Matt Birkbeck

While undoubtedly a fascinating and overlooked figure, the untold story of Russell Bufalino largely remains untold, only a little less so. There is more than enough quality content in the book to make it a worth while read, however, it seems the content should have been repackaged as the telling of the impact organized crime has had on Pennsylvania, with Bufalino as a focal point.

It is perhaps a testament to the gangster's ability to remain tight lipped and in the shadows, that the author seemed to struggle to compile an entire book on the man. The book pivots from the early days of organized crime in Pennsylvania, to a recent scandal involving a prominent Bufalino connected businessman (Louis DeNaples)and the politics around him, to Bufalino's story itself.

While the author does a good enough job of breaking down who Bufalino was and how he rose to prominence, there is not enough to fill an entire book, and the flipping between Bufalino's story and the modern day trials and tribulations of DeNaples is random and breaks up the flow of the book.

There were several areas I found to be problematic. The first was the author's insertion of various reports and trial transcripts, which go on for pages at a time. While it is great to have a historical document, I don't think anyone really benefits from reading three pages of Bufalino pleading the fifth. It just comes across as filler after a point. The second was the reliance on "I Heard You Paint Houses". Much of what Frank Sheeran claims has been derided as straight lies or vast exaggerations. Given Sheeran's relationship with Bufalino, it is understandable Brandt's book would be referenced, but Birkbeck passes along Sheeran's version of events with no disclaimer or other heads up as to the veracity of what Sheeran claims.

The other qualm I had was the author makes grand claims and then drops the subject. The most glaring example of this was when he asserted Bufalino was running three crime families at once (his own, the Magaddino and the Genovese families). This is a fascinating and huge claim, but then dropped (and with little to support it).

These factors aside, I think the author did a well enough job with the resources available to him; there is a enough quality content to make this a strong book, but with a different format.… (mer)