Retail Gangster

The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie

By: Gary Weiss

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

A biography of the spectacular rise and fall of Eddie Antar, better known as "Crazy Eddie," whose home electronics empire changed the world even as it turned out to be one of the biggest business scams of all time

Back in the fall of 2016, we heard the news about the passing of Eddie Antar, "Crazy Eddie" as he was known to millions of people, the man behind the successful chain of electronic stores and one of the most iconic ad campaigns in history. Few things evoke the New York of a particular era the way "Crazy Eddie! His prices are insaaaaane!" does. The journalist Herb Greenberg called his death the "end of an era" and that couldn't be more true. What's insane is that his story has never been told.

Before Enron, before Madoff, before The Wolf of Wall Street, Eddie Antar's corruption was second to none. The difference was that it was a street franchise, a local place that was in the blood stream of everyone's daily life in the 1970s and early '80s. And Eddie pulled it off with a certain style, an in your face blue collar chutzpah. Despite the fact that then U.S. Attorney Michael Chertoffcalled him "the Darth Vader of capitalism" after the extent of the fraud was revealed, one of the largest SEC frauds in American history after Crazy Eddie's stores went public in 1984, Eddie was talked about fondly by the people who worked for him. They still do--there are myriads of ex-Crazy Eddie employee web pages that still attract fans, and the Crazy Eddie fraud scheme is now taught in every business school across the United States.

Many years have passed since the franchise went down in spectacular fashion but Crazy Eddie's moment has endured the way that iconic brands and characters do—one only need Google the media outpouring that accompanied his death. Maybe it's because it crystallized everything about 1970s New York almost perfectly, the merchandise and rise of consumer electronics (stereos!), the ads (cheesy!), the money (cash!). In Retail Gangster, investigative journalist Gary Weiss takes listeners behind the scenes of one of the most unbelievable business scam stories of all time, a story spanning continents and generations, reaffirming the old adage that the truth is often stranger than fiction.

©2022 Gary Weiss (P)2022 Hachette Books

A back story and adventure I knew nothing about.

This was a fun ride. The scams, the chaos, the multiple cons...this guy did anything and everything to make another dollar.
This tells a story I admittedly, never knew about. There are laws, double checks and so much more in place now due to guys like this.
Learn about the scams, adventures and con stories that go from mild to insane.
I'll likely listen to this again eventually.

NAD great electronics retail story

But need more on the retail and less about lawsuits and lawyers. The beginning was great. The last half was a bit of a drag.

Wild Story

How is this not a movie?!? This book is an essential for anyone who likes true crime set in the 1960s through present day. It’s a family crime story that is mind blowing.

Insane Choice of Narrator

The story was interesting and quite detailed. Narrator has a very irritating voice. Made me want to blow off finishing the book. The ending of the book is weakly done.

The book was “Insane!”

Growing up in Brooklyn near the Coney Island store during the 80’s, I lived everything they talked about in the book. I did know how insane the frauds were. This would make a great movie on par with the Wolf of Wall Street.

Ordinary Crook

Interesting story. Shows the vulnerability of Wall Street and its analysts. Did not care for the narration. Very distracting. Eddie was a common crook. Clever, but as with most, had no core values to save him. Greed for greed's sake.

A crazy story about Crazy Eddie

I grew up in Brooklyn, right smack in the Syrian Jewish community that produced the Antar family, and I lived only a few blocks from the main Crazy Eddie store on Coney Island Avenue. It's strange to hear of the story from the inside - I already had known of the story from the outside. Well written, a story so completely bonkers that it must be true, and great narration. Recommended reading for anyone familiar with the NY phenomenon of Crazy Eddie. Disturbing, hilarious, and a great read.

Master Reporting! Facinating Book.

The author is generous to the reader. He unravels the tale as if there is all of the time in the world. No undermining of the reader's ability to grasp the mechanics of a complex series of financial crimes. It is a wonder the story could be told at all in all of its complexities. Yet the writer makes it all comprehensible. The writer also has a keen insight into human nature and the criminal mind. He is intelligent and witty. The tale itself is a view of social intercourse otherwise not afforded to many. It was spellbinding, I listened to several parts more than once. By the end, I felt as if I had watched a movie instead of listening to a book. With the writer's strike in Hollywood, I can't imagine why someone hasn't picked this up. It could be a classic film. The writing was so good I had a feeling that I was remotely viewing the incident from beginning to end. Anyone who is interested in becoming a writer would do well to listen to this book. The narration was perfect. If you love to listen in, this is a perfect book to read. You will be a smarter person from reading this book. I will surely read the book again.

Fascinating!

Retired finance professional who grew up on LI. Great book! A real trip down memory lane. As financial non-fiction, this is one of the most interesting and entertaining books I’ve ever read. And the reading was outstanding. INSANE!!!

Entertaining and nostalgic

Maybe you had to be in or around New York in the 80’s, but it was fun to be reminded of some of the characters of the era. Weiss might have done well to say more about the era, but I was never bored.