Gangland Boston: A Tour Through the Deadly Streets of Organized Crime

by Emily Sweeney

A GUIDED TOUR OF BOSTON’S UNDERWORLD, REVEALING THE PLACES WHERE DEALS WERE MADE, PEOPLE WERE KILLED, AND BODIES WERE BURIED

Gangsters have played a shady role in shaping Greater Boston’s history. While lurking in local restaurants or just around the corner inside that inconspicuous building, countless criminals have quietly made their mark on the city and surrounding communities. Gangland Boston reveals the hidden history of these places, bringing readers back in time to when the North End was wrought with gun violence, Hanover Street was known as a “shooting gallery,” and guys named King Solomon, Beano Breen, and Mickey the Wiseguy ruled the underworld.
Drawing upon years of research and an extensive collection of rare photographs, author Emily Sweeney sheds light on how gang violence unfolded during Prohibition, how the Italian mafia rose to power, and how the Gustin Gang came to be. She also uncovers little-known facts about well-known crime figures (Did you know the leader of the Gustin Gang was an Olympic athlete? Or that a fellowship at a major university was named after a big-time bookie?)
From South Boston to Somerville, Chinatown to Charlestown, and every neighborhood in between, readers will get to know mobsters in ways they never have before.
Readers will find
* Exact addresses where mobsters lived, worked, and played around Greater Boston
* How an Olympic athlete became one of Boston’s most notorious gangsters
* The untold history of the Gustin Gang
* Frank Sinatra’s connection to a long-forgotten Massachusetts racetrack
* Little-known facts about David “Beano” Breen, Charles “King” Solomon, Harry “Doc” Sagansky, Raymond L.S. Patriarca, and other legendary crime figures

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Crime

216 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2017

About the author

Emily Sweeney is a staff reporter at the Boston Globe.

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm rather confused as to what this book is supposed to be. In its first few pages, it clearly states it is not meant to a history of crime or gangs in Boston, and it certainly isn't. One would definitely need to know a little bit about the major figures to understand this book. Whitey Bulger is mentioned briefly only a few times before the main chapter on him, which is the very last chapter in the book. So, if its not meant to be an exhaustive history, perhaps its supposed to be a tour guide as the title suggests. The various addresses are bolded throughout the book as if you should be following a route and locating this addresses as you go along. However, the chapters are not organized in a way that would allow you to walk some sort of Boston gangster tour. The chapters, which aren't really in chronological order either, hop from Southie to the North End to other towns around Boston all in the same chapter. Some chapters even bold addresses in New York City. Further, as I said before, the chapters are not chronological, and this adds to the general confusion of moving through this book. So many names are mentioned, then revisited several chapters later, with many "as discussed in Chapter XX" parentheticals throughout the book. There is a map of "key sites" that is not helpful - the lists of addresses are not related to certain events or figures in the rest of the book, so you would have to scan the book for each address if you were to try and walk some sort of tour. What would have been more helpful would be a timeline, or a list of characters with their affiliates (gangs or individuals) somewhere. Basically if you enjoy reading unconnected, unrelated crime briefs in dry journalistic writing, this is the book for you. But you aren't going to get a basic history, or a walkable tour, or an easy overview of Boston crime. The purpose and organization of this book is truly baffling.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 3 out of 5]

all reviews in one place: night mode reading ; skaitom nakties rezimu

Finished Gangland Boston by Emily Sweeney and just didn’t feel like sitting down and reviewing it, I guess. It was good, though, highly recommend for some light true crime reading.

My Opinion: Treat this book like a tour guide. Some have places to visit, naming best spots for coffee and cake, others, like this one, offer up the building of the infamous basement where booze was stored during prohibition era in USA. It’s a bit messy, as it jumps back and forth with the names, and provides way too much side-data that adds nothing to the overall book: it could’ve been made tidier if these things were at the end, as an appendix. But, overall, it was fun to get that little insight, the almost sepia-toned transcript of men getting made mobsters.

A solid 3 out of 5, room to improve, but if you’re just looking for a short burst of entertainment, it’s worth grabbing this one.

[Susan Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really it is probably a 3 star, but I was excited to see photos of some relatives and that made me really enjoy reading this book. Lots of dirtbags, living the life of a wiseguy until another wise guy kills 'em.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book and it has GREAT potential. As it is currently arranged, it just jumps around way too much to be coherent. It's almost as if the author just left off with some unfinished thoughts and did not wrap everything up. For example... in chapter 13 while talking about Stevie Gustin. Gustin is reported missing after the Pickwick Club collapses on July 4, 1925. The next thing we hear about is in 1927 when he's accused of some other criminal activity. Where was he from 1925 to 1927?? Where was he found if he was reported missing?? The story lines of some people are in different chapters, with a lot of information in between on other people and events. I'm not sure what the intended format is... chronological I think... but it's a struggle to re-connect who the author is talking about. Also, it seems like there is a LOT of stuff missing. There's nothing about Howie Winter and the formation of the Winter Hill Gang, or what happened to the Winter Hill Gang after Bulger. For all that is out there about Flemmi, Salemme, and Bulger... there is suprisingly little about them in the book. There are also people missing from the list of where are they now, such as Raymond "Junior" Patriarcha. The information in this book seems like a good start but it really needs to be filled out a lot more. Also had an issue with e-book formatting. The pictures covered a lot of the text and some of the pictures were cut off.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this ⭐️⭐️⭐️because I found the content to be really interesting!
The author provides some specific accounts of past mob/gang violence that occurred in specific Boston neighborhoods & details about the people involved.
While this was an easy read, it is not overly detailed or an in-depth work. I would recommend this to someone who is interested in learning general information or accounts of mob violence in Boston. I really appreciated the pictures that were included of old mobsters, historical locations & crime scenes.
The only thing about this book that I disliked was the chapter organization. I felt as though there may have been a better way to talk about specific topics , locations, and people in certain chapters - rather than having chapters about the same subjects dispersed throughout the book.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of stories about gangs and organized crime in and around Boston from the early 1900's to Whitey Bulger. Connecting these stories to locations throughout the city I enjoyed the pictures of the people and locations. As always with stories about organized crime it is amazing how prohibition was such a big factor in the rise to power of the bootlegging gangs in Boston and the rest of the country. The transcription of the mafia initiation and index of mob talk terms was interesting along with the stories from law enforcement trying to control gangs and organized crime and the actions they took to infiltrate these groups.

[Mike C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that this was meant to be more of a broad guide to Boston’s criminal history and not a straightforward story per se, I still found it to be kind of a mess. The narrative jumps all over the place. New characters are referenced once and never mentioned again, and there’s some really sloppy errors that weren’t caught in the editing process.

I was shocked to see the length of the bibliography. Emily Sweeney clearly put a lot of time and effort into her research. Unfortunately that effort didn’t translate into the book.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was confused with this book on what the author was trying for. I did not get the impression of a historical book about the Boston mob or different gangs. What it did seem like was a tour guide of some of the different places and or crime locations of hits or whatnot. The pictures were good and at times the information seemed interesting but I also felt left wanting more and some of the information I know about the Boston Mob was not talked about or just lightly skimmed over.
I received this book from Netgalley.com

[J.V. Speyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for in-depth analysis, a study of the whys and the hows and the deep connections between crime and government and how organized crime evolved, this book is not for you. If you’re looking for something more like a travelogue or guide book taking you through the highlights of Boston’s “glory days” of organized crime history, this book is well worth your time.

If you live in Boston, or have any connection to the area, this book will hold special significance for you. I used to work in South Boston and spent a lot of time wandering the area. I used to have a lot of friends in Somerville, so events set there were amply familiar to me. I used to commute to work through Dorchester every day. Some of the addresses and sites mentioned are well known. Others no longer exist. I know I can find the bones of where they were with little trouble.

Maybe I’ve lived here too long, but that’s part of the appeal of this book. These are real places, and these events touched people whose children and grandchildren are people I might meet tomorrow. In the case of Whitey Bulger, his victims and associates are often still alive and well. The Boston of this book isn’t a distant memory.

And in a purely selfish side note, I’ve written two books recently that tie into the mob. One of them takes place in Boston. (I’m not sure when they’ll be released but I signed contracts for both of them this past week, so yay!) Reading this book helped me edit, and helped me bring the book to life a little more fully in my mind. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of immigration, crime history, or even just an interest in the history of Boston.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good biography on gangs and their experiences in Boston. Very well researched and written. Lots of interesting information of the gang activity found in Boston. The pictures that are featured are a welcome addition. Overall, a very good book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the Arc of this book in return for my honest review.

[Tavia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this book is a lot of things but good is not one of them. It's poorly written, riddled with typos and unorganized. I would not recommend this book despite the flashy book cover. There are lots of photos but they are usually just of the exterior of a house taken 30-70 years after the event took place, aka complete filler.

[Du · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda a let down. There was nothing exciting or interesting in a lot of what's presented here. I wanted more color and intrigue, instead of facts and pseudo storytelling, you get bland stories that don't hold up.

[Ron Maskell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book and an eye-opener to some of the history of the gangs in Boston. I expected a little more to the book but still I found it an interesting read. Just keep in mind that the book is more of a flyover touching on several events rather than an in-depth analysis of the gangs in Boston.

[Jeff Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book so I could research for my novel, set in 1929 Boston's underworld. I was surprised at how entertained I was by this book. So many stories!

If you like true crime or history in general, you'll enjoy it.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to view Boston from this perspective. Only downside is that I wish it had maps to go with the neighborhoods/addresses!

[David Skinner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information is good but all the stories are disjointed and very short and there are likely better books on these topics.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read

All true stories. Very interesting to read how things were even back in the early 1900s. It was rough times for those lived close to all these happenings

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not a comprehensive look into Boston crime, but a look into a number of people, some quite obscure. Was a very interesting short read.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.