The Outfit
The Role Of Chicago's Underworld In The Shaping Of Modern America
1st Edition
Published on 2. August 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
560 pages
978-0-7475-6651-9 (ISBN)
Description
Perhaps the most compelling gangster tale is one that has been, until now, surprisingly well hidden. This is the story of the Outfit: the secret organised crime cartel that began its reign in prohibition era Chicago before becoming the puppet master of Hollywood, Las Vegas and Washington DC. Moving with purpose and panache, the Outfit blended effortlessly with underworld corporate heads, Hollywood moguls, and national political icons. It was only after a fifty-year run that their world started to crumble in the 1970s. With extensive research including recently released FBI files, original interviews with Outfit associates and members of the Fourth Estate (who pursued the Outfit for over forty years) and first ever access to the journals of Humphreys' long-in-hiding widow, veteran investigative journalist Gus Russo uncovers sixty years of corruption and influence.
Reviews / Votes
'Absolutely captivating! For a "Wiseguy" like me it was like going back to the neighbourhood for an education. I couldn't put it down' Henry Hill, inspiration for the film Goodfellas 'Riveting ... and a plausible historical argument about the underworld being merely a lurid reflection of America's "upperworld", which is rife with racketeering down to the tassels on a Wall Street broker's loafers' Sunday Times 'The prime virtue of THE OUTFIT is the excellence of its documentation ... Russo makes an absorbing guide' Sunday Telegraph 'Russo's amazing book gets to the heart of the Chicago Outfit ... authoritative and engrossing' Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguys and CasinoMore details
Person
Gus Russo is the author of Live By The Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1998. He is an investigative reporter who has worked for various major television networks, including PBS, where he was a lead reporter on the award-winning Frontline series.