GANGSTERS OF MIAMI: True Tales of Mobsters, Gamblers, Hit Men, Con Men And Gang Bangers from the Magic City

Rising from a swampy flatland a little more than a century ago, Miami has grown to become a trend-setting metropolis known for tourism, fashion, nightlife and style. Miami is also the city of Hollywood's "Scarface" Tony Montana, television's Miami Vice and popular culture's "Cocaine Cowboy." Ron Chepesiuk's Gangsters of Miami (Barricade Books, November 2009) digs beyond the headlines and fantasy to provide a close up look at the real role that mobsters, gamblers, hit men, drug lords, con men and other gangsters have played in making America's youngest city also one of its most fascinating.

Known as the Magic City, Miami has always been the home for a colorful variety of gangsters. They include the notorious smugglers of the Prohibition era, such as Gertrude Lythgoe, Bill McCoy, James Horace Alderman, the Ashley Gang, and Red Shannon; famous mobsters like Al Capone and Meyer Lansky who helped make Miami a gambling Mecca, the Cuban Mafia and its syndicate, La Compania, led by godfathers Jose Battle Sr. and Jr.; the marijuana traffickers of the early and mid 1970s, most notably the legendary Black Tuna Gang; drug lords of the Medellin and Cali cartels and master minds of the cocaine explosion, such as Griselda Blanco, the so-called Black Widow Blanco, Pablo Escobar, the "King of Coke" and Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela; the Russian Mafia with colorful characters like Ludwig "Tarzan" Feinberg, who came to America after the fall of the Soviet Union; and the street gangs that plagued Miami after the advent of crack cocaine in the mid 1980s, led by such vicious gang bangers as Anthony "Little Bo" Fail and Corey "Bubba" Smith.

The book also provides details of headline making cases and characters like the tourist murders of the early 1990s, the Operation Swordfish money laundering investigation; the Yahweh Ben Yahweh investigation, the Don Aronow and James Callahan murders, the Andrew Cunanan murder of noted fashion designer Gianni Versace, and the rise and fall of Chris Paciello, the so-called "King of South Beach." Gangsters of Miami also investigates the police and governmental corruption that has plagued the Magic City since its early days.

Gangsters of Miami is a lively and well-documented account of Miami's gangs and gangsters, showing that fact can be more riveting than fiction. The praise for the book has been lavish:

Steve Morris, Publishers of the New Criminologist web site, said "Chepesiuk's aptitude for revealing the inner workings of organized crime within a community is once again on display here as the reader is cast into Miami's bloody underbelly. A remarkable achievement by the author."

Scott M. Dietche, author of The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr. calls the book "one of the most complete looks at crime in South Florida."

Lew Rice, Former Special Agent in Charge, DEA and author of DEA Special Agent: My Life on the Front Line hailed Gangsters of Miami as a "must read for anyone interested in an historical and colorful account of crime in the Magic City."

Ron Chepesiuk, an award-winning investigative journalist, has been described as "the master of high octane journalism." He is the author of Gangsters of Harlem and Black Gangsters of Chicago, Drug Lords, a Fulbright Scholar, an adjunct professor in the journalism department of UCLA's Extension Division and a consultant to the History Channel's Gangland documentary series. He has also been interviewed by the Biography Channel, Discovery, the History Channel, Black Entertainment Television, and NBC's Dateline.

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John Ambrose, Former U.S. Marshal, Sentenced to Prison

A deputy U.S. marshal who was convicted of leaking secret information about a mob witness was sentenced today to four years in prison — a punishment a judge said is designed to deter others in law enforcement from ever contemplating similar crimes.

The marshal, John Ambrose, sat motionless as U.S. District Court Judge John F. Grady handed down the sentence to a courtroom filled with his family, friends and onetime colleagues.

Ambrose, who was convicted in April, had sought probation. His lawyer said his client lived for his job and his conviction has likely stripped him of any future in law enforcement.

Prosecutors had recommended he spend more than six years in prison.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for Ambrose, a 41-year-old father of four, to spend between 12 and 18 months behind bars, but Grady said that wasn’t nearly enough time. “There is really no mitigating circumstance in this case as far as the evidence is concerned,” Grady said. “What we’re dealing with here is a very serious crime . . . that has virtually no likelihood of detection.”

Ambrose in 2002 and 2003 worked stints in the federal witness protection program guarding mob turncoat Nicholas Calabrese, whose testimony in 2007 helped convict several mobsters in the landmark Family Secrets trial.

Ambrose was convicted of leaking information about Calabrese to a family friend, William Guide, who had done prison time with Ambrose’s late father after their convictions in the “Marquette 10” police corruption trial in 1983. In a twist, Grady was the judge in that case.

Prosecutors have said that Guide, who was never charged with any crimes regarding the younger Ambrose’s case, had known mob ties.

Authorities linked the leaks to Ambrose based on video surveillance of two mobsters talking at a federal prison in Milan, Mich., and overhearing the words “Marquette 10.”

They also say Ambrose’s is the only security violation in the history of witness protection program.

Ambrose’s lawyer, Frank Lipuma, told Grady that his client did have talks with Guide and even “shot his mouth off,” but that “there was never any intent” to harm the program.

After court, Lipuma said he will ask that Ambrose stay out of prison pending appeal. If Grady rejects that, Ambrose is to report to prison Jan. 26.

“I think he relied a little too heavily on the deterrence factor,” Lipuma said of Grady’s sentence. “Mr. Ambrose is not sorry for what he did because what is claimed that he did has been, from day one, overstated.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk said prosecutor took no joy in sending a law enforcement officer to prison. “It’s obviously a sad day,” Funk said. “However, we want to emphasize from our perspective the judge’s sentence was fair and just.”

Thanks to Chris Fusco and Natasha Korecki

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Il Divo - A Compelling Real Life Mafia Tale

You don’t have to understand the intricacies of Italian politics to wholeheartedly enjoy Il Divo (on DVD 10/27), a fascinating and thrilling portrait of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, the film stars a superb Toni Servillo, and won the jury prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. From the moment we first meet Andreotti (for some, his nickname is “Beelzebub”), with acupuncture needles sticking out of his face, hoping to cure his headache, you’ll want to try and understand this enigmatic figure who seems to always be at the center of power, corruption, scandal, and the mafia. There’s something downright Scorsese-like about this film, from its beautiful camera work to its deft use of music. We can guarantee you’ll never think of the Trio song “Da Da Da” quite the same way again.

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Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America

An undercover, six-month penetration of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, (CAIR) by a former federal agent under the guise of converting to Islam, is the subject of a book that came out on October 15, 2009.

Author P. David Gaubatz is a trained U.S. Department-trained Arabic linguist and counterterrorism specialist who as a federal agent had the government's highest security clearance. His co-author is Paul Sperry, a media fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, a former Washington bureau chief for Investor's Daily, and author of Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington.

The allegations in the book are supported by 12,000 pages of confidential CAIR documents and hundreds of hours of video captured during the undercover operation. In Muslim Mafia, the authors claim to reveal the well-funded efforts of the Brotherhood under the nonprofit guise of CAIR to support the international jihad against the U.S.

Gaubatz writes that his son gained the trust of CAIR's inner sanctum, working undercover as a devoted convert to Islam and exposed the entire factory fueling the wave of homegrown terrorism plaguing America.

U. S. lawmakers have called for an investigation into CAIR, citing evidence that the group is attempting to infiltrate congressional offices with interns. They include Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., Rep Trent Franks, R-Ariz., John Shadegg, R-Ariz., and Paul Broun R-Ga., are calling on the Department of Justice to share with Congress an executive summary of the findings that led the FBI to officially sever ties with CAIR.

Thanks to Martha R. Gore

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The Mafia Episode on "The Office"

It seems there are two types of The Office episodes: the story-based type that takes a plot progression and sprinkles comedic jokes throughout, and then the joke-based type that uses a wafer-thin story to hold up its nonstop array of irreverent gags. "Mafia" definitely falls into the latter category. The episode delivers rapid fire doses of buffoonery from start to finish, resulting in a number of genuine laugh-out-loud moments. And on the heels of the saccharine sweet wedding special, this type of ridiculousness is just what the doctor ordered.

"Mafia" begins with probably the weakest of this season's cold openings, but there's still a giant laugh to be had out of hearing Meredith describe her son's latest disgusting prank. From there, the episode dives into its main dilemma: Michael is visited by a pushy Italian-American insurance salesman (the always enjoyable Mike Starr), and Dwight and Andy immediately convince him he has just been shook down by the mafia. Although he's typically slow to catch on, Michael eventually becomes concerned and turns to his two moronic lieutenants for advice. Andy's is simple – give in and pay the Mafioso whatever he wants. Dwight urges Michael to stand up to the mob.

With Jim and Pam off on their honeymoon, Oscar is left as the office's sole voice of reason. Or, as he puts it, "the coalition of reason is extremely weak." Not sure how to save Michael from himself and his two idiotic advisers, he calls Jim in Puerto Rico and asks how to handle the situation. Part of the fun of the episode is seeing different characters each call Jim for advice at different times, reaffirming that he's the glue that keeps the dysfunctional office together. Being on his honeymoon, he's of course not thrilled by the interruptions.

The episode's subplot also delivers some hilarious moments. With Jim away, Kevin begins sneaking into his office to break wind, and then decides to stick around and set up shop there full-time. His plan runs into a speed bump when Jim's credit card company calls and asks about all the unusual spending going on in Puerto Rico. Watching the dimwitted Kevin try to handle the situation – Brian Baughgartner's deadpan delivery is always a treat – is hysterical, and it only gets funnier when Oscar warns him of the consequences of identity fraud. In short, Kevin remarks that he wouldn't have as much fun in prison as Oscar would.

But the highpoint of the episode comes from watching Dwight, Andy and Michael try to deal with their mob problem at a sit down with the insurance salesman. For reasons I won't get into here, Andy attends the meeting dressed as a mechanic, and his attempt at deception doesn't so much blow up in his face as it does the face of an innocent mother. And Michael trying to order "gabagool" had me in stitches.

"Mafia" isn't one of the show's greatest episodes, but it is a highly enjoyable one. By the time Dwight and Andy convinced Michael to finally stand up to the pushy salesman, I realized I had been giggling practically nonstop since the episode started. It's one of those episodes that's just too silly not to love.

Thanks to Dan Phillips

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