Press Release: New Publications
Mafia Son By Sandra Harmon
Posted at 2:55PM Friday 03 Jul 2009
MAFIA SONThe Scarpa Mob Family, The FBI, and a Story of Betrayal SANDRA HARMON PUBLICATION DATE: 2 JULY 2009 £11.99 Paperback Original ISBN 978-184831-091-9 'A tense, penetrating psychological portrait of the Wiseguy who went right and paid the price. A true thriller.' Robert Graysmith, Author of Zodiac and Auto-Focus Gregory Scarpa Sr. was a mob leader so ruthless he was nicknamed "The Grim Reaper" in Mafia circles and labelled a sociopath by the authorities. He was also an FBI informant for thirty years, working intimately with the government and helping to solve cases with his own brand of violent brutality. His role as mystery informer in the Mississippi Three case, one of the most volatile Civil Rights trials of the 1960s, resulted in the FBI awarding him special leniency in his illegal dealings. He had become that rare, chilling, and powerful monster: the Godfather with an FBI license to kill. MAFIA SON is the astonishing story of Gregory Scarpa Jr., the son moulded into a mobster and then betrayed to the FBI by his murderous father. Our fascination with the glamorous amorality of the Mafia lifestyle is still reflected in the massive popularity of The Sopranos and true crime stories, such as Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. More recently, Misha Glenny's bestseller book McMafia caught the public's imagination with its thorough investigation of the politics and mechanics of organised crime. MAFIA SON follows in the vein of these hit exposés as author Sandra Harmon, the trusted confidante of the incarcerated Scarpa Jr., uses her unique access to both FBI and Mafia figures to lift the lid on the inner workings of one of the most powerful mob families in organised crime history. Whilst MAFIA SON looks back over the vicious reign of Gregory Scarpa Sr., what makes Harmon's exposé so important is her focus on Scarpa Jr.'s more recent and, as yet, untold encounters with the terrorist network, Al Qaeda. It is 1998, and, betrayed by his father, Scarpa Jr. finds himself imprisoned in a cell alongside the deadly Al Qaeda terrorist, Ramzi Yousef. Befriending Yousef, Scarpa Jr. manages to extract vital intelligence that details chilling plans for a large-scale terrorist attack that would ultimately be carried out on September 11th, 2001. But the FBI ignores his warnings, bury the intel, and sentence Scarpa Jr. to forty more years in a maximum security penitentiary. In MAFIA SON, Sandra Harmon uses Scarpa Jr.'s unforgettable tale of family betrayal and governmental conspiracy to chart the evolution of the criminal underworld from the unrepentant violence of the Mafia in the 1970s to the terrifying cold-bloodedness of the 9/11 attacks. MAFIA SON traces the rise and fall of the mob scene in the twin stories of father and son whose secret but essential involvement in some of key moments of American history has helped shape the nation today, from the sensational trial that brought about the Civil Rights Movement, to the devastating attacks that prompted America's War on Terrorism. SANDRA HARMON is the author of several bestselling books, including Elvis and Me, which she co-authored with Priscilla Presley. For MAFIA SON, Harmon was granted intimate access to the principals of the book, access that eventually got her subpoenaed in the highly publicised, Lindley DeVecchio trials on which scenes from The Sopranos is based. The author lives in New York and film rights are currently being negotiated. www.mafiason.com For further information, please contact Najma Finlay, Head of Publicity, Icon Books (najma.finlay@iconbooks.co.uk/ D/L 020 7700 9962) Notes to Editors •Icon Books was founded in 1991 and is a publisher of popular, intelligent trade non-fiction •Icon is a member of the Independent Alliance •More information at www.iconbooks.co.uk
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