PREFACE

Alfonso “Little Al” D’Arco was the most important mob witness in an era that saw the Mafia slide into a long and bloody decline. As an acting boss of his crime family, he was the highest-ranking mobster ever to share Mafia secrets when he changed sides in 1991. His decision opened the door for others to make the same choice, including John Gotti’s top aide, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano. Collectively, their testimony helped send the mob spiraling into near collapse.

We got to see him a lot while covering organized crime for the New York Daily News and other papers, where we broke many of the stories of his cooperation and revelations. He was the most effective and compelling witness we ever saw take the stand. He gave no excuses for his own conduct, offering a riveting account of a life of crime. What was also impressive about Al D’Arco was that he knew not only his own criminal story, but the history of the mob. He clearly had been a careful student of knowledgeable tutors.

So when the opportunity arose a few years ago to tell his story, we were immediately interested, provided that we could set the ground rules. First, the book would be written by us. D’Arco would have no right to review the manuscript, or declare any areas of his life off-limits. Second, he would have to make himself available, not always an easy prospect for someone in the witness protection program.

He agreed, submitting to hundreds of hours of interviews. He also made his wife of fifty-eight years and his oldest son, who followed him into the mob, available as well.

Like the FBI agents and prosecutors who debriefed him for even more hours, we never caught him in a lie. Telling the truth was a point of pride with him. We were steadily amazed at his accuracy. One example: When he told us how a young Jewish gangster he had known on Mulberry Street more than forty years ago had been stabbed to death in a Bronx park by Lucky Luciano’s former right-hand man, we were skeptical of being able to confirm it. The murder was not only unsolved, it wasn’t even listed anywhere. But after digging out the facts, the details dovetailed exactly as he had described them.

This book is based on those interviews, along with thousands of pages of court transcripts, FBI memos, affidavits, and other documents. We also interviewed more than three dozen agents, detectives, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Any mistakes here are our own, no one else’s.

Al D’Arco’s story is many things. It’s a true inside account of what was supposed to be a secret society. It’s also the story of a killer whose crimes were unforgivable, no matter how much they were part of “the Life,” as he and his fellow mobsters dubbed the world they inhabited.

It’s also a story of New York, its streets, its neighborhoods, and its residents, some infamous, some long forgotten. At one point, when Al D’Arco’s career goal to become a “made member” was being blocked, he was offered a chance to skip the wait and join another family. He’d instantly have a lot of money and a big house. The catch was he would have to move to Pittsburgh. No thanks, he said. He was a New Yorker. He wanted to stay that way.