Rating: 
Summary: great mix of the mob and wall street
Review: a great read if you are at all interested in the mob - well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: AN INCREDIBLE STORY, COMPELLINGLY READ
Review: Even the most inventive fiction meister would be hard pressed to come up with a tale as astounding as this true story. In this reading movie and television actor Frank Whaley literally becomes the protagonist, a cocky young man from Staten Island.
The young man previously noted is Louis Pasciuto, a former gas station attendant, who built a fortune by bilking the credulous. He talked fast, lived fast, and eventually lost big time. In 1992 Louis appeared on Wall Street to become part of a "chop house," an unsavory brokerage firm overseen by a Mafia boss. He trafficked in worthless and nonexistent stocks, cramming his hefty earnings into a mayonnaise jar. Then, just when Louis feels indestructible, on top of the world, mobster Charlie Ricottone wants a part of the take. It's not too long before Louis is caught in a vise - blood thirsty, money hungry Charlie on one side and the FBI on the other. In exchange for the Witness Protection Program Louis joined the good guys. An incredible story, compellingly read. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: AN INCREDIBLE STORY, COMPELLINGLY READ
Review: Even the most inventive fiction meister would be hard pressed to come up with a tale as astounding as this true story. In this reading movie and television actor Frank Whaley literally becomes the protagonist, a cocky young man from Staten Island.
The young man previously noted is Louis Pasciuto, a former gas station attendant, who built a fortune by bilking the credulous. He talked fast, lived fast, and eventually lost big time. In 1992 Louis appeared on Wall Street to become part of a "chop house," an unsavory brokerage firm overseen by a Mafia boss. He trafficked in worthless and nonexistent stocks, cramming his hefty earnings into a mayonnaise jar. Then, just when Louis feels indestructible, on top of the world, mobster Charlie Ricottone wants a part of the take. It's not too long before Louis is caught in a vise - blood thirsty, money hungry Charlie on one side and the FBI on the other. In exchange for the Witness Protection Program Louis joined the good guys. An incredible story, compellingly read. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read about the Mafia or Wall Street!
Review: Good gawd, this is the best book I have read in a long time--and definitely the best book I've ever read about the Mafia or Wall Street. It is funnier and more knowing than Liar's Poker, and much more disturbing than any of the James Stewart books I have ever read. And it is a cut above any book I have ever read about the Mob--thrilling and funny at the same time. I read this book in two sittings--I absolutely could not put it down. Weiss takes the reader through the netherworld of the Mafia and Wall Street with a sure hand, as he tells the story of a young broker who becomes a tool of the Mob. It is reminiscent of the story that Nick Pileggi told in Wise Guy or the movie Goodfellas, but with considerably more humor and with a more entrancing style. At times I laughed out loud! One of the startling revelations of this book is its description of how New York celebrities and sports figures, Jets players and cast members of the Howard Stern show, benefitted from stock scams at the expense of the small investors ... The book also indicates that there is corruption among regulators. Surprising this book's revelations weren't mentioned in a recent Times review--I found them stunning. Born to Steal's portrayal of Wall Street is dead-on and frightening. What is most intriguing is how the two worlds collide. The Mafia and Wall Street have much the same values and, in some cases, personnel. The book also paints a picture of the Mob in decline--gangsters who walk into jail almost willingly, as a result of their own blindness and stupidity. Its portrayal of a declining Mob is reminiscent of Donnie Brasco, but with less violence and more humor. Born to Steal is a winner!
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been shorter
Review: Good read, though could have been better. Middle tends to drag on. I would have liked more on how Louis milked these idiots, I mean people out of their money. I guess these would be the same people that buy stuff off of late night info-mercials. First rule of investing is there are no guarantees, so when someone tells you it's guaranteed, walk away.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating tale of the Mob in decline
Review: I have read just about every book that there is on organized crime, and I have also read my share of Wall Street books. Let me tell you, this one is right up there with the very best of the Mob genre--Wise Guys and the Valachi Papers--but with a searing wit that reminds me of Liar's Poker.
I bought this book after seeing its subject, Lou Pasciuto, featured on the ABC News show 20/20. Let me tell you, the story was if anything better than I had expected from watching that show. This is a really outstanding, superbly written book about a young kid from Staten Island who becomes an moneymaker for the Mob on Wall Street.
I read it on one sitting. This book grabs you in the beginning, when Pasciuto is sitting in prison, mulling over the shambles of his life. The book then reverts to a flashback in the best film noir style, recounting his early upbringing in a shabby but honest family. He was constantly the subject of attention as a small boy, and perhaps because of that incipient narcissism he became a thief at an early age--hence the title.
We follow Pasciuto in his first job, at a very well known boiler room called Hanover Sterling. This brings me to another aspect of the book that I think needs to be mentioned. Unlike the few other books that have explored the shady side of Wall Street, this book names names. We get the actual bad guys and the names of the actual brokerage houses. That gives this book an authority and credibility that adds to the excitement.
After Hanover, Pasciuto rises very rapidly and is running his own crews of brokers while still a teenager--before he can go into a bar and drink, as the author Weiss points out. He makes thousands of dollars a week and his life is a whirl of sex, drugs and trips to South Beach.
Along the way he becomes the favorite broker for sports figures and cast members of the Howard Stern Show, particularly "Stuttering John," who was really in with that crowd.
But then he meets his nemesis, a crude gangster named Charlie, and it his downfall begins. Louis is married to his girlfriend, in a wedding scene straight from the Godfather, and it is downhill from there.
Along the way he meets a who's who of characters from the Mob, from half-assed wiseguys in Staten Island to doddering old fools like Sonny Franzese. That this where this book really shines. It is the best portrayal of the present-day Mob--the Mob of today, not the 1990s--that I have been able to get my hands on.
The tale of Louis' rise and fall is filled with humor, excitement and tragedy, and it is told in a humorous and accessible fashion that is really a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Funny as hell
Review: I laughed out loud reading this book, which is a really exciting read as well. This book reminds me a lot of the Scott Turow books, but it doesn't take itself, or its cast of characters, quite as seriously. Even so, this book gets into the mind of the criminal better any I have ever read, as is as good a tour of Wall Street--and the Mob--as I am sure I will ever find.
Rating:
Summary: An unpleasant but interesting story
Review: I think this book is worth a read, but I have several caveats that make it impossible to give "Born to Steal" five stars: 1. The protagonist, Louis, is a really scummy person. No, he isn't a murderer or a serial rapist, but he is : a. swindler of the first magnitude
b. compulsive gambler
c. binge drinker
d. serial liar
e. drug abuser
f. someone who expresses contempt for anyone who tries to lead a decent life
g. "earner" for the mafia 2. I'm only up to page 170 or so, but I've yet to encounter one "good" person in this story. They're all either like Louis, marks for his con games, or oblivious to the evil that he does. 3. The author doesn't do much to humanize the victims of the stock swindles Louis commits. When they appear at all, we see them in Louis's eyes (in other words as suckers). Now, I suppose Louis robbed mostly from the rich who should have known better, but you can't tell me that some of his depredations destroyed lives of people who couldn't afford to lose the money that he stole from them. I wonder how many businesses failed, marriages broke up, and suicides were committed because of the ruin Louis caused. 4. The book is not very well documented. I know the author has a first rate reputation, but I found myself wondering if Louis was lying to him as well. I think the best thing about this book is that it has made me profoundly reluctant to ever invest in "stocks" because some fast-talking guy calls me up with a sure thing (not that I ever did before).
Rating:
Summary: Could have been shorter
Review: I was just going to skim this book because I wasn't sure I was interested in the topic. Before I knew it, I was more than half-way through it. This compellingly readable expose of Wall Street and the role of the Mafia is shuddering. The naivete of the "hicks" who bought non-existent or worthless stocks is a real eye-opener. I wonder now if the incredible rise of the stock market in the late 90's was all a myth based on scams, lies, and outright stealing by bullies who wouldn't know a legitimate stock if it hit them over the head. Every market investor needs to read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put this down!
Review: I was just going to skim this book because I wasn't sure I was interested in the topic. Before I knew it, I was more than half-way through it. This compellingly readable expose of Wall Street and the role of the Mafia is shuddering. The naivete of the "hicks" who bought non-existent or worthless stocks is a real eye-opener. I wonder now if the incredible rise of the stock market in the late 90's was all a myth based on scams, lies, and outright stealing by bullies who wouldn't know a legitimate stock if it hit them over the head. Every market investor needs to read this book.
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