Gangsters of Miami: True Tales of Mobsters, Gamblers, Hit Men, Con Men and Gang Bangers from the Magic City

by Ron Chepesiuk

This book chronicles gang and gangster history using profiles to tell the rise of the gangster and history of crime in Miami. Known as the Magic City, the book traces gangsters that include the notorious smugglers of the Prohibition era, famous mobsters like Al Capone and Myer Lansky, the Cuban Mafia, the Colombian cartel, the Russian mafia, and the current street gangs that have come to plague Miami after the advent of crack cocaine.

Genres: True Crime, Crime

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2009

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another well written and comprehensive regional underworld history. In a fast-moving and readable narrative, Chepesiuk exposes the roots of organized crime in southern Florida, moves quickly through Prohibition and the rise of gambling, and settles in for a detailed discussion of the regional drug trade.

Gangsters of Miami spends little time on the growth of organized crime in southern Florida, which is my own primary interest. The author decides that the first extended visit by a big-time mobster to Miami was made by Al Capone in 1928, and a number of the book’s early pages are filled with a simplistic retelling of Chicago gangland lore. The author surprisingly neglects the well publicized Miami arrests of New York-based Mafia chief Joe Masseria and his lieutenant Charlie Luciano in 1930. Clearly, documenting the early organized crime presence in Miami was not Chepesiuk's priority.

Chepesiuk does note the investments of a number of Mafiosi in Miami-area rackets. And he touches on the related underworld histories of Tampa and Havana, Cuba.

The drug trade, involving Russian organized criminals, Cuban exiles and ethnic gangs from South and Central America, is the focus of much of Chepesiuk’s attention. Like his other works, Gangsters of Miami is a must-have for those interested in the criminal history of the region.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of "Gangsters of Miami" work well and have some heft to them. Others sections feel rushed and abortive. Another problem is that Chepesiuk's scattershot approach mixes stories about subjects like serial killers (including the very bizarre "Yahweh bin Yahweh" sect) with more straightforward tales of drug dealing and bootlegging.

The author is on solid ground when writing about the Miami of old, the palm-upholstered sleepy vacation spot for mobsters looking for rest and respite from the mafia wars back East.

The sections on Miami during the height of the Cocaine Wars-what should be the meat of the book-aren't necessarily bad, but either the author's primary sources are the two excellent "Cocaine Cowboys" films by Billy Corben, or Mr. Corben told pretty much everything that needed to be told and Chepesiuk's book is mostly a rehash of things related better elsewhere.

The author mentions the effect that the television show "Miami Vice" had on perceptions of "the Magic City" (not to mention on the city's tourism boom in the 80s as a result of Crockett and Tubbs' neon-soaked escapades), but the overall feel is cursory and superficial.

It's sort of the true crime equivalent of an hour-long episode of an A & E special on the same subject. You get the broad outlines and some info about the principals, but the book lacks the psychological insight and depth that the best forays in the genre offer.

Far from definitive, but undeniably exciting in spots, mileage may vary and the crime buff should weigh my mixed review against the others, then come to their own conclusions.

[Yasmina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good historical read!!

[Carin Lozano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!