The Last Boss of Brighton: Boris "Biba" Nayfeld and the Rise of the Russian Mob in America

by Douglas Century

Bestselling author Douglas Century reveals the untold story of the epic rise and fall of Boris Nayfeld, also known as Biba, one of the most notorious Russian mob bosses of our era. Boris Nayfeld, a.k.a. “Biba,” is the last living boss of the old-school Russian mob in America, and he’s survived to tell it all. Filled with sex, drugs, and murder, Biba’s story is a mind-boggling journey that took him from petty street crime in the USSR to billion-dollar embezzlement in America. Born in Soviet-era Belarus, abandoned by his parents in infancy, Biba’s brutal upbringing left him hungry for more—more power, control, and money. Taking advantage of the rampant corruption in the Soviet Union, Biba’s teenage hooliganism quickly turned into bolder “black cash” rackets, making him, by Soviet standards, a very rich young man. When authorities took notice and threatened him with “the supreme measure”— execution by firing squad—he managed to get out of the USSR just in time. Within months of landing in America, his intimidating presence and street smarts quickly made him legendary in the Soviet émigré community of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and launched him to the top of New York’s Russian Jewish mob, one of the world’s most inventive, powerful and violent criminal organizations. After decades as a globe-trotting boss, and three stints in U.S. federal prisons he remains unbroken and unrepentant, even as his entire life has unraveled around him. Now seventy-four years old, Biba is a lion in winter. Douglas Century vividly brings the notorious gangster to life in these pages, telling not only his epic journey but also the history of the Russian mob in America. 

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Russia, History, Historical

416 pages, Hardcover

Published July 5, 2022

About the author

Douglas Century is the author or coauthor of such bestsellers as Under and Alone, Barney Ross, Street Kingdom, Brotherhood of Warriors, and Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire, a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award in the category of Best Nonfiction Crime.

Reviews

[Julio The Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mean-faced Boris, he's the king of these Brighton streets,
He'll show you all his prison tattoos while shaking down everyone he meets.
He's the one they call "Mr. Thief-in-Law",
He's the one who'll make you taste fright.
Ya, Biba!

Boris "Biba" Nayfeld achieved what few mobsters can boast of: living until age seventy, as of 2022, a free man collecting Social Security from the U.S. government. All of his old gangster rivals and friends are either dead or serving long prison sentences. Quite a feat for a first-generation Jewish Russian mobster who once ran an empire of drugs, prostitution, gambling and, above all, extortion from Brighton Beach, New York to St. Petersburg. Two things stand out in this "as told to" autobiography recounted to Douglas Century. First, Boris is Jewish only by birth. He neither knows nor cares anything about the religion and its rituals, nor does he speak Yiddish or Hebrew. On the other hand, identifying as Jewish gave him license to steal from Hasidic Jews in New York's Diamond District; he'd befriend them and then rob their stores. (One amusing anecdote: Boris would occasionally visit Israel, and says that one fellow Russian Jewish mobster who did the same told him, "I'm getting out of here! Too many Jews".) Second, Russian organized crime is an oxymoron. "We don't have a godfather", Boris boasts. "The biggest money maker gets the most respect." Unlike the "Italyakha", his term of respect for members of La Cosa Nostra, with their bosses, underbosses, capos and soldiers, a Russian gangster can put together a crew of four or five members for one job and then dispense with them next time. All the more remarkable that in the 1990s, when Boris was at the height of power, the U.S. government claimed the Russians operated in everything from Wall Street to the National Hockey League. Boris will not admit to murder, which contradicts the account by Robert Friedman in RED MAFIYA that he"probably killed his mentor", the feared Evsei Agron, to take over his business. He does cop to once strangling, though not killing, a woman who owed him money, pimping over the massage parlors of Brooklyn and importing heroin into the U.S. using mules via Poland. Does he regret any of this? Not according to Century, who says Boris told him "What else was a poor boy with no education supposed to do arriving in New York with no money?"

[NellyBells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A zippy read. The Russian Jewish gangsters of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn were all cut from the same cloth. They grew up as orphans, parents killed or sent away to penal camps, they learned about crime esp. stealing from the state as children in state-run orphanages. Awful personal histories. They knew no other way to be in the world. A job? work? absolutely not. In the late 70s when Jews were allowed to emigrate to Israel, first they went to Vienna, then to Italy and once in Italy they could change their port of entry for the US. They were criminals and hooligans (Putin was once a hooligan) and there was a lot of money to be made. Italian crime families and Russian gangsters partnered and killed for each other.

[Stephanie Thode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Reading this made it easier to understand why one of the reasons the mob, and other forms of crime life, have been able to thrive here. It's also interesting to see things from the perspective of somebody who lived in both Soviet Union and America.

[Kobietaczytajaca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moi drodzy tę książkę przeczytałam niedawno i spieszę Wam o niej opowiedzieć. Jest to historia rosyjskiego przywódcy mafii w Ameryce, czyli Biby Borysa Najfelda. Książka zaczyna się od Jego dzieciństwa, gdzie można dowiedzieć się czemu nazywał swoją babcię mamą. Kim byli jego rodzice, ile miał rodzeństwa. Następnie poznajemy przyczyny wyjechania całej rodziny Najfeldów do Ameryki. To właśnie tam Borys poznaje osoby z kręgu mafii i wyrabia sobie tak zwaną renomę. U wielu osób budzi postrach, pozbawienie kogoś życia to dla niego żaden problem. Jednak są też tacy, którzy za jego pozbycie się płacą bardzo dużo. Kiedy tak sobie czytałam tę książkę zastanawiałam się nad jednym po co żyć w ciągłym strachu i spać z pistoletem przy głowie, wiem, że łatwy pieniądz, mnóstwo zabawy i adrenalina, wydawać by się mogło, że beztroskie życie, ale czy szczęśliwe? Przecież można inaczej i On o tym wiedział jego brat takie wiódł. Książka jak dla mnie średniawa, moim zdaniem przegadana. Do połowy czytałam z zainteresowaniem potem zaczęła mnie nudzić. Pomimo tego że sporo tu nazwisk, to większa połowa już zeszła z tego świata. Dla mnie to typ książki do przeczytania i zapomnienia.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you goodreads for providing this book as part of a giveaway. The author did a fine job of telling the story of a repugnant criminal asshole that should have never been given the opportunity to immigrate to America. Early in the book an incident is mentioned where Boris Nayfield is a child and steals apples from his neighbors tree. The part that gives keen insight into what a narcissistic piece of shit Nayfield is occurs when the neighbor tells him to just steal the apples but to not purposely break limbs and damage the tree that is providing this little turd with free apples, and he says gleefully how damaging the tree was all the fun. I spent a career in law enforcement and always argued that floating societal turds like Nayfield never "age out" of criminal behavior. Even in his mid-60's this ass polyp was still engaged in nefarious criminal activity. As I concluded the book I reflected that his brother, who was born within a year of him and was not a stone scumbag, would have been a more interesting biography. All the excuses are paraded out in this book including; "the I had a rough childhood" and "I was a rat for the Feds because everyone else was doing it" Ad nasuem. His brother came to America and made the most of his opportunity and became a productive member of society. Now obviously nobody wants to read about that compared to all the depraved criminal nonsense Boris was involved in. Perhaps my one positive take from this book is that this narcissistic asshole is going to die alone and no one (not his ex-wives or his children) will mourn his passing. Oh and Boris if you happen to read this, expire real soon YOU human refuse.

[Frieda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the wild story of Boris Nayfeld, a Russian mafia boss, growing up in the corrupt Soviet Union, to his rise in the criminal underworld in Brooklyn, was fascinating. I felt like I was right there alongside him, experiencing the violence, the schemes, the interactions with many colorful characters. He is an engaging storyteller.

Living near where all this took place, I imagine Boris and his associates, walking the streets of Brighton Beach, partying in the Russian clubs (a few still in existence today), and engaging in many illegal business schemes. However, choosing this kind of life, the kind where you need to look over your shoulder every day, never feeling at peace, to always needing to be strategic in your moves, trusting no one, the theme is survival, something that Mr. Nayfeld had mentioned many times during the telling of his story to the author.

An incredible read and an equally incredible life lived, only to return to Russia at 70, with lost family connections and seemingly no desire to live the criminal life. Was it all worth it? Mr. Nayfeld says that he would do it all over again, no regrets but acceptance. He felt that he needed to tell his story, but it wasn’t for the notoriety. The final sentence in the book, “I don’t want to be a fucking legend. I just want to die in my own bed.” He just might.

[Donna Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks Goodreads for my copy of The Last Boss of Brighton: Boris "Biba" Nayfield and the Rise of the Russian Mob in America. This book is a true story and very enlightening look at the Russian Mob. The book's depiction of all of the criminal activity of Biba Nayfield and many of his accomplices was truly disheartening. All of the money that was misappropriated, stolen and fleeced by this gangster could have been used to help communities both here and overseas but instead went toward a lavish lifestyle of a Russian gangster. The book was well written and provided lots of insight into that world but was ultimately depressing to learn about.

[Janice Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a terrific true-crime read. Very cinematic. I've read a lot about Italian-American organized crime, but not the Russian variation that seems to have wreaked havoc in Brooklyn in the 1980s and 1990s.

Boris Nayfeld has lead a surreal life and the author does a good job of capturing the dysfunction and upheaval that shaped him. Also the conditions of the USSR that seem to have shaped the thinking of criminals like Nayfeld. Cheating the system became an ingrained mentality for many.

Much of the book is in Nayfeld's own words. I sense the author was doing a "version" of Wiseguy by Nicolas Pileggi or Underboss by Peter Maas, two excellent true crime books are told largely though the voices of Henry Hill and Sammy the Bull.

May not be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

[Book Reviews by Tara aka Queen of Memoirs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Talk about a wild journey. The Last Boss of Brighton: Boris "Biba" Nayfeld and the Rise of the Russian Mob in America by Douglas Century is a jaw dropping, epic tale of crime, drama and murder.
⠀
This book reads like historical fiction, but it’s not! This is the real life story of Boris “Biba” Nayfeld and the Russian mob underworld. A world I knew nothing about before reading this book. And what I read absolutely blew me away. These men were roofless! In my opinion, the best description for Biba is, a menace to America.
⠀
Reading how Boris came to this country seeking citizenship with the intention of never becoming a law abiding citizen was disturbing. The first time he stepped foot in America, he did so with smuggled diamonds and stamps! His thought when walking into an American grocery store for the first time was, “Wow, I could steal all this f*#king stuff”🤯. His mob mentality was jaw dropping. The types of crimes he committed, shocking. This man did everything from committing gas-tax fraud, to smuggling diamonds, credit card fraud, and money-extracting (using intimidation to collect a debt on the behalf of someone else), plus so much more.
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The crime that was hardest for me to digest was the drug smuggling. I grew up in the 80s at a time when drugs devastated Black communities. So to get a glimpse into the mind of a person that played a part in bringing those drugs into the country was agitating.
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Douglas Century did an amazing job of bringing Biba’s narrative to life. Very well researched! A lot was written in Biba’s own words. I feel like I really got to know this mob boss.
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There was never a dull moment. Century jumped right into the thick of things and stayed there to the end. Although I was in my feelings for a good portion of the book, my interest never wavered.
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Thank you William Marrow Books and Douglas Century for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. This was one heck of a journey!

[Benya Workman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Douglas Century is a good writer who knows how to write a compelling story BUT this particular book is filled with absurdities and lies told to the author by Boris Nayfeld. Now the author doesn’t speak Russian and is not familiar with the subculture about which he writes so it isn’t his fault. Then again, he’s taking Nayfeld’s words at face value so maybe it is. The issues I can’t help but mention are as follows:

1. Nayfeld refers to himself as a Blatnoy and the author refers to him as such multiple times. This is ridiculous. A blatnoy isn’t just a professional criminal. It’s someone who lives by the Thieves’ Code, the laws of the Vori V Zakone. Someone who wants to become a thief in law himself. A blatnoy would never work. Not in prison, nor in the free world. A blatnoy would NEVER work as a janitor as Nayfeld admits to doing when he first got to America. This is beyond absurd to hear someone refer to themselves as a blatnoy and then talk about working as a janitor. To blatniye, working as a janitor is almost as big of a disgrace as being a snitch. Unless a blatnoy is cleaning his own home or his own cell, he would never clean anything belonging to someone else. It’s considered a disgrace. It would make him a shnir, which is a derogatory Russian slang word for a prison trusty/errand boy. For this subculture these semantics are extremely important. I can’t emphasize this enough. Calling Nayfeld a blatnoy is pure absurdity.

2. The author writes that in Russian a snitch or rat is called a kozyol or a musor. Not true. A snitch/ rat in Russian is called a Suka, which is the Russian word for female dog. But in this context, it means snitch and it is extremely insulting to anyone from this subculture for obvious reasons. Another subtle nuance is that this word is used to talk about a female and there is no way to use it in reference to a male without misgendering him so it is double insulting because of that. Nayfeld doesn’t tell the author the real word for snitch in Russian because he TWICE cooperated with law enforcement to save his own skin and informed on others so he knows what he would be called by his former friends. Again, this is the most insulting word in that subculture so there is a reason he misleads the author here.

3. The part in the book where Nayfeld claims to have met Ded Hasan is most likely an outright lie. This was after he had already snitched. Why would someone like Ded Hasan meet with someone like Nayfeld? As a matter of fact everything that occurs after Nayfeld cooperated seems farfetched. It’s public record that he’s a snitch but all these high-level mobsters are hanging around him in Russia? Letting him get in on schemes and so forth? Not likely. The part where he claims to have met Yaponchik seems unlikely as well. Seems like he is using these two larger than life figures to make himself seem like he was on their level which he most certainly was not.

4. The jailhouse tats that Nayfeld has… The author writes that in that subculture jailhouse tats tell someone’s biography. This is true. Traditionally, a convict has to answer for his tats. Meaning they have to tell his true history. Nayfeld is a snitch who did time in cellblocks reserved for cooperators. The author writes about this and knows this. He got these tattoos in an American country club prison. He was sent there because it would be dangerous to send a known informant to a regular prison for obvious reasons. So how is he talking about his tattoos, that he got after becoming a snitch, in a hotel of a prison, in America no less? This is absurd! Those tattoos are meant to be obtained among other Russian convicts. Usually in a Russian prison. They are meant to show the hardships someone has overcome while maintaining his honor, respect, dignity and manhood. Which tattoo of Nayfeld’s autobiographical artwork tells the world that he’s a snitch?

5. Kum- according to the author is a shot caller in a Russian prison who deals with the administration on behalf of prisoners. Not true. Kum is an intelligence officer within a prison whose job it is to sniff out who is doing what inside a prison. Again, a kum is not a convict but a guard who investigates convicts. The author got so many things wrong that there are too many to mention but this is one that stands out. Another mistake is that
Italyakha does not mean "big italian" as the author writes and it is not a term of respect in Russian. Quite the opposite. Its actually a disrespectful and contemptuous term.

6. There are other inaccuracies in the book but the last one I’ll mention is that Nayfeld TWICE cooperated with law enforcement in order to reduce his sentence. I don’t understand how the author glosses over this and ignores the fact that Nayfeld is a snitch. The author tries to paint him in some legendary light as a modern-day Misha Yaponchik, the “lass boss of Brighton Beach”. Which is ludicrous. The man did time in prisons and cell blocks reserved for cooperators and informers. He was never a boss to begin with but after betraying the only life he knew not once but twice, there is nothing more to say on the matter. In that world, for his former friends, there is only one word that could describe him. And it’s the one word he refused to let the author use.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads for this ARC. Fascinating look at Russian organized crime and how it operates both in the U.S. and in other countries, based largely on interviews with Boris Nayfeld. Sometimes hard to tell what is truth vs Mr. Nayfeld's interpretation of the truth, but the author does point out inconsistencies.

[Fan_kryminalow · Rating 5 out of 5]

,,Ostatni szef. Prawdziwa historia najpotężniejszego przywódcy rosyjskiej mafii w Ameryce" reportaż true crime Douglasa Century o życiu i działalności przestępczej Borysa ,,Biby" Najfelda. Książka jest efektem czterech lat rozmów Century z Najfeldem.

Borys Najfeld jest radziecko-żydowskim emigrantem gangsterem, który działał niemal na całym świecie. Celowo nie używam określenia rosyjski z uwagi, że urodził się na terenie jednej z republik ZSRR w Homlu, dzisiejsza Białoruś, co dokładnie autor wyjaśnia w książce do czego odnosi się słowo ,,rosyjski".
W reportażu przewija się całe życie Borysa Najfelda, od dzieciństwa i jego początku życia przestępczego w Związku Radzieckim, kolejno poprzez działaność w Stanach Zjednoczonych, Europie, Afryce i Azji. Historie opowiadane przez Borysa przeplatane są opisami oraz opiniami autora, a także pojawiają się wycinki z gazet i akt sądowych. Wspomnianych jest wiele morderstw, które oficjalnie nie zostały wyjaśnione przez śledczych.

Pojawia się polski akcent w postaci Ryszarda Mariana Koziny, który urodził się w Katowicach, a znany w USA jako Ricardo Fanchini lub polski Al Capone. Drugi polski akcent to Warszawa jako miasto tranzytowe i miejsce spotkań gangsterów.

Borys Najfeld przez wiele lat czuł się bezkarny, a perspektywa amerykańskiego więzienia w porównaniu do radzieckiego była jak raj do piekła. W radzieckim więzieniu najważniejszym celem było nie umrzeć z głodu, a w amerykańskim kto będzie mógł zmieniać kanały w kolorowym telewizorze. Jedyne zagrożenie Borys odczuwał ze strony innych gangsterów, jednak wiele razy udawało mu się wyjść bez większego szwanku z zamachów na jego życie. Przewija się wielu gangsterów pochodzących ze Związku Radzieckiego, obecnej Rosji, włoskiej Cosa Nostry, czy też karteli z Ameryki Południowej.

Reportaż ,,Ostatni szef" przypadł mi do gustu i mogę go szczerze polecić wszystkim fanom tego gatunku jak i osobom, które chcą przeczytać coś innego, niż zwykle.
W ostatnim czasie jeden kryminał tak mnie zmęczył, że już miałem dość tego gatunku, więc odskocznia w postaci reportażu true crime była bardzo potrzebna, a na dodatek nie było nudy. Polecam poznać biografię ,,Ostatniego szefa".

[Czytelniczy zamęt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na początku książki dowiadujemy się dlaczego powstała książka właśnie o Borysie Najfeldzie, Żydzie rosyjskiego pochodzenia. Bo jako jedyny dożył słusznego wieku ponad 70 lat, a nie zginął publicznie (lub nie) jak jego przyjaciele czy wrogowie z mafii. To dobry argument do stworzenia tego reportażu.

I nie jest to historia tylko jednego człowieka. Bo ten człowiek zawsze żył gdzieś. A to gdzieś to np. Rosja lat 50. ubiegłego wieku, gdzie panował głód, a Żydzi nie mogli się ze swoją religią nie obnosić. To też lata emigracji do Nowego Jorku i życia w dzielnicach, gdzie nie trzeba było nawet znać angielskiego, żeby sobie nieźle żyć. Jest trochę o Belgii, Sierra Leone i o wszystkich innych miejscach, gdzie można było kraść, wyłudzać, szwindlować. Jest trochę o mafii włoskiej, jak sobie radzili i jak współpracowali z rosyjską. Jest też o tym, na czym można było najwięcej zarobić - benzyna, narkotyki, diamenty.

Ciekawa historia, wciągająca, bardzo obiektywna (!), pokazująca sposoby działania mafii i przedstawiająca trochę tej ciemnej historii USA, gdzie w sumie American Dream się spełnił, tylko nie tak jak standardowo o nim myśleliśmy. Sądzę, że ta książka spodobała mi się tak bardzo też przez to, że dużo tutaj było o Europie i sytuacji na naszym kontynencie w ubiegłym wieku, która wpłynęła na bohaterów książki (m.in. komunizm, upadek Muru Berlińskiego).

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no idea. A Russian Jewish mob boss in Brooklyn? Not only that, but of course he wasn't alone. To be a boss, there must be others. There were, and possibly still are, many Russian criminals working among, but mostly not together with, the Italians in New York.

Although the topic is interesting, not all of the book was. I found a lot of it boring, and too much of it in Nayfeld's own words. And although he may be gifted as a criminal, he is not gifted with words. In fact, he managed to live for 3 or 4 decades in the US and during that time hardly learned any English. Somehow, you don't manage to learn that much about Nayfeld. Oh, you learn about many of his exploits and dirty dealings, but I, for one, didn't come away with the feeling that I had gotten to know the man and whereas I have read about other criminals for whom I developed some sympathy, that wasn't the case here. Maybe so much of the book was in his own words because he controlled the project and wanted to maintain a facade.

One thing I learned was that if you're going to be a criminal, better to do it in the U.S. than in Russia because according to Nayfeld, American prisons are oh so much better to be in -- some almost like country clubs. The book is said to be non-fiction.

[Onaczytanoca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bardzo dawno temu lubiłam sięgać po książki o mafii, m. in. czytałam o naszym Prószkowie. Gdy zobaczyłam „Ostatni szef" @douglascentury wiedziałam, że muszę ją przeczytać.

Borys Najfeld pochodzi z Homla w Związku Radzieckim, ale emigrował do Ameryki. Już jako nastolatek był chuliganem, a po wyjeździe za granicę nie zamierzał rezygnować z życia w półświatku.

Zawsze gdy zaczynam czytać takie książki zastanawiam się jak tym ludziom udaje się żyć w ciągłym strach o siebie i rodzinę, jak udaje im się tak długo uciekać przed wymiarem sprawiedliwości.

Ale bardzo fascynujące jest to jak inteligentni są najwięksi bossowie. Bo przecież nie każdemu uda się przemycić heroinę z Bangkoku, przez Warszawę, do Ameryki.

Chociaż myślałam, że książka bardziej mnie wciągnie, poczuję więcej emocji. Niestety tak się nie stało.

Czasami trudności sprawiały mi niektóre słowa z gwary przestępczej czy z rosyjskiego. Ale na szczęście można się posiłkować słowniczkiem na końcu książki.

Nie mniej jednak książka przedstawia kawał historii rosyjskiej mafii w Ameryce. Niestety mnie nie wciągnęła tak jak myślałam, że to robi. Ale na pewno nie jednej osobie przypadnie bardziej do gustu.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written, highly engaging window into the mind of one of the most infamous figures in Russian-American organized crime. I really appreciated the author's research into and contextualization of the original Russian vory v zakone and their links to the Brighton Beach criminal community. I also loved the author's use of Russian slang and his inclusion of a glossary at the end of the book was a very useful reference. The only real downside was that the action sagged a bit for me during the middle of the book, which caused me to lose momentum, but the first half of the book and the ending were really strong. I would definitely recommend this book to readers interested in the topic.

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a Russian Jewish gangster, born shortly after World War II, who left what was then the USSR in the late 1970s and became a major player in the underworld of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, a Russian enclave.

I was hoping this would be a book in the style of Patrick Radden Keefe's "The Snakehead," which follows a main character but puts the events in a larger context, painting a portrait of the people in a particular time and place. Instead, the book reads as if the writer interviewed the protagonist and no one else.

[Alex Bendix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe this doesn’t have more reviews! If you like organized crime or former USSR or history or even if you just have a beating heart this is for you

Crazy story of Russian mob in nyc based in Brighton beach aka Mecca. Just absurd to hear how these guys started out in Soviet gulags basically and then made their way here. If you’re a fan of the sopranos I think this would engage. Highly recommend

[Shea Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!

This book was phenomenal… and, not just because of my love for the Russian mob. 😂 I laughed, I cried, I was alarmed I liked things I shouldn’t and mad that Biba did terrible things — but, yet I couldn’t get over his good mobsta qualities either. ❤️

The audio version brings the story to life.

Thankful books like this exist and thankful for such talented authors!

[Michelle Pulignani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Paul McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books that I didn’t want to end. I’m a sucker for anything related to soviet era crime and this didn’t disappoint.

[Tiandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a giveaway. I did enjoy this book, of course, I went into this book with a healthy dose of skepticism about the extent of Boris' crimes. It was still a fascinating story.

[ashe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and honestly action packed recollection of a mobster.

[Alex Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look into the life of a notorious criminal, the inner mechanisms of why he became who he became, the journey from child to career criminal.

[David Finer · Rating 5 out of 5]

true crime Russian mob story? Yes please

[Lenny Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Boss of Brighton is page-turning biography of an aging and unrepentant gangster as well as an investigation into the origins of the Russian Mob in America.

It reads like a novel - though all based in fact.

Century takes you deep into the mind of Boris Nayfeld, a violent and often cunning guy born in the USSR who spent nearly his entire life in organized crime.

These gangsters from the USSR brought a sophisticated mentality as they came to the USA - always looking for new scams and hustles, most infamously in the gasoline tax scam (Century alleges that they stole billions annually from the US government).

Includes photos, maps and a helpful glossary. I really recommend this!

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Startling account of an apologetic Jewish gangster and the dark side of the American dream. The author visits with aging Boris Nayfeld, the last of the original Russian mob bosses who clawed his way to the top of the NYC underworld.

[Diana Cohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an eye-opening account of the making of a Russian organized crime boss in the U.S.

Century gives some of the sociology and historical context (starting in the oppression of the USSR) to show what shapes an unrepentant "professional criminal" like Boris Nayfeld, but the book is really a terrific true-crime yarn - lots of intrigue and action that kept me turning the pages.

The interaction between the Soviet born gangsters in Brooklyn and their Italian Mafia counterparts was particularly interesting and something I'd never seen in a book before.

Great read!

[Dmitri Rabin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not for everyone, but I liked it in part because the history of immigration from the USSR is something I experienced. Background is well researched, but it’s the interviews with the main character that make the book shine.