Preview
  • Family Secrets

  • The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob
  • By: Jeff Coen
  • Narrated by: Matthew Boston
  • Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (117 ratings)

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Family Secrets

By: Jeff Coen
Narrated by: Matthew Boston
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Publisher's summary

Even in Chicago, a city steeped in mob history and legend, the Family Secrets case was a true spectacle when it made it to court in 2007. A top mob boss, a reputed consigliere, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Painting a vivid picture of murder, courtroom drama, family loyalties and disloyalties, journalist Jeff Coen accurately portrays the Chicago Outfit's cold-blooded - and sometimes incompetent - killers and their crimes in the case that brought them down. In 1998 Frank Calabrese Jr. volunteered to wear a wire to gather evidence against his father, a vicious loan shark who strangled most of his victims with a rope before slitting their throats to ensure they were dead. Frank Jr. went after his uncle Nick as well, a calculating but sometimes bumbling hit man who would become one of the highest-ranking turncoats in mob history, admitting he helped strangle, stab, shoot, and bomb victims who got in the mob's way, and turning evidence against his brother Frank.

©2009 Jeff Coen (P)2017 Tantor
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Critic reviews

"[A] revealing, shocking book . . . superbly crafted." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Family Secrets

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic

Excellent story about the Chicago Mob. Well done. This was my first audiobook and It won't be the last!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent history

It was a comprehensive telling of the trial that kept things moving along. I was enjoying this book because I lived the first 30 years of my life in Wrigleyville, and connected the cities neighborhoods with the gangsters in the trial.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Exhaustive, coherent account of a complex trial

The author gives lots of good detail and makes the huge case understandable. The narrator adopts a passable Chicago accent for the gangster’s dialog, although pronunciation of certain place names (“Noperville” “Hyr-on”) suggests he is not native.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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details

great storytelling and the voice over is also good. I highly recommend this book. Great read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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“You Do It”

Great true crime story. The performance is the best part. You literally feel your there at the trial of Joey the Clown, Jimmy Marcelo, & Frank Calabrese Sr. I’ve listened to it 3-4 times.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of the best

If you want a real, not glamorizing look at mafia, this is an excellent book to get

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good story tons of detail

good read holds your attention even though its full of detail it doesn't get boring.

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Really hard core .

Talks about many big name gangsters.Very informative one of the best mob books ever The Chicago outfit was is big.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outfit History and Family betrayal.

Great knowledge of the whole Outfit history, Plus the Calabrese family story. Definitely a good listen.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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What a bore!

The book is way too verbose with trivial details. I wouldn’t read this again if a gun was held to my head.

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1 person found this helpful