FOR THE SINS OF MY FATHER: A MAFIA KILLER, HIS SON, AND THE LEGACY OF A MOB LIFE

The alleged fixing of Olympic ice dancing? Is that what it’s come to? For Mafia aficionados, it’s been slim pickings of late — and Albert DeMeo’s entry doesn’t help much. The author’s father was Roy DeMeo, a member of the Gambino crime family who murdered wiseguys, shook down businessmen, and masterminded the most successful car-theft ring in New York City history. In 1983 he was executed in the trunk of his Cadillac, leaving his 17-year-old son to care for the family and fend off both the feds and vengeful hoods. Some of DeMeo’s ”growing up mob” stories are chilling — particularly his account of Dad’s ”test” to see if he could kill an intruder — but the writing is sloppy and largely devoid of insight; Sins feels like something Anthony Jr. would pen in his journal.

Related Articles