Joe Silvestri was a tough kid from the mean streets of New York. He went from street brawler to wearing a tux at the glamorous Copacabana. He eventually provided “muscle” for the Mob, a highly respected and feared fixer—the guy you went to if you had a problem that needed to be resolved. He followed Mob protocol when having a sit down with an adversary: You never break bread with the enemy. Award-winning Mob author Dennis Griffin joins forces … [Read more...]
SHOTS IN THE DARK: The Saga Of Rocco Balliro
On a cold, winter's night in early 1963, mob enforcer Rocco Anthony Balliro and a pair of associates stormed a darkened apartment on the outskirts of Boston and engaged in a fierce gun battle with several assailants (police officers, it turned out) waiting in ambush for the ex-convict and recent prison escapee. In the aftermath, a young woman and her toddler son lay dead. The story of Rocco Balliro, a petty criminal and enforcer for New England … [Read more...]