Little Vic and the Great Mafia War - by Larry McShane (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The shocking true story of Victor "Little Vic" Orena, the rising Mob boss who fought to control the Colombo crime family--and triggered the bloodiest Mafia war of our times."--Inside flap.

Book Synopsis

From award-winning New York Daily News reporter Larry McShane, the gritty, bloody, first definite biography of one of the Mafia's deadliest contenders for boss, "Little Vic" Orena, who battled it out in the streets with Carmine "The Snake" Persico for control of the Colombo Family and triggered the bloodiest Mafia war of our times . . .

June 20, 1991. A five-man hit team waited in a car outside the Long Island home of Victor Orena, the acting crime boss of the Colombo crime family. Orena recognized the vehicle--and managed to escape with his life. But it was just the beginning. Over the next year, more shots would be fired in what would become the last major mob war in New York's crime-soaked history--and one of the bloodiest. The war ended with Orena's 1992 arrest and conviction for racketeering. But the full story of "Little Vic's" astonishing rise and fall has never been told. Until now . . .

With shocking new revelations from Orena's son Andrew, this eye-opening account takes readers inside the criminal underworld of New York's infamous "Five Families" from the point of view of one of its rising stars. The grandson of Sicilian immigrants, Victor Orena ingratiated himself with the local Mafiosi during his teens, ultimately aligning himself with the Colombos. Ascending the ranks, he eventually became acting boss of the family when its don Carmine "The Snake" Persico was sentenced to prison. But as Persico struggled to maintain control from behind bars, Orena decided to seize that power for himself--launching a ruthless mob war the city would never forget.

It's all here: the Mafia hits, the FBI stings, the bullets and the backstabbings. Featuring a rogues gallery of legendary mobsters--from the Gallo brothers to the Gambinos and John Gotti--this riveting account sheds new light on one of the most fascinating chapters in American crime.

Review Quotes

Praise for Larry McShane

LITTLE VIC AND THE GREAT MAFIA WAR

"Who knows organized crime in New York City better than Larry McShane? Only he can describe the rise and fall of Vic Orena as boss of the Colombos with such authenticity. In Little Vic and the Great Mafia War, he gives the reader insight into the murderous and treacherous path of becoming a boss in the Mafia." --Joe Pistone, a.k.a. Donnie Brasco, former undercover FBI agent and author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia

"From the opening pages of Larry McShane's Little Vic and The Great Mafia War, the reader is treated to an intimate and fast-paced account of the last great Mafia war of the 20th century. With interviews of Orena's family, notably his son Andrew, McShane walks us through the bloody Colombo crime family war of the 1990s, weaving into this detailed history the story of numerous New York Mob bosses and concluding that the Goodfellas life of the Mob is over and not worth the blood, sweat, anguish, and cemetery visits it spawned." --Anthony M. DeStefano, author of King of the Godfathers and Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist

"Little Vic and the Great Mafia War is a compelling account of one of the bloodiest periods in the history of the Colombo Mafia family. Details never revealed before are presented through the eyes of Orena's family and the FBI agents directly involved in the investigations of the horrible events that took place. It is a must-read to better understand the evil nature of the Mafia and the inner-working tensions and treachery of its members that were always present." --Frank Storey, former Deputy Assistant Director of the New York FBI division in charge of the Organized Crime Program and author of The FBI's War Against the Mafia

CHIN

"This is the tale of Vincent (Chin) Gigante . . . (who) dressed in bathrobe and slippers. He seemed to be quite nuts but reigned as the head of the Genovese crime family. In cool, exact prose, Mr. McShane tells the story that remains full of astonishment, and a kind of dark wonder." --Pete Hamill, bestselling author

"McShane's book is a great read, with inside details that capture the Chin and the world of the Mafia as I know it--and lived it." --Joseph D. Pistone, former FBI undercover agent and author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia

"A great book about a great subject by a great writer . . . a tale for the ages, the story of Vincent 'Chin' Gigante. McShane recreates a world that has largely vanished, brining it vibrantly . . . grabs you with the immediacy of a breaking news story and carries you along as if you were living it." --Michael Daily, New York Daily News

"Larry McShane has delivered a story that was long overdue. While John Gotti may have been the face of the American Mafia, Vincent Gigante was its heart and soul. He was the real deal and McShane pulls no punches in painting a vivid and detailed picture of the last American gangster." --George Anastasia, bestselling author of Gotti's Rules and Blood and Honor

About the Author

Larry McShane is an award-winning nonfiction author and crime journalist whose career spans more than four decades with the Associated Press and the New York Daily News. A native New Yorker who has chronicled the Five Families since the 1985 Mob hit on Gambino boss "Big Paul" Castellano outside Sparks Steak House, he has appeared as an expert on numerous television and radio programs, including the HISTORY documentary American Godfathers: The Five Families. He is the author of the nonfiction books Chin: The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante, Cops Under Fire, Last Don Standing, and Little Vic and the Great Mafia War. He lives with his family in New Jersey.