Showing results by author "Dennis N. Griffin" in All Categories

From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it - and in graphic detail. This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro's gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta's was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information - lots of it - about many of the FBI's most wanted.

Tony Spilotro was the Mob's man in Las Vegas. A feared enforcer, the bosses knew Tony would do whatever it took to protect their interests. The "Little Guy" built a criminal empire that was the envy of mobsters across the country, and his childhood pal, Frank Cullotta, helped him do it. But Tony's quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas; and Tony paid for it with his life.

Author Orlando (Ori) Spado honestly recants his humble beginnings from the small town of Rome in upstate New York, to becoming known as "The Mob Boss of Hollywood." A candid account documenting his fall from a well-known Hollywood fixer mixing with A list celebrities to serving 62 months in Federal prison, and ultimately making a determined comeback.

In the 1970s and thru the mid-1980s, the Chicago Outfit was the dominant organized crime family in Las Vegas, with business interests in several casinos. During those years the Outfit and its colleagues in Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cleveland were using Sin City as a cash cow. Commonly referred to as the “skim,” unreported revenue from Outfit-controlled casinos was making its way out of Vegas by the bag full and ending up in the coffers of the crime bosses in those four locations.

Joe Silvestri was a tough kid from the mean streets of New York. He went from street brawler to wearing a tux at the glamorous Copacabana. He eventually provided “muscle” for the Mob, a highly respected and feared fixer - the guy you went to if you had a problem that needed to be resolved. Award-winning Mob author Dennis Griffin joins forces with Joey “the Fixer” Silvestri to tell a tale of a bygone era when organized crime dominated New York City.

Was a hacker diverting phone calls meant for Las Vegas escort services? The FBI wanted to know, and so did associates of a New York Mafia family. In one of the most unusual undercover operations ever, the FBI had an agent acting as a manager in a real Las Vegas escort service. Federal agents expected to find prostitution and drugs in the Las Vegas escort industry. What their investigation uncovered was even more serious.

Bumping Off Fat Vinny is a lighthearted look at the attempts of authors Margaret Stanton, Danny Garrett, and Maria Mancuso make to do away with a scoundrel who seemingly has more lives than a cat. It confirms the old adage that the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes do, in fact, go astray.

Vinnie Curto was born in East Boston, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1955. His father Jimmy Curto was a raving, sick, alcoholic homosexual. Vinnie’s father and his drunken friends sexually abused young Vinnie, frequently raping him and performing other deviant sexual acts on him, while his mother Loretta stood by and let it happen.

Not far from the glitter of this world-famous adult playground, the killer claims his victims. Driven by a deep hatred for women, he begins his reign of terror by seeking out those who remind him of someone from his past. Someone who caused him great pain. As the body count rises, the national news media pick up on the story. Pressure for a speedy apprehension is brought to bear by feminist groups and politicians. But the killer is both daring and intelligent. He leaves little in the way of clues or evidence that will lead to his being identified.

Las Vegas in the 1960s...corrupt politicians, mobsters, and crooked cops competed for turf and power, and Christina Patterson, Sin City's top madam, knew how to play the game. Beautiful, yet smart and savvy, admired by clients and associates alike, she held the secrets of the most influential people in Vegas.

Four people are brutally murdered during the robbery of a Las Vegas convenience store. As the investigation of the killings moves forward, it appears more and more likely that the killer was really after one of the victims and the heist was only a diversion. But which one was the real target? Was it the young clerk? How about the Hispanic man who worked at the airport? Or maybe it was the tough guy who was employed as a bouncer at a drug-infested club.