of it. The book begs the question of who you are loyal to and what you should get out of this loyalty. There are times in the book in which the language and scenes are very graphic. This however does not take away any of the realism that the book puts forth it simply adds to it. Gravano never forgets what or who he is. Hes not an actor or a celebrity hes a mobster and Underboss wants to seriously convey that. A life a crime is not what the book is advocating and indeed lots of Sammy's associates end up dead or in jail. I think the best part of the book was the dynamic behind the relationship of Gotti and Gravano. While they swore allegiance to each other neither has qualms about stabbing the other in the back. Underboss makes for exciting and disturning reading all at the same time.

Side note:
In the year 2001, Gravano was arrested in Arizona and was charged with running one of the biggest ecstasy drug rings in the country. He was assisted by the members of his immediate family including his ex-wife and two children. He is awaiting his sentencing and was convicted ironically when a close partner decided to turn states evidence.


Recommended: Yes