Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss – An Inside True Crime Biography of the Lucchese Family, Murder, and Becoming an Informer Paperback – Illustrated, June 23, 2009

I had no clue until I read this book. After that I felt I knew him for years. What a GREAT read. Chapters are not long and it’s written in such a way that I just loved it.

After reading The Irishman before it came to Netflix, it got me on a bit of mob kick and picked up a few books. This was one of my favorites. A very easy and entertaining read. The author does a great job of "reminding" you about everybody's nickname and how they're connected and stuff so you don't get lost in the book. I remember reading some reviews before getting it that the author tended to repeat himself. And there are a few chapters that start with a sense of deja vu where you feel like you read it before. But as someone who will read a book in 25 different settings over a long period, that was perfect for me.Knowing full well that almost everybody that reads this will at least know a little bit of mob history, the author does a great job of keeping it interesting and ending chapters in such a way to pique your interest in what's to come...even though you probably already know the outcome already.Lastly, one of my favorite things in books, is short chapters or at least regular chapter breaks. I'm guilty of looking at the next chapter and seeing how many pages it is while reading at night. This book has breaks every 3-5 pages making it easy to pick up and read at any time and keeping you up late at night with the "just one more section" mentality.Highly rated and will definitely check out the author's other true crime novels.

This book is interesting because it tells a story of one of the most brutal killers in the New York mob. It provides a window into the machinations of a man who was so brutal his very name rang out in the underworld, which is really saying something in a secret society and killers and racketeers. It showcases the duality of man, how a man can order a murder and then eat a nice Sunday dinner with his family.

Good book on the life and times of a real mafioso, real good detail on their thinking and how they lived their lives.

Enjoyed

If I could more stars I would. Really breaks down the inner workings of the mafia. Spoiler alert: Yeah it seems like he got a raw deal from the feds but cmon, the guy killed how many people

Errors. That was one of the words I would use to describe this book.I'm familiar with the works of Philip Carlo, as I was a reader and defender of his book on "The Ice Man" Richard Kuklinski. Obviously, as a long-time student and historian of the Mob, I'd waited for someone to tell the Anthony Casso story for years, the closest anyone coming being Selwyn Raab's amazing "Five Families." Well, someone tried.First, the positives. It's an engrossing book if you read it as entertainment. You do go inside the head of Anthony Casso, which is not a great place to be if you're sane. The book looks at the Casso/Amuso regime of the Lucchese family, as well as fills in some blanks in Casso's early years. Casso does come off as somewhat sympathetic, and if you don't know the real stories as told multiple times in other books, you would really find yourself rooting for Casso.However, that is far outweighed by the negatives. Let me start with probably my biggest pet peeve: The identification of Frank DeCicco as John Gotti's right-hand man.This is pure laziness on all parts: Carlo for faithfully printing this, and the editors for not catching this. DeCicco was NOT Gotti's right hand man, he was a loyal captain to Paul Castellano until Castellano went crazy over Gloria Olarte and started making bad moves. DeCicco is even in the "Last Supper" picture of Castellano and the hierarchy of the family...which he would not have been had he actually been with Gotti, who Castellano absolutely hated. How does anyone miss this?Also, Carlo really paints Casso as a great man who was being recruited by every family. The problem here being, Casso was, in fact, a sociopath who actually set in motion the ambush on him by simply being himself. (And according to more than one story, killing James Hydell's dog.)Carlo pretty much slides by the murder of Nicholas Guido as well, which is a cardinal sin, since Casso's reaction to that would have been interesting to note. According to "Five Families" though, Casso's reaction is actually "No big deal. That happens."Vic Amuso also takes a huge backseat to Casso in this story (Understandable, since it is Casso's story, but also completely ridiculous, since Casso and Amuso were best friends.) Casso's tale that he told Antonio Corallo to make Amuso the boss is absolutely ludicrous.Also, a lot of this story is not told, and there are plenty more errors that you have to read the book to figure out. One word of warning: Carlo really showers Casso with lots of superlatives. This book is Philip Carlo's epitaph. It should have been a masterpiece. Instead, it's a quite flawed book where almost all the other characters are cardboard puppets. We're left, at the end of the book, asking "What is the REAL story?" Because no outlaw, no matter how charismatic, could be this good.

The book is well-written, easy to read, exciting, and very hard to put down, despite a few glaring errors (a guy gets bumped off, then a few days later attends a "sit-down" meeting?!) We also ordered the author's other book, "Ice Man", which we're anxious to read. If it wasn't for the various books on the mafia, I don't think I could believe it all. It really is amazing stuff. A lot of violent parts are way too descriptive for me, but I was prepared for it. My sympathies to all the mafioso wives and children who have to endure this kind of life; it's really incredible. All the money in the world -- and yes, I know they have it all! -- just isn't worth it!

This book is an excellent first read for someone who is interested in the mafia. Casso was the type of mobster who interacted with most the notable mobsters of his era so you will find in this book a lot information of numerous gangsters of ill repute such as Demeo, Gotti, Gigante and even the Russian mob. It was as if the author tried to find out what people who were interested in the mob wanted to know about certain characters before writing this book. You will find in this book all the motivations and psychological makeup of numerous notorious mobsters. This book also has a lot of revelations of the mob underworld. The last part of the book which deals with Casso's incarceration is worth the price of the whole book itself. If you are going to read one book on the New York mafia let it be this book.

In summarized terms , this is the best book I have ever read. Tension,suspense and excitement from the very beginning. Gaspipe was a very interesting character and this book was written very well. Gives you a lot of information not just about Gaspipe but about the NYC Mafia in general like the rise of John Gotti, Paul Castellano's murder etc etc. 5 stars out of 5 for this one.

This is another case of truth being better than fiction . Gas pipe is definitely a page turner and in the end I even felt a bit sorry for the former mafia boss . Definitely a must read

This is the classic story for any movie: yes, I know that Mr. Casso has been one of the worst criminals ever. He killed for money and power, sold enormous amounts of drugs and committed all crimes imaginable over and over - a really bad guy.On the other hand he is someone who helped in the fight against organized crime, told it all (which was very much indeed) to get his deal - and didnŽt get it though he did his part.Fascinating, thrilling, this book really makes you think it all over. This book has it all: enormeous wealth, crime, cruelty beyond your wildest dreams/nightmares. Justice and Injustice. Strength and Cowardice. Just read it, it will keep you awake all night.

Good book for those who are interested in the mafia, my father really enjoyed it, he said he couldn’t put it down.