The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto

by Lee Lamothe, Adrian Humphreys (Contributor), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

From 'THE SIXTH FAMILY', according to witness testimony:

BROOKLYN, MAY 5, 1981

"We were in the closet. We all had our weapons loaded. We sat there and waited for the doorbell to ring," said Salvatore Vitale, a slender New York mobster known as Good-Looking Sal. "We left the door open a smidge to look out."

The ringing of the bell at the private social club’s entrance signaled the arrival of the first of the invited guests. Vito Rizzuto crouched low, peeking out from his vantage point. Through the swelling crowd and loud chatter from tough men all accustomed to having their say, Vito kept his eyes on one man, Gerlando Sciascia, a fellow Sicilian who was a long-time Rizzuto family friend.

Breathing deeply beneath his mask, Vito watched for the secret signal that would draw him from the closet, a signal that came when Sciascia slowly ran the fingers of his lean, right hand through the silver hair on the side of his head. That simple act of preening brought mayhem to the social club and radically changed the balance of power.

"Don’t anybody move. This is a holdup," Vito said as he confronted the roomful of powerful mobsters, his words muffled by a woolen ski mask pulled down over his long, thin face. Despite those words, this was not about robbery. Nothing would be taken but three lives and the rights to an underworld throne.

RUNNING TIME ➼ 22hrs. and 16mins.

©2008, 2014 Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys (P)2019 Tantor

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Audiobook, Biography

Audible Audio

First published July 28, 2006

About the author

Lee Lamothe is a journalist and novelist. He is the author of Global Mafia, Criminal Acts II, Angels, Mobsters and Narco-terrorists, as well as the bestsellers Bloodlines: The Rise and Fall of the Mafia's Royal Family, The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto and The Last Thief, a novel. He lives in Toronto.

Series:
* Ray Tate and Djuna Brown Mystery

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sixth Family is a fascinating narrative on the Montreal Mafia. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading about organized crime. The only thing I didn't like about The Sixth Family was the fact that it jumps around A LOT. Once you get past that and the neverending who's who list of Montreal mobsters. You will no doubt enjoy the book.

[JR · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the story of Vito Rizzuto and the six family’s rise and fall was quite exceptional, I hated how this was written. It was incredibly dense with information,dates, and a ton of names, and zero good storytelling. I felt like I was reading a database with just the facts.

Overall, all I can say is yuck. This was easily forgettable, and I’m glad to say I won’t remember this weeks from now. 2 generous ⭐️

P.S.when there are 1 million names to remember, maybe put a mob tree in the front of the book… Just saying

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually couldn't finish this book. Unlike The Five Families, this is just plain boring. I wouldn't have thought this topic could be made dull but this author managed it. Read Wikipedia or something if you're interested in this family but don't waste your time with this.

[Mise Enda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, which is something considering I never read true crime and had no real context of the Candadian crime scene. Inspired to read it after a walking tour of Montreal, and have since gone down many wiki rabbit-holes!

Considering developments since publication, an updated version is surely due!

[Kristopher Tribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Ian MacIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keep good notes. "You can't tell a Knight from a Day without a program." (Looney Tunes "A Knight Must Fall") This book took a lot of time and energy to read.

The number and names of characters throughout the book is mesmerizing. It's a Who's Who of the underworld in Canada, the USA and across the world. Fascinating history with lots of details

Canadians will remember the various police and government investigations that named or were associated with Vito Rizzuto, politicians and political party's in the 70's -90's.

[Justyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

from front to back, this book had my attention. super interesting and I really enjoyed it. it's a 4 star book in my opinion. I most likely will never read this book again so for that reason it loses a star. It is most definitely worth reading once tho, so be sure to give it a chance.

[David]

Loved it.
It really gives the backstory to the organized crime syndicate here in Canada..

[Francine Abel · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is hard to believe how powerful the Mafia is. I enjoyed this book but found it hard to read, first with all the italian names, it's difficult to keep track of who is who. I also didn't like the way the author kept going back and forth with the chronological events.

[Andrew Griffith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy going, and I think unfortunately, the storyline suffers through the endless details of meetings, killings, drug busts, court cases (successful and unsuccessful) and the like. I admire the authors’ detailed research but a shorter book would be more engaging.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not realized there another family . You never hear about the others anymore . Good book