The Enforcer: Johnny "Pops" Papalia: A Life and Death in the Mafia

by Adrian Humphreys

The story of Johnny "Pops" Papalia is the story of the Mafia in Canada. It is a story that begins and ends on the same, small, working-class street in Hamilton, Ontario, where Johnny Pops was born and where he was shot dead at the age of 73. This book is the dramatic account of his bloody rise to power, his rocky tenure as the most powerful Mafia boss in Canada, his connections with the New York mob, and his inevitable gangland slaying. Few Canadians have lived a life so large and so violent.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

author, journalist, underworld observer

Reviews

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cool book about organized crime in Canada. I had no idea they were so brutal up there! I enjoyed reading about all the names, dates, and events that took place in Canada's underworld. The author clearly did a tremendous amount of research for this book. Johnny Papalia was definitely the real deal and ranks right up there with many of New York City's top wise guys. I'm so glad I read this and was able to add so much knowledge about Canadian organized crime to my ceaseless pursuit of information on the Mafia/gangsters/organized crime.

[Patricia Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it would be better than it was the story of johnny pops papalia from Hamilton Ontario talks about his up bringing and how he got started in his criminal career spoke of a lot of mafia people who are famous and about the musitano family from Hamilton and how they paid Kenny Murdock to kill him ..if you are interested in the Hamilton or surrounding areas of mafia history its a good book.. it also ties in to Donnie brasco the movie and how they knew each other...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great journalism, really well researched and written. She put the pieces of this extremely interesting life together in an easily readable way, and presented Johnny’s life with neutrality and great detail. And found the humour too! Best part of the story was learning that he tried to settle into the suburbs of Burlington but the neighbours ran him out of town because he wouldn’t cut his grass or pick up his flyers. As a Hamiltonian, that made me giggle.

[Peter Thurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling portrait of a man whose reputation preceded him for decades before he was gunned down on the orders of rival gangsters out of both Buffalo and Hamilton.

[Michelle Tremblay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't a fan of the writing style, but a lot of good info into the life of the maffia and it's inner workings.