Accardo : The Genuine Godfather

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Story Of A Model Godfather.
Review: After reading roemers bio of "spilotro" i was a little dubious about roemers litera- cey skills.But after a few chapters i couldnt put it down.Roemers research is absolutely phenominal and how he captures the ambience of the old chicago town is quite wonderfull.This book covers nearly a century of chicago organized crime and all the major players from capone right up to the mid nineties are here.His description of Tony Accardo couldnt be more nailed on, and after reading about this unique godfather you realise just how useless some of the modern todays lcn bosses really are when this guy who died at the grand old age of 86 never spent one night in jail as more and more of his people were falling from grace all ove america he continued to stand tall and pul the strings.If you are getting tired of reading about the new york families then read this you will not be dissapointed.r

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Summary: The Information is There, I Guess . . .
Review: As a Chicagoland native and budding fan of "Outfit" stories, I was anxious to learn all I could about "Joe Batters". This book does deliver information I didn't already have, but don't let the page count fool you. Roemer pads this book with all kinds of extraneous stuff, and wanders in his narrative. He has no idea how to organize information, and this book seems to be no more than a rough draft. Roemer claims to be impartial, but opinion drips from every sentence. He can never let the evidence speak for itself. He always has to comment on it. If you're expecting nothing more than one man's war stories of his time in the FBI, then this book will not disappoint, but this is not the omnibus of Accardo information that I was hoping for.

Rating:
Summary: Tony Accardo was the real "Godfather"
Review: I grew up in the Chicago area, and I would hear Tony Accardo's name in the news from time to time, so when I found this book I was interested in knowing about the man that I heard about. Roemer a former FBI agent in Chicago , dealt with Accardo and the whole Outfit in Chicago. Roemer has given us a novel that gives us some insight in the the life of Accardo from being a bodyguard for Al Capone to his rise of the boss of the Outfit. It is a good read, but Accardo was a mobster who never spent a night in jail, and avoided the limelight, so how much is really known about him? Accardo wasn't a fool that is why he stayed at the top for so long and watched the others who came after him such as Sam Giancanna, be more flamboyant and go down the tubes. The book shows him to be a fair person, but it also shows us how he could resort to violence and order killings when he thought they were necessary. I feel if you are a fan of organized crime books, this is a must for you to read, and it will be a welcome change of pace than reading another book about some New York family

Rating:
Summary: A few errors
Review: I think the main problem I had with this book was the numerous factual errors in it. I could forgive his overstating Accardo's importance to Chicago organized crime (Its a well known fact among most real crime historians that Accardo spent most of his time as the Waiters front boss) because all biographers tend to do that. But when he states things like Joe Profaci and Joe Columbo being bosses on the commission and showing up at a 1961 wedding when Columbo was an eventual herir to Profaci's family can't be forgiven. Things like that make you wonder if the author knew anything at all.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: its an interesting book. i liked it so much that i read it four times and encouraged others to read it as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book about chicago mob other than Capone era
Review: Most people think of Al Capone when they hear of the chicago mob, but his stint as boss wasn't as nearly encompassing as tony accordo's. Really never heard of Accordo until this book..he kept out of limelight..something Giancana nor Capone could do..probaly the reason why Accordo never spent a night in jail. He was boss twice in the fifties and again later on in the early 70's, but was always the person with the last say in importent decisions until his death in 1992( acting as consigliere). He was a bodyguard of Capone and became the boss after Ricca went to prison in the 40's..what would follow would be the most suscessful era for the outfit. This book goes into the bugging of one of Giacana's places( not legal at the time), but brought in a lot information about the outfit's activities. It also covers many famous gangland hits..roemer believes accordo was a gunman in the St Valentines Day massacare..he got his nickname ..joe batters because he beat two of Capone's rivals to death with a baseball bat( aka Joe Batters). It also goes into how ruthles this guy could be..i.e the robbers who knocked over his place and their fate at the start of this book. Overall, a good book if you want to read something other than the norm.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: One of the best books i've ever had the pleasure to read.Maybe even the best.The book brings you into a sometimes violent world.With a true life GodFather with absolute power.Who once was a bodyguard for Al Capone and went up in the ranks.Who believed in his on brand honor and respect.And who was lucky enough to never stay in jail over night.

Rating:
Summary: Overall decent
Review: Roemer rambles too often and digresses from the subject a little too much for my liking, but, the story he delivers is solid and consistent. If he would just drop the justifications for previous FBI blunders in the field of organized crime, and if he would allow a professional to edit his book, then it would be a near- five-star effort. A good read nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: this guy was the godfather
Review: Tony Accardo was the most successful mob boss of all time.At the top for 48 years!To put that in perspective Al Capone was boss for 5 years(1925-30)and John Gotti from 1985 to his death in 2002,but more than half of that he was in jail.Accardo did it all,from young apprentice of Capone favorite "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn to shooter in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre(according to Accardo's and Murray Humphrey's secretly recorded conversations in the 1950's and 60's)to Las Vegas kingpin to running the infamous Teamster's union(bet Accardo could tell you what happened to Jimmy Hoffa).This guy was responsible for literally hundreds of deaths,many of them very brutal,but reigned almost completely free from police interference save a few nuisance i.r.s. cases and congressional hearings.As others write,Roemer has a rather scattershot way of writing(it's even worse if you've read his other books as he likes to repeat his stories)but almost all info(except his Notre Dame mentions and his extreme love of God)is mob related and ain't that what you're here for?Some people find that there wasn't enough Accardo personal info but so what.What's there to wonder about?Did Accardo love his wife and kids?Did he kick his dog?Who cares.The guy was the mobster of mobsters and his criminal life is well documented and that's all that matters to me.I guess there is one story in the book that gives you a look into Tony Accardo' soul.His close friend of 40 years(the guy wasn't a mobster,he was the Accardo house caretaker)gave testimony in front of a grand jury and disappeared off the face of the earth days later.How's that for knowing Tony personally?

Rating:
Summary: Almost there, but not quite.
Review: When I saw there was a book about Accardo I rushed right out and got it. Accardo was a man I had great interest in, yet knew little about. I must give Roemer credit once again for another well researched mafia book. But sorry, on this one he falls a little short of the mark. Despite the fact he repeats alot of what he's said in his other books it's still an enlightening book about a very intelligent, very powerful and very cunning mobster. But because Tony Accardo was so damn good at keeping out of the lime light (the FBI's that is) in the end we don't know much about him at all. It is a shame and I don't blame Roemer for it, but rather give credit to Accardo for being one of the few mobsters we will never know much about. e.g. Gambino, Frankie La Porte, Funzi Tieri. But still it's a good read, as are Roemers other books and if you need a break from all the New York stories read about the Chicago Outfit. Which I belive will last longer under pressure from the law than any other Family in the US. GOOD STUFF