Double Deal

From Barnes & Noble

In 1992, Michael Corbitt's Double Cross catapulted onto bestseller lists with its insider revelations about organized crime, mobster feuds, and tainted cops. Corbitt's gut-wrenching memoir of his double life as a police chief and a gangster brought him headlines, sales, and an attempted hit ordered by an outraged wise guy. But it did leave some questions unanswered: Who killed Sam Giancana? Who was his successor? And, not least, what has happened to Corbitt and the Mob since he blew the whistle on his former buddies? Double Deal provides the answers and offers a public indictment of shadowy forces operating at home and abroad.

Publishers Weekly

This is a fast-paced inside look at the workings of the Chicago-based organized crime syndicate and its national and international dealings, by a highly decorated former Illinois police officer who spent his entire law enforcement career working for the Mob. Co-author Giancana covered much of the same territory in Double Cross, his bestselling look at the U.S. Mafia, but here his obvious model is Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy, the classic insider look at the New York crime world through the words of ex-mobster Henry Hill. Surprisingly, Corbitt's story compares favorably to that earlier classic true crime tale as he narrates his rise from the ranks of an average Chicago gang to being a player with the likes of Sam "Momo" Giancana (his co-author's uncle) and Tony Accardo-perhaps the two most important figures in the history of post-WWII Chicago crime. Giancana captures Corbitt's eye for the sleazy details of Mob life, such as the time he sees "half a million in loose diamonds" wrapped in a brown paper bag on the front seat of Momo's car, "looking like a ham sandwich." But the heart of the book is Corbitt's description of the mysterious figure of Hy Larner, who, along with Meyer Lansky, controlled organized crime in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s. Corbitt's first-hand accounts of Larner's dealings with shady figures like Lansky, the Shah of Iran and Manuel Noriega, as well as with agents of the Israeli government, the Mossad and the CIA, provide some new evidence of the extent of organized crime's involvement with the government. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

These compelling memoirs give readers a window into the Chicago-area mob from the late 1950s to the 1980s. Well written in Corbitt's own voice, the book details his beginnings with the mob as a teenager in an appliance repair shop that was a front for various mob-related operations. Working his way up, he eventually became a police officer at the request of mob boss Sam Giancana (godfather of coauthor Sam Giancana). On the mob's payroll, Corbitt worked his way through the ranks to police chief. In 1989, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and of refusing to testify against the mob. While he was in prison, the FBI eventually convinced Corbitt that he had been betrayed by the mob, so he agreed to tell them what he knew. However, the FBI would not continue the investigation. Angry and bitter, Corbitt then resolved to take his revenge on those who betrayed him by telling his story in this frank and enjoyable book. Recommended for medium to large public libraries, especially those in the Chicago area. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/02.]-Sarah Jent, Univ. of Louisville, KY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Gus Russo

"Important …Provocative in its implications… Much to grapple with here…[A] world...never before written about."