We've had many a biography on Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, or Meyer Lansky, but not many of us have heard of the Toronto Mafia boss of the 1960's-1980's, Paul Volpe. This biograhy details his life as a Mafia boss, from how he arose from the depths of poverty in the 1930's and 40's where he had to bootleg with his family to make a living to how he eventaully was initiated into the Mafia at the age of 34 in 1961. Most of the book details his life as a Mafia boss - his extortions, the casino he set up in Haiti, his few stints in jail, marriage, and even getting profiled on television. The book tells a little bit about some of his underlings (Chuck the Bagel, who used a bagel with a bite taken out of it as his calling card, and Volpe's right-hand man, Nathan Klegerman).
Volpe was murdered in November of 1983 when he received a few shots to the back of his head. His body was found in the trunk of his car at an airport. To this day nobody really knows who committed the crime. The book detailed a little bit on the funeral and how people reacted to the murder of the crime boss. It was a very informative book. In the back, there were also two very brief biographies on other gangsters, Chuck the Bagel and then Rocco Perri, the Mob boss who disappeared in the 1940's and who hasn't been seen since. | ||
Plot & Themes job/profession: Job/profession/poverty story Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - Italian Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () The Americas (not US): Yes The Americas: - Canada - The Caribbean Century: - 1960's-1970's Writing Style Book makes you feel? - in awe Pictures/Illustrations? - A ton 16-20 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book |