Once again I have to beg forgiveness from my followers. Of books, I have read many, of writing, I have done little. I hate myself when I let these reviews back up like this but as all readers and writers are aware….so many books, so little time!

Operation Family Secrets itself is a codename for an FBI operation into the world of La Cosa Nostra in Chicago. Where the New York mob is comprised largely of Italian made men, the Chicago mob is a melting pot of made men. Chicago is well known for its Italian, Sicilian, Polish, Russian, Jewish and Mexican mafia’s in addition to organized multi-generational street gangs whose activities are organized. Add in one of the most notorious hit men Frank (The German) Schweiss and you can see that it is more diverse than some.

Frank Calabrese Sr. is also a notorious hit man. Unlike many of his fellow LCN members who attempt to make enough money to put their children through expensive private schools and colleges in order to steer them away from “the life”, Frank is a paranoid man who only trusts those closest to him – but just barely.

This book is written by Frank Jr. and examines how through his father, he and his younger brother were groomed for “the life” and then immersed in it, much to their chagrin. As his father became more paranoid, Frank Jr., never a true devotee to begin with, tried many times to leave but was always forced back into crime by his father. Finally, Jr. wrote to the FBI after he was incarcerated, endangering himself by wearing a wire to record conversations with his father, himself incarcerated at the same facility.

In a rare unguarded moment for Sr., he outlined his crimes to his son. At times the detail is explicit – at others it is more oblique but with the background, it is easy to read between the lines. Sr’s crew operated out of Chinatown but controlled parts of the downtown entertainment District, Chinatown and Elmhurst. All of the old chestnuts of organized crime are there: loan sharking, extortion, drugs, robbery, jewel theft and the like. And of course, murder.

What I enjoyed most about the book is the look at how most (if not all) organized crime relies on generational participation and how legitimate business’ are busted out (or juiced) until the owner relinquishes them to the mob. This allows the mob to become the owner and establish their own laundry to clean the money as well as give them tax fronts and business” with which to get their medical insurance and provide a sense of legitimacy.

In other words, how the Trump family operates. (Now don’t get crazy if you’re a Trump supporter) I am just pointing out an alternate economic system at work here. And I couldn’t resist the jibe! Trump’s involvement with local mobs in major cities is well known as an adjunct to his “developments”.

Frank Jr. shows remarkable courage in this book. He has the old problem of loving a father but hating the man. Sr. was quite cruel to his children and wife. He was even willing to hide ill gotten gains at his elderly parents home then evict them when he needed to finance his defense.
I hope there are more books about the Family Secrets material from other writers because this is a fascinating glimpse into current mob activities in Chicago which have been more shrouded and lower profile than their New York counterparts. ( )

Mafia stories like The Godfather and The Sopranos have always intrigued me. It was interesting to read a real-life Mafia story and see how the "movie Mafia" differs from it. I have to say that there is not much difference at all. Frank Calabrese, Jr. is a brave man to not only refuse to enter the witness protection program but then to also co-author a tell-all book about growing up with a father in the Chicago Mafia, which is known as the Outfit.

I realize that the names of the people were out of the authors' control since this was a true story, but so many of the people in this book have the same or similar names that at times it was hard for me to keep straight who was who, even with the "Cast of Characters" list that is provided at the front of the book. I did think that the authors did a good job of explaining Outfit slang terms and traditions and customs. It really is a whole other culture. And after hearing the term RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) a million times while watching The Sopranos, I think I finally have a fairly good grasp on what it means thanks to this book.

This was a fascinating first-hand look into the Outfit and particularly the author's father, Frank Calabrese, Sr. who was so terrifying even by the Outfit's standards that he caused his own brother and son to cooperate fully with the FBI to put him away. Fans of Mafia movies like The Godfather and Casino will especially enjoy this book. ( )

Just before the paperback edition of this book came out in March of 2012, I heard an interview with the author on NPR, and it piqued my interest. The loving son who nevertheless informed against his gangster father to the FBI in order to keep him behind bars for life said that all he wants now is an ordinary life, just earning enough to take care of himself and his family, within the law. What really struck me was his heartfelt response when asked if he isn't afraid his father might come after him for revenge. He said he refuses to hide or change his identity. If his father decides to have him killed, then he will be killed. He wants to give his father the opportunity to do so if that's what he has to do. He, the son, has done what he had to do.

I'm not a big reader or viewer of organized-crime stories, but I've seen a few movies: the Godfather trilogy, Scarface, a few others. One reason I read this book was to see how greatly the fictional depiction of the life of a mobster was (as I assumed) exaggerated and overplayed for the sake of sensational drama.

I was shocked to learn that the fictionalized accounts I've seen are nowhere near as brutal or extreme as the reality. Taking Frank Calabrese Jr.'s narrative as factual, I found murder--including gruesomely violent murder--treated as routine, normal, almost banal for people of that lifestyle. I also observed that nearly all the victims were members of their own criminal fraternity: they kill each other more than they kill anyone else.

Initially both fascinated and revolted by the complex, contradictory, and chilling personality of Frank Sr., I was surprised to see how quickly I became inured to the horrific details and began to accept them matter-of-factly. It would go too far to say that one can understand how people come to live this way, but one can at least see that people do come to live this way and make themselves accept it.

What began to emerge and eventually became the dominant effect of the book was the story of how the author, the son, reached a point where he could no longer accept it. Reared in a gangster's household, taught criminal behavior and the criminal code as a way of life, with his uncles and brothers and all his friends immersed in the same lifestyle, he found a way to the core of his own being, where the balance scales had shifted. I hesitate to call it a moral center or conscience or sense of justice because he never characterizes it that way. Rather, he sees that he has the power to stop this man and end his criminal career, and he summons the strength to use it.

It would be hard to say that I enjoyed this fast-moving gripper of a book, although on some level I did, but I value what I learned from it. ( )