Choices: You Make 'em You Own 'em: The Jerry Tillinghast Story

The worst mob books are byxa0ex-mobsters, trying to justify their existence as rats. In 'Choices,' retired New England mob enforcer Jerry Tillinghast had the good sense to wait until all his former colleagues were dead..." - Mark Ebner, New York Times bestselling crime writer EDITORIAL: CHOICES: YOU MAKExa0 'EM,YOU OWNxa0 'EM"Listen, it ain't the Sopranos or Goodfellas. The image most people have about organized crime is bulls....It's not about loyalty.It's not about honor.xa0It's not about the family.It's about greed and treachery and manipulation. It tears the real family apart for the sake of a false one.My family paid a big price for being associated with that life. We all had to find our own way to cope .I lived it. It wasn't anything like TV or the movies.Anybody who thinks differently never spent a moment in my world."GERALDxa0 M. TILLINGHAST, JR.Thus, spoke the son of the main character, Gerald(Jerry) M. Tillinghastxa0 of this non- fictionxa0 book. The sonxa0 shows considerably more insight into the harm done to his siblings than his father does.xa0 This book is a dead-on portrayal of a mob figure who, like some of his counterparts, justify their actions in memoirs and who merely mouth their "apology"xa0 for their actions. In fact, while the senior, Mr.Tillinghast avers that he is telling his story with honestyxa0 and to set the record straight,xa0 he neglects to acknowledge whether he was an "enforcer" forxa0 the New England mob (which he most assuredly was) or whether he really was guilty of the crimes for which he was found not guilty.CHOICES should be read by folks who like mob related books. Author, Joe Broadmeadow, has done a fine job of letting Mr. Tillinghast tell his talexa0 and Broadmeadow resistsxa0 the temptation to assert himself into the narrative. The book is an easy read but a troublesome one given its rationalizations. Former Attorney General Arlene Violet Author, THE MOB AND ME Joe Broadmeadow retired with the rank of Captain from the East Providence, Rhode Island Police Department after twenty years. Assigned to various divisions within the department including Commander of Investigative Services, he also worked in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and on special assignment to the FBI Drug Task Force.Collision Course and Silenced Justice, Joe's first two novels, are from the highly-acclaimed Josh Williams series. The books continue to garner rave reviews and are available in print, Kindle, and audio format.In addition to crime novels, Joe is developing a series of YA Fiction. The first, Saving the Last Dragon, is available in Kindle, print, and audio versions. The next book in the series, Raising the Last Dragon, is in development.Joe also writes for two blogs, The Writing of Joe Broadmeadow (joebroadmeadowblog.wordpress.com) and The Heretic and the Holy Man (thehereticandtheholyman.wordpress.com)When Joe is not writing, he is hiking or fishing (and thinking about writing). Joe completed a 2,185-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in September 2014. After completing the trail, Joe published a short story, Spirit of the Trail, available on Amazon.com in Kindle format.xa0Joe lives in Lincoln, RI with his wife Susan.