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A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc. Audiobook
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The riveting true story of the rise and fall of Murder, Inc. and the executioner-turned-informant whose mysterious death became a turning point in Mob history.
In the fall of 1941, a momentous trial was underway that threatened to end the careers and lives of New York’s most brutal mob kingpins. The lead witness, Abe Reles, had been a trusted executioner for Murder, Inc., the enforcement arm of a coast-to-coast mob network known as the Commission. But the man responsible for coolly silencing hundreds of informants was about to become the most talkative snitch of all. In exchange for police protection, Reles was prepared to rat out his murderous friends, from Albert Anastasia to Bugsy Siegel—but before he could testify, his shattered body was discovered on a rooftop outside his heavily-guarded hotel room. Was it a botched escape, or punishment for betraying the loyalty of the country’s most powerful mobsters?
Michael Cannell's A Brotherhood Betrayed traces the history of Murder, Inc. through Reles’ rise from street punk to murder chieftain to stool pigeon, ending with his fateful death on a Coney Island rooftop. It resurrects a time when crime became organized crime: a world of money and power, depravity and corruption, street corner ambushes and elaborately choreographed hits by wise-cracking foot soldiers with names like Buggsy Goldstein and Tick Tock Tannenbaum.
For a brief moment before World War II erupted, America fixated on the delicate balance of trust and betrayal on the Brooklyn streets. This is the story of the one man who tipped the balance.
A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books
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“In the sinister history of the Mafia, hitman-turned-snitch Abe Reles is a blood-spattered Judas. Journalist Michael Cannell chronicles an odious era of real-life godfathers and the stone-cold wiseguys who executed their wishes and their enemies?and the good guys who seemed to always be one step behind. Cannell deftly untangles the disturbing drama behind one of America’s great Mafia mysteries. Mob books are never this elegant.”
— Ron Franscell, author of The Darkest Night
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“A riveting read from start to finish about notorious New York in the ‘30s and ‘40s when guns, gangsters, molls, and Murder Inc. ruled the shadowy streets and the politicians in their blood-stained pockets. Michael Cannell’s impeccable research is exceeded only by compelling writing that has the staccato impact of a Thompson machine gun.”
— Tom Clavin, author of Wild Bill -
“In the sinister history of the Mafia, hitman-turned-snitch Abe Reles is a blood-spattered Judas. Journalist Michael Cannell chronicles an odious era of real-life godfathers and the stone-cold wiseguys who executed their wishes and their enemies―and the good guys who seemed to always be one step behind. Cannell deftly untangles the disturbing drama behind one of America’s great Mafia mysteries. Mob books are never this elegant.”
— Ron Franscell, author of The Darkest Night
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About Michael Cannell
Michael Cannell has written for the New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and many other publications. He was editor for The New York Times for seven years. His book, The Limit, was published by The Twelve in 2012. The Limit is now in development as a Sundance/AMC series.
About Gary Galone
Gary Galone comes to audiobooks as an actor, having been in the Screen Actors Guild for twenty-five years. His television credits include The Americans and the ABC/Hallmark movie The Makeover. In addition, he has performed in numerous voice-over projects. Galone resides in Massachusetts with his wife and their three daughters.