The Cigar, Michael Benson
The Cigar, Michael Benson
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The Cigar
Carmine Galante, Mafia Terror

Author: Michael Benson, Frank Dimatteo

Narrator: Eric Jason Martin

Unabridged: 9 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/28/2023

Synopsis

The son of Sicilian immigrants, Camillo Carmine Galante was raised in Manhattan's Little Italy and by all accounts born bad. By fifteen he was terrorizing the streets of New York's Lower East Side, scoring high marks for the "errands" he was running for his La Cosa Nostra elders. When he turned twenty, Galante was already one of the mob's top enforcers­—a sadistic thrill killer and clinically diagnosed psychopath with big dreams: whack his way into controlling organized crime the world over, vowing to kill Mafia chieftans Tommy Lucchese and Carlo Gambino and take control of their mob families.

Carmine "Lilo" Galante's rise to Mafia star was infamous: hit man for the Luciano and Genovese crime families; named consigliere by Joseph Bonnano; he wiped out eight members of the Gambinos; on behalf of Mussolini he assassinated the publisher of an anti-Fascist newspaper. Galante helped orchestrate one of the largest heroin trafficking operations on record—a power move too dangerous for his rivals in the narcotics trade. The heads of the five New York families decided that the psychotic Galante had to be stopped. On July 12, 1979, finishing his lunch in a Brooklyn restaurant, Galante got what he'd dished out his whole life: a shotgun blast to the face, his trademark cigar still clenched in his teeth . . .

About Michael Benson

Michael Benson is the author of more than sixty books, including the nonfiction history and crime titles Gangsters vs Nazis, Betrayal in Blood, Killer Twins, Mommy Deadliest, Who's Who in the JFK Assassination, and The Devil at Genesee Junction. He is the coauthor, along with Frank Dimatteo, of the acclaimed American Mafia history books Carmine the Snake, Mafia Hit Man, and Lord High Executioner. He regularly appears on ID: Investigation Discovery channel and is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award. Benson lives in New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Grace

Carmine (Carmillo) “The Cigar” Galante was said to have been born troubled and continued this worsening trend throughout his life. Already in juvenile detention at the age of ten years old, he was “the terror of the East Side” as a runner for members of organized crime. At twenty, he was already a m......more

Goodreads review by Christina Faris

This is the story of Carmine Galante, the terrorizing boss whose catch phrase was “I rule everything”. He was called a “sadistic thrill killer”, a psychopath and “the biggest dope peddler in the country” - always seen with a cigar in his mouth. In 1979, in a restaurant in Brooklyn, Galante got what......more

Goodreads review by Blake

If you are into mob stuff….this is your book. It gives a very well documented perspective on one of the most famous mob bosses in us history. The dude sucked......more

Goodreads review by Max

I read a lot of books about organized crime. I knew bits and pieces about Galante, but I never knew the presence and reputation he had. I really enjoy nonfiction that feels like a conversation. I love the little quips sprinkled through out. It makes all the murder a little more palatable. I was exci......more

Goodreads review by Walt

This book offers distinct lessons in writing good, bad, and ugly. It is very unique in that it looks like there are two very distinct authors writing parallel stories, but not talking to one-another. At points the narratives become mutually exclusive. Both vantage points are good in their own ways.......more

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