No Remorse

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And now, a musical book post. I've been listening to the audiobook Mafia Prince: Inside America's Most Violent Crime Family and The Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra by Phil "Crazy Phil" Leonetti. What's the music connection? Ever heard that song "Atlantic City" by Bruce Springsteen? It references an event in Leonetti's life in the opening line: Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night Now, they blew up his house, too The "Chicken Man" was Philip Testa, the "reputed boss" of the Philadelphia mob. He was killed in a coup attempt by a couple of members of the mob. Upon Testa's death the "Commission" (the mob commission, not the gambling commission that was "hanging on by the skin of its teeth," according to the Springsteen lyrics) appointed Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo as the boss. Scarfo was Phil Leonetti's uncle, and he promoted Leonetti to second-in-command. All of that is detailed in the book (along with a whole lot more). Even a nod to the Springsteen song is made in the book. I'll give you the spoiler: Leonetti, facing 45 years in prison, "flipped." He became a "snitch" (as the mobsters would call him), cooperating with the FBI to testify against a number of mobsters....including John Gotti. While I do find these types of stories quite fascinating, listening to Leonetti (who did read part of the book himself) detail how he got into the mob, the crimes he committed (yes, including murders), and the things that made him decide he wanted to no longer be part of that life, the one thing that positively disturbed me was the total absence of regret. At the end of the book Leonetti took the co-author of the book to Philadelphia and showed the man around the old area. He detailed with almost glee the places he hung out, and sites where he went after he "whacked" people. This isn't a movie or a TV show. This is real life. The lack of remorse over the people he murdered was disquieting. Leonetti said he was disgusted by his uncle's total lack of concern over Mark Scarfo's suicide attempt (the 17-year-old attempted suicide in 1988, during one of Little Nicky's trials). Yet I find it interesting that Leonetti showed the exact same lack of concern over the deaths of people he participated in. However, if you're into mob stories, it's a pretty good book! Here's the Springsteen song "Atlantic City":