The Last Gangster

As a hustler and former dirty cop from South Jersey, Ron Previte was one day solicited by the FBI to work undercover in helping them take down the new and unimproved Philly Mafia family in the middle of a violent power struggle. Joe Merlino, aka Skinny Joey, was the young and flashy South Philly wiseguy on the make and John Stanfa was the old school, Sicilian-bred boss chosen by the New York Commission to bring the troubled family in the city of brotherly love back together. 'The Last Gangster' is a very entertaining book well written by the legendary George Anastasia but if you've read [[ASIN:0062009338 The Goodfella Tapes]] you'll be very familiar with the details of the mob war. Besides Previte, the main difference here is one Ralph Natale, a sleazy and bumbling ex-con who quickly takes the reign of the family after his prison release. The at-times unbelievable and hilariously dark slice of American crime works well in a book, especially when penned by Anastasia.

This book is a continuation of sorts by the author George Anastasia. He wrote the fantastic Blood and Honor and the Goodfella Tapes along with Mob Father, all dealing with the Philly Mob. This one revolves around a small time hustler named Ron Previte who latches on to the South Philly Mob after bouncing through various scams. He becomes an informant merely as a backup plan to save himself from eventual prison but ends up recording South Philly boss Joey Merlino and others before he is pulled from the streets. Though Previte has a ridiculous view of his own importance and martyrdom as a criminal, he and Anastasia tell an entertaining and fascinating story about the modern mafia. Some are down to hawking ceiling fans and coolers at bodegas to make ends meet. The stories range all the way down to his running a whore house which doesn't make any money, selling drugs with other lowlifes, and his fat rear end trading blow for sex. Absolutely a must read.

The Last Gangster is the story of Ron Previte and the Philadelphia mob, written by local crime reporter George Anastasia. It's a good chronicle of the circus-like happenings in the Philly LCN from the late 80s through the 90s, when the entire operation collapsed.

Previte's story is certainly unique, he being a former gangster-turned government witness whose real criminal education actually began in law enforcement(!) Violating one of the oldest (and easiest to understand) LCN rules, Previate was alowed into the family after having served on the Philly PD. Developing his criminal-minded, scheming chops as a cop, Previte was eventually able to earn tremendous amounts of money (like all mob rats who write books, he made several jillion dollars) and come to the attention of "made" guys. Of course, like any of these stories, one has to a) expect that there's plenty of boasting about the amount of money the guy made, b) how incredibly brilliant he really was (compared to what he thinks of himself), and c) question if such a character can ever really change. Previte at least doesn't come off as too self-righteous, and even though he's out of "the life"...I highly doubt he's become a model Boy Scout since.

This is not a flattering portrait of the Philly LCN in the 90s...but given the history of this clan, I don't see how a flattering portrait coud be painted. Following the rule of Nicky Scarfo, the family fell into disarray with "young turks" battling the old guard (headed by Sicilian-born boss John Stanfa) for total control in a rare shooting war on the streets in the early-to-mid 90s. When the smoke cleared, flashy wiseguy "Skinny Joe" Merlino emerged as the leader, and Stanfa was given a 1,000-year vacation courtesy of the government. In a bizarre scenario, Merline made himself the "boss" while having a figurhead "boss" named Ralph Natale out there. Natale eventually became a rat himself. All in all, it seems like a fairly small core of guys rotating in and out of prison.

Would be very interesting to read a follow-up, since the years following the Merlino era were stable and quiet until very recently.

George Anastasia tells the story of Ron Previte, a South New Jersey native who managed to be as corrupt as anyone could image. Previte contributes this to the fact that he is ancestered from hillbilly sicillians from the mountains of Sicily who earned the phrase "There are two things Sicilians love their money and their children, and they love their children very, very much." Previte an Air Force vet, father of two (or more), and a former cop grew up surrounded by mobsters in southern New Jersey. He can recall his grandmother, a midwife being forced by local mobsters to give their girlfreinds abortions. He once found her out in the back yard crying and asked why to hear her reply, "Grandma can hear the babies crying, she can hear all the baby's crying," As a cop him and his partner did anything for money from stealing to blackmailing a pedophile who was molesting his nephew to turn around a call the boy's mother saying "You don't know me but..." When Big Ron got bounced by the Philly PD, he ran a hotel casino in Atlantic City's vice from drug dealing, stealing rooms, running betting pools, and allowing prostitutes to apply their trade for a cut of the action or servicing him. When that ended he became an informer for the NJSP, giving them knowledge on mobsters who introduced him to the FBI and he goes to work on the Philly mob. He wore a wire amongst them and caused them after years of bloody strife to self-destruct. A worthy read.

The inside cover has a quote by Ron Previte,a US Air Force veteran,father of 2(or more?)and a Philly mob member who wore a wire for the FBI.Previte says in regard to to Philly mob,"It's over.You'd have to be Ray Charles not to see it"!After reading this book you would have to agree that the Italian Philly mob has definitely suffered a dumbing down in the gene pool.There are actually comical parts in the book where Previte,while wearing his FBI microphone obseves that it has slid down his pants leg and is in plain view of the mobsters he's taping.With his intelligence and his sense of humor he covers the mic before anyone notices then goes about taping some more as if nothing happened!
Previte comes off as a jolly Santa-Claus type figure laughing about the ridiculousness of his police informer status but well aware that his life is at risk every moment. I could see how some of Previte's mob associates would claim that Previte "entrapped"them but that's a hard case to prove when it comes to a criminal organization like LCN. There is a chapter where Previte compares the mafia of old to the new generation of LCN. It seems the mafia of old was smart businessmen who used assasinations sparingly.According to Previte's book,the new Mafia hiearchy is small time street hustlers in designer clothes who use murder as part of a "macho" type policy.The book contains a history of the Philly mob from homocide godfathers like Nicky Scarfo to the more recent ones.Like Ron says,"It's Over"!At least let's hope he's right.By the way you might like Previte's style but I would have to advise to keep a distance from him,the farther the better.Like a "Don't Feed the Bears" type distance.But you can still gaze in awe.In short, it appears that since the government is involved now in "legalized" gambling the Mafia is out of business.Too bad it took so long.Any "vice" industry that the government outlaws,the mob picks up and makes millions.The best way to stop the mob is to legalize "vice" industries then regulate them?

Ex-cop Ron Previte gives you insight inside the Joey Merlino/Ralph Natale edition of the Philly mob. If you have read BLOOD AND HONOR or BLOOD OATH, then this book will come up waaaaaaay short. If you need to kill some time, read it. If not, try another book.

Book was very good. It is well written and the facts are accurate. George Anastasia is one of the best authors when it comes to mafia. The Philadelphia family of LCN was always a mess & this book shows a few f the reason why. I recommend this book. The fat rat has good story telling abilities & that’s who the book is primarily about.

Great book

Great book for the value

Okay book.