There are two kinds of power: the visible and the invisible. Those who wield the latter, writes Russo (Live by the Sword, 1998, etc.), are scarier, more pervasive and harder to bust. Witness the "supermob," a term coined to describe the "brilliant, amoral" circle of mostly Ashkenazi, mostly poor friends who grew up in Chicago and settled in Beverly Hills. At the Chicago end stood the "Kosher Calcutta," a neighborhood that produced such figures as Paul Muni, Wallace Beery, William S. Paley and Jack Ruby. There Sid Korshak got his start, a young lawyer who allegedly advised Al Capone and helped forge an alliance that wedded big labor to big business to big crime to big pictures. Korshak, by Russo's account, soon had his hands in every criminal enterprise imaginable, and he cut quite a figure as a scene-making, wheeling-and-dealing attorney who exuded a decided air of danger. Hollywood fell hard for Korshak and the supermob, which used the regular mob to its own ends; MGM head Louis Mayer's best buddy reputedly was gangster Frank Orsatti, while Mafia money reputedly sponsored Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, even Gary Cooper. When Joe DiMaggio and Sinatra broke into the wrong apartment hoping to catch Monroe in a lesbian act, it was Korshak-"the Fixer"-who got them off the hook. When Jimmy Hoffa came to head the Teamsters Union, he "checked with Sidney on everything he did, and he still got in trouble." Ronald Reagan followed his advice as actor and as politician, while Richard Nixon benefited handsomely from his friendship with Korshak and his close ties to the Teamsters-not least for a Beverly Hills lot bought for $35,000, "far below the listed price of $104,250."It won't surprise any savvyreader to learn that politics, commerce and crime go hand in hand. Still, there are plenty of revelations in this absorbing, if overlong, book.
Russo knows when a story matters, is relentless in pursuing it, and he delivers.” —Anthony Summers, author, The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon
“Truth lives in the shadows of history, and Gus Russo takes us into those shadows with his fascinating and frightening book SUPERMOB.” —James Grady, investigative reporter for Jack Anderson and novelist (Six Days of the Condor)
“Gus Russo, through some remarkable investigative journalism, has uncovered a dark side American history...a riveting book. Highly recommended.” —Vincent Bugliosi, former Los Angeles County lead prosecutor, and author of Helter Skelter
“...exhaustive and compelling addition to the canon of seminal books on Organized Crime in America.” —Philip Manuel, former Chief Investigator, US Senate, Subcommittee on Investigations and Member of the President's Commission on Organized Crime
“Supermob confirms what we in law enforcement have long known, but were prevented from pursuing: the longstanding relationship between the mob and 'legitimate' politicians and corporate leaders. This is a must-read for the average citizen who wants to know how organized crime has really impacted their lives. Gus Russo has written perhaps the the most long-overdue book on crime in American society.” —Robert Fuesel, former Special Agent IRS Organized Crime Division, and former Executive Director of the Chicago Crime Commission
“Nearly all of us who have written about the underworld's penetration of legitimate institutions have given considerable thought to authoring a book about Sidney Korshak. However, it took the courageous Gus Russo, with his ground-breaking research and his fabulous rock 'n roll writing style, to accomplish that landmark feat. Simply speaking, Russo's Supermob is a grand-slam home run.” —Dan E. Moldea, author of Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA and the Mob
“Supermob is super, and required reading for any student of the fine art of influence peddling.” —Dennis McDougal, author of The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA, and the Hidden History of Hollywood
“very original and very important.” —Burton Hersh, Fulbright Scholar, and author of The Old Boys, and The Mellon Family
“No political history of our era will be complete without referencing Supermob.” —Laurence Leamer, author of The Kennedy Men and Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Russo's chilling portrait of Supermob lawyer Sidney Korshak is his finest work in a brilliant career.” —Richard J. Whalen, former Senior Editor of the Wall Street Journal and Fortune, author of The Founding Father: The Story of Joseph P. Kennedy
“There are plenty of revelations in this absorbing book.” —Kirkus reviews
“Veteran investigative author and organized crime expert Russo's magnum opus is a compelling look at one of the last century's major power players. A worthy addition to the genre.” —Publishers Weekly
