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Operation Family Secrets: How a Mobster's Son and the FBI Brought Down Chicago's Murderous Crime Family
Operation Family Secrets is the chilling true story of how the son of the most violent mobster in Chicago made the unprecedented decision to work with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to incriminate his own father and to help bring down the last great American crime syndicate—the one-hundred-year-old Chicago Outfit.
The Calabrese family of Chicago is a close-knit, middle-class, multi-generational Italian-Irish-American clan. They operate family businesses. They work day and night striving for the American Dream. All three sons forge a bond with their controlling father, Frank Sr., and their soft-spoken favorite uncle, Nick. As a boy, the oldest son, Frank Jr., realizes that his father and uncle are also “made” members of another close-knit family: the outfit.
In Operation Family Secrets Frank Calabrese, Jr., tells the turbulent tale of a family dominated by a violent patriarch who breaks a longstanding unwritten outfit code and “brings the street into his home” by enlisting two of his sons into the outfit’s 26th Street/Chinatown crew. Frank Jr. reveals for the first time the outfit’s “made” ceremony and describes being put to work alongside his father and uncle in loan sharking, gambling, labor racketeering, and extortion, and plotting the slaying of a fellow gangster, while they commit the bombing murder of a trucking executive, the gangland execution of two mobsters whose burial in an Indiana cornfield was reenacted in Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster film Casino, and numerous other hits.
The Calabrese Crew’s colossal earnings and extreme ruthlessness make them both a dreaded criminal gang and the object of an intense FBi inquiry. Eventually Frank Jr., his father, and Uncle Nick are convicted on racketeering violations, and “Junior” and “Senior” are sent to the same federal penitentiary in Michigan. Upon arrival, Frank Jr. makes a life-changing decision: to go straight rather than agree to his father’s plans to resume crew activities after serving his sentence. But he needs to keep his father behind bars in order to regain control of his life and save his family. Frank Jr. makes a secret deal with prosecutors, and for six months—unmonitored and unprotected—he wears a wire as his father recounts decades of hideous crimes. Frank Jr.’s cooperation with the FBi for virtually no monetary gain or special privileges helps create the government’s “operation Family Secrets” campaign against the Chicago outfit. The case reopens eighteen unsolved murders and also implicates twelve La Cosa Nostra soldiers and two outfit bosses. it becomes one of the largest organized crime cases in U.S. history.
Operation Family Secrets intimately portrays how organized crime rots a family from the inside out while detailing Frank Jr.’s deadly prison-yard mission, the FBI’s landmark investigation, and the U.S. attorney’s office’s daring prosecution of america’s most dangerous criminal organization.
The Calabrese family of Chicago is a close-knit, middle-class, multi-generational Italian-Irish-American clan. They operate family businesses. They work day and night striving for the American Dream. All three sons forge a bond with their controlling father, Frank Sr., and their soft-spoken favorite uncle, Nick. As a boy, the oldest son, Frank Jr., realizes that his father and uncle are also “made” members of another close-knit family: the outfit.
In Operation Family Secrets Frank Calabrese, Jr., tells the turbulent tale of a family dominated by a violent patriarch who breaks a longstanding unwritten outfit code and “brings the street into his home” by enlisting two of his sons into the outfit’s 26th Street/Chinatown crew. Frank Jr. reveals for the first time the outfit’s “made” ceremony and describes being put to work alongside his father and uncle in loan sharking, gambling, labor racketeering, and extortion, and plotting the slaying of a fellow gangster, while they commit the bombing murder of a trucking executive, the gangland execution of two mobsters whose burial in an Indiana cornfield was reenacted in Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster film Casino, and numerous other hits.
The Calabrese Crew’s colossal earnings and extreme ruthlessness make them both a dreaded criminal gang and the object of an intense FBi inquiry. Eventually Frank Jr., his father, and Uncle Nick are convicted on racketeering violations, and “Junior” and “Senior” are sent to the same federal penitentiary in Michigan. Upon arrival, Frank Jr. makes a life-changing decision: to go straight rather than agree to his father’s plans to resume crew activities after serving his sentence. But he needs to keep his father behind bars in order to regain control of his life and save his family. Frank Jr. makes a secret deal with prosecutors, and for six months—unmonitored and unprotected—he wears a wire as his father recounts decades of hideous crimes. Frank Jr.’s cooperation with the FBi for virtually no monetary gain or special privileges helps create the government’s “operation Family Secrets” campaign against the Chicago outfit. The case reopens eighteen unsolved murders and also implicates twelve La Cosa Nostra soldiers and two outfit bosses. it becomes one of the largest organized crime cases in U.S. history.
Operation Family Secrets intimately portrays how organized crime rots a family from the inside out while detailing Frank Jr.’s deadly prison-yard mission, the FBI’s landmark investigation, and the U.S. attorney’s office’s daring prosecution of america’s most dangerous criminal organization.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2011
212 people are currently reading
1187 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
July 9, 2013
I did a book signing with Frank Calabese Jr. last year for my book Mafia Hairdresserbecause it was a Chicago mafia themed book signing. The signing was actually at Bella Luna, a well-known mob restaurant I still frequent often.
For those of you who don't know this, Frank is the man who went to prison with his own murderous father for "tax reasons," and he was wire-tapped while in prison talking to his dad. This brought down the whole entire Chicago old-school mob!
Frank is a hero, even to some of the old-school mobsters who also feared his father for their lives.
This book is a fantastic read. It's true. And it it's touching. How hard would it be to insure your own father would never leave prison? To save his own soul and his family, this is exactly what Frank did.
Note: The owner of Bella Luna was a man who stood up to Frank's father and lived. Not many people did. It's in the book.
Note: Did you see the movie "Vegas?" Yup. Those characters were real and they are in the book.
Note: I hung out with Frank for another book signing the next day and we got to talking. It turns out that Frank knew the mob couple I worked for as a hairdresser in L.A. in the 1980s. Small world. (Only I didn't have the balls to write a biography. I wrote the novel version.)
Note: I heard that this book may be a film and I can't wait!
"Read this book or I'll cut you!" - Mafia Hairdresser
For those of you who don't know this, Frank is the man who went to prison with his own murderous father for "tax reasons," and he was wire-tapped while in prison talking to his dad. This brought down the whole entire Chicago old-school mob!
Frank is a hero, even to some of the old-school mobsters who also feared his father for their lives.
This book is a fantastic read. It's true. And it it's touching. How hard would it be to insure your own father would never leave prison? To save his own soul and his family, this is exactly what Frank did.
Note: The owner of Bella Luna was a man who stood up to Frank's father and lived. Not many people did. It's in the book.
Note: Did you see the movie "Vegas?" Yup. Those characters were real and they are in the book.
Note: I hung out with Frank for another book signing the next day and we got to talking. It turns out that Frank knew the mob couple I worked for as a hairdresser in L.A. in the 1980s. Small world. (Only I didn't have the balls to write a biography. I wrote the novel version.)
Note: I heard that this book may be a film and I can't wait!
"Read this book or I'll cut you!" - Mafia Hairdresser
February 6, 2022
Regularly on the lookout for easy-to-read books compatible with managing a used bookstore and having, thanks to the store, tens of thousands of volumes to choose from, I pulled this off the shelves after reading two biographies of Sam Giancana. Published in 2011, it opens a window on Mob activities in Chicago since Giancana' assassination.
This memoir/history was written by the son and namesake of Frank Calabrese, a noted loan shark, extortionist and murderer who recently died in custody. It tells the story of the Calabrese family, of being brought up in the Mob, and of ultimately turning against it, detailing the FBI-led investigation and subsequent trial which brought a host of criminals to justice.
For me, the most interesting, and sobering, portions were those detailing some of the corruption in the Chicago police force and in some of the local trade unions. As a long-time resident of the city, it was also interesting to read of familiar locations where people were murdered and where bodies were literally buried after mob hits.
This is not a piece of great literature. The structure is basically chronological, the chapters short, the text easy going. Such benefit as it provides, beyond some understanding of organized crime and Chicago history, is some sympathetic insight into how some persons become criminals.
This memoir/history was written by the son and namesake of Frank Calabrese, a noted loan shark, extortionist and murderer who recently died in custody. It tells the story of the Calabrese family, of being brought up in the Mob, and of ultimately turning against it, detailing the FBI-led investigation and subsequent trial which brought a host of criminals to justice.
For me, the most interesting, and sobering, portions were those detailing some of the corruption in the Chicago police force and in some of the local trade unions. As a long-time resident of the city, it was also interesting to read of familiar locations where people were murdered and where bodies were literally buried after mob hits.
This is not a piece of great literature. The structure is basically chronological, the chapters short, the text easy going. Such benefit as it provides, beyond some understanding of organized crime and Chicago history, is some sympathetic insight into how some persons become criminals.
July 31, 2012
Mafia stories like The Godfather and The Sopranos have always intrigued me. It was interesting to read a real-life Mafia story and see how the "movie Mafia" differs from it. I have to say that there is not much difference at all. Frank Calabrese, Jr. is a brave man to not only refuse to enter the witness protection program but then to also co-author a tell-all book about growing up with a father in the Chicago Mafia, which is known as the Outfit.
I realize that the names of the people were out of the authors' control since this was a true story, but so many of the people in this book have the same or similar names that at times it was hard for me to keep straight who was who, even with the "Cast of Characters" list that is provided at the front of the book. I did think that the authors did a good job of explaining Outfit slang terms and traditions and customs. It really is a whole other culture. And after hearing the term RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) a million times while watching the Sopranos, I think I finally have a fairly good grasp on what it means thanks to this book.
This was a fascinating first-hand look into the Outfit and particularly the author's father, Frank Calabrese, Sr. who was so terrifying even by the Outfit's standards that he caused his own brother and son to cooperate fully with the FBI to put him away. Fans of Mafia movies like The Godfather and Casino will especially enjoy this book.
I realize that the names of the people were out of the authors' control since this was a true story, but so many of the people in this book have the same or similar names that at times it was hard for me to keep straight who was who, even with the "Cast of Characters" list that is provided at the front of the book. I did think that the authors did a good job of explaining Outfit slang terms and traditions and customs. It really is a whole other culture. And after hearing the term RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) a million times while watching the Sopranos, I think I finally have a fairly good grasp on what it means thanks to this book.
This was a fascinating first-hand look into the Outfit and particularly the author's father, Frank Calabrese, Sr. who was so terrifying even by the Outfit's standards that he caused his own brother and son to cooperate fully with the FBI to put him away. Fans of Mafia movies like The Godfather and Casino will especially enjoy this book.
June 10, 2024
Back story on me reading this book: while in Vegas we went to The Mob museum (10 out of 10, highly recommend). Towards the end of the tour we were immediately drawn in by a guy telling his family’s story and their ties to the mob. A story teller! We were there for like an hour and didn’t even realize it! The guy was Frank Calabrese, jr. And so naturally I had to check his book out.
I was crushed when there was no audiobook available for this book because clearly I could sit and listen to this man all day. Me trying to conjure up an Italian accent in my head didn’t really work out all that well, but I did my best. The book was very detailed and could be quite gruesome. Overall, informative and entertaining.
Listening to Frank jr. in person was much better, but I dare not give this anything less than a 4, the mob is real, and they ain’t about to come get me. Nope.
I was crushed when there was no audiobook available for this book because clearly I could sit and listen to this man all day. Me trying to conjure up an Italian accent in my head didn’t really work out all that well, but I did my best. The book was very detailed and could be quite gruesome. Overall, informative and entertaining.
Listening to Frank jr. in person was much better, but I dare not give this anything less than a 4, the mob is real, and they ain’t about to come get me. Nope.
September 25, 2024
Hard to follow and sporadic. Got my book signed though and overall interesting to read.
August 8, 2025
Interesting Mafia nonfiction covers the mobster son snitching on his mobster boss father. The mobsters are straight out of The Sopranos with their colorful nicknames and a rising body count. The mobsters' trials are the best part for me. There are many names to keep track of. The writing is lively.
May 31, 2011
I heard an interview with the author on NPR a while ago and decided I should read the book. I wasn't disappointed at all.
The author (with help) writes a clear, clean description of what it was like to grow up with his father, a made man in the Chicago Mob. He shows how the different groups interact and how some people actually switch allegiances, not always with retribution.
But the best part is his own personal story. Basically, his father groomed him to join the ranks most of his life. He started by picking up and counting quarters from peep show machines and then picking up "insurance" money from "protected" businesses. He helped his father balance the books each week and began to accompany his father on larger assignments.
He never claims that his life is representative of mob life. His father was a sociopath, if not a psychopath, and beat his children all the time. Then he would turn around and give them small gifts or forgive them something that they were sure would land them in the grave. He had a "look" that scared the heck out of both his family and his customers. He was THE hit man for his branch and always made sure the job was done right. He enticed his brother into joining also, but we see from Frank Jr. that Nick (his uncle) was never really comfortable with the role.
Serving time in prison with his father and other members of the gang, Frank Jr. decides to turn his father in. He had been promised he would not serve his time in the same prison as his father, but something went wrong and he was. He knew his father, who had sworn that he would "go straight" when he got out, was still handling Mob business from inside. Although he had kept thinking most of his life that his father WAS going to turn over a new leaf and become "a real father" he finally realized that was not going to happen and that he needed to do something that would keep his father in jail for the rest of his life. So he "turned." He wore a wire for the FBI.
Eventually, his uncle Nick did also. The information from the 2 of them gave the FBI enough to solve several long ago murders as well as recent illegal activities.
It's not a spoiler to say that Frank Jr. and his uncle succeeded. Nick, however, had to admit to his part in several murders and take the consequences. He did so willingly and served his time. Actually he is due to get out in 2012.
Frank, Jr. has turned his life around and lives in Arizona with his family, running a legitimate business. He knows that he is constantly watched to see if he has returned to "the life," but he understands that's necessary because of his previous life.
And he doesn't really feel guilty about jailing his own father for life. Read the book and you'll be glad.
The author (with help) writes a clear, clean description of what it was like to grow up with his father, a made man in the Chicago Mob. He shows how the different groups interact and how some people actually switch allegiances, not always with retribution.
But the best part is his own personal story. Basically, his father groomed him to join the ranks most of his life. He started by picking up and counting quarters from peep show machines and then picking up "insurance" money from "protected" businesses. He helped his father balance the books each week and began to accompany his father on larger assignments.
He never claims that his life is representative of mob life. His father was a sociopath, if not a psychopath, and beat his children all the time. Then he would turn around and give them small gifts or forgive them something that they were sure would land them in the grave. He had a "look" that scared the heck out of both his family and his customers. He was THE hit man for his branch and always made sure the job was done right. He enticed his brother into joining also, but we see from Frank Jr. that Nick (his uncle) was never really comfortable with the role.
Serving time in prison with his father and other members of the gang, Frank Jr. decides to turn his father in. He had been promised he would not serve his time in the same prison as his father, but something went wrong and he was. He knew his father, who had sworn that he would "go straight" when he got out, was still handling Mob business from inside. Although he had kept thinking most of his life that his father WAS going to turn over a new leaf and become "a real father" he finally realized that was not going to happen and that he needed to do something that would keep his father in jail for the rest of his life. So he "turned." He wore a wire for the FBI.
Eventually, his uncle Nick did also. The information from the 2 of them gave the FBI enough to solve several long ago murders as well as recent illegal activities.
It's not a spoiler to say that Frank Jr. and his uncle succeeded. Nick, however, had to admit to his part in several murders and take the consequences. He did so willingly and served his time. Actually he is due to get out in 2012.
Frank, Jr. has turned his life around and lives in Arizona with his family, running a legitimate business. He knows that he is constantly watched to see if he has returned to "the life," but he understands that's necessary because of his previous life.
And he doesn't really feel guilty about jailing his own father for life. Read the book and you'll be glad.
September 8, 2017
A very interesting look at the mob through the eyes of a mrmber
February 14, 2025
This memoir/true crime book is a must read for any aficionado of organized crime and the mob. Frank Calabrease, Jr. shares his story of growing up with a mobster father (who also happens to be a psycho), and starting to work for “the outfit”himself in high school. Starting with collecting quarters at a peep show businesses and “insurance” protection payments Frank began to find himself embroiled deeper and deeper into the Chicago mob scene. Interestingly, the gangster culture is very much as portrayed in the movies, from the shoot outs to the nicknames to the loyalty expected.
I don’t think it is a spoiler as it is on the cover of the book,but he eventually wants out and has to turn against his violent father to do so.
The plot is 4 or maybe even a 5, but the writing itself is more of a 3. It was a fascinating story,but I think it could have been told in a more engaging way.
3.5 rounded up to 4.
August 27, 2017
Once again I have to beg forgiveness from my followers. Of books, I have read many, of writing, I have done little. I hate myself when I let these reviews back up like this but as all readers and writers are aware….so many books, so little time!
Operation Family Secrets itself is a codename for an FBI operation into the world of La Cosa Nostra in Chicago. Where the New York mob is comprised largely of Italian made men, the Chicago mob is a melting pot of made men. Chicago is well known for its Italian, Sicilian, Polish, Russian, Jewish and Mexican mafia’s in addition to organized multi-generational street gangs whose activities are organized. Add in one of the most notorious hit men Frank (The German) Schweiss and you can see that it is more diverse than some.
Frank Calabrese Sr. is also a notorious hit man. Unlike many of his fellow LCN members who attempt to make enough money to put their children through expensive private schools and colleges in order to steer them away from “the life”, Frank is a paranoid man who only trusts those closest to him – but just barely.
This book is written by Frank Jr. and examines how through his father, he and his younger brother were groomed for “the life” and then immersed in it, much to their chagrin. As his father became more paranoid, Frank Jr., never a true devotee to begin with, tried many times to leave but was always forced back into crime by his father. Finally, Jr. wrote to the FBI after he was incarcerated, endangering himself by wearing a wire to record conversations with his father, himself incarcerated at the same facility.
In a rare unguarded moment for Sr., he outlined his crimes to his son. At times the detail is explicit – at others it is more oblique but with the background, it is easy to read between the lines. Sr’s crew operated out of Chinatown but controlled parts of the downtown entertainment District, Chinatown and Elmhurst. All of the old chestnuts of organized crime are there: loan sharking, extortion, drugs, robbery, jewel theft and the like. And of course, murder.
What I enjoyed most about the book is the look at how most (if not all) organized crime relies on generational participation and how legitimate business’ are busted out (or juiced) until the owner relinquishes them to the mob. This allows the mob to become the owner and establish their own laundry to clean the money as well as give them tax fronts and business” with which to get their medical insurance and provide a sense of legitimacy.
In other words, how the Trump family operates. (Now don’t get crazy if you’re a Trump supporter) I am just pointing out an alternate economic system at work here. And I couldn’t resist the jibe! Trump’s involvement with local mobs in major cities is well known as an adjunct to his “developments”.
Frank Jr. shows remarkable courage in this book. He has the old problem of loving a father but hating the man. Sr. was quite cruel to his children and wife. He was even willing to hide ill gotten gains at his elderly parents home then evict them when he needed to finance his defense.
I hope there are more books about the Family Secrets material from other writers because this is a fascinating glimpse into current mob activities in Chicago which have been more shrouded and lower profile than their New York counterparts.
Operation Family Secrets itself is a codename for an FBI operation into the world of La Cosa Nostra in Chicago. Where the New York mob is comprised largely of Italian made men, the Chicago mob is a melting pot of made men. Chicago is well known for its Italian, Sicilian, Polish, Russian, Jewish and Mexican mafia’s in addition to organized multi-generational street gangs whose activities are organized. Add in one of the most notorious hit men Frank (The German) Schweiss and you can see that it is more diverse than some.
Frank Calabrese Sr. is also a notorious hit man. Unlike many of his fellow LCN members who attempt to make enough money to put their children through expensive private schools and colleges in order to steer them away from “the life”, Frank is a paranoid man who only trusts those closest to him – but just barely.
This book is written by Frank Jr. and examines how through his father, he and his younger brother were groomed for “the life” and then immersed in it, much to their chagrin. As his father became more paranoid, Frank Jr., never a true devotee to begin with, tried many times to leave but was always forced back into crime by his father. Finally, Jr. wrote to the FBI after he was incarcerated, endangering himself by wearing a wire to record conversations with his father, himself incarcerated at the same facility.
In a rare unguarded moment for Sr., he outlined his crimes to his son. At times the detail is explicit – at others it is more oblique but with the background, it is easy to read between the lines. Sr’s crew operated out of Chinatown but controlled parts of the downtown entertainment District, Chinatown and Elmhurst. All of the old chestnuts of organized crime are there: loan sharking, extortion, drugs, robbery, jewel theft and the like. And of course, murder.
What I enjoyed most about the book is the look at how most (if not all) organized crime relies on generational participation and how legitimate business’ are busted out (or juiced) until the owner relinquishes them to the mob. This allows the mob to become the owner and establish their own laundry to clean the money as well as give them tax fronts and business” with which to get their medical insurance and provide a sense of legitimacy.
In other words, how the Trump family operates. (Now don’t get crazy if you’re a Trump supporter) I am just pointing out an alternate economic system at work here. And I couldn’t resist the jibe! Trump’s involvement with local mobs in major cities is well known as an adjunct to his “developments”.
Frank Jr. shows remarkable courage in this book. He has the old problem of loving a father but hating the man. Sr. was quite cruel to his children and wife. He was even willing to hide ill gotten gains at his elderly parents home then evict them when he needed to finance his defense.
I hope there are more books about the Family Secrets material from other writers because this is a fascinating glimpse into current mob activities in Chicago which have been more shrouded and lower profile than their New York counterparts.
April 9, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “IT WAS A FORMAL MURDER PARTY, EVERYONE WAS WEARING GLOVES.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a brutal story that chronicles a murderous “outfit” in the Chicago mob that is built around a psychopathic Father, Frank Calabrese Sr. and his son Frank Calabrese, Jr., who tells the story of a domineering abusive Father that forces him into the same way of life. The cold blooded descriptions of one murder after another are not for the squeamish. Frank Jr. who kept trying unsuccessfully to get out from under his multi-personality cold-blooded killing Father to try to lead a “straight” life… eventually winds up in a federal prison with his Father. Then he does the most unthinkable of the unthinkable. He puts his life on the line by contacting the FBI to rat on his Father… and agrees to wear a wire *IN THE PRISON YARD* to get taped confessions of his Father’s almost uncountable amount of murders. The reader can feel the spine tingling tension and fear when the son takes a walk with his Father in the “yard” fully “wired-up”. Jr. feels his Father is such a menace to society as well as already reneging on his pledge to get out of the “business” after prison, it’s the only chance he himself has for a real life after prison. As if the emotional toll isn’t high enough… simply ratting out his Father… but for Jr. to tell the whole story to the FBI he will have to include putting a noose around his Uncle Nick’s neck, who Jr. has real affection for. Nick was involved in double digit murders either with… or at the bequest of Frank Sr. Though Nick was a cold-blooded killer himself… even he buckled under and cowered in the presence of Frank Sr. the few times he tried to stand up to Sr. regarding not forcing Jr. into “the-life”… he was physically and emotionally pummeled.
The family “outfit” specialized in “juiced” loans, gambling, labor racketeering, “no-show” jobs that were made famous in numerous “Soprano” episodes’, extortion, and countless murders. And when it came to murder it didn’t matter whether you were in the “outfit” or not. The corruption covered travels from Chicago to Las Vegas to Indiana and points in between. Numerous real life killings, skimming’s, and breaking of mob code described here were used in Martin Scorsese’s film “CASINO”.
There are millions of dollars buried in the ground… riches hidden behind fake walls… and an abundance of one of my favorite nuances indigenous to true life mob sagas… *NICKNAMES*! Here are a few: “JOE BATTERS… BIG TUNA/DOVES/THE LACKEY/THE HOOK/JOHNNY APES/POKER TIRES/SHORTY/BIG STOOP/TOOTS/LITTLE GUY/TWAN/GUMBA/CICCIO/CURLY/WINGS/JOE NAGALL/ROCKY/TONY BORS/LITTLE JIMMY/JIMMY LIGHT/TONY THE HATCH/SOLLY D/THE CLOWN/LUMPY/THE ANT/THE INDIAN/TOOTSIE/JIMMY THE BOMBER/NO NOSE/THE BUILDER/THE MOOCH. The history making trial that is built around Jr.’s tapes and testimony has gone down as one of the biggest mob convictions in history… and you have a front row seat with this book.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a brutal story that chronicles a murderous “outfit” in the Chicago mob that is built around a psychopathic Father, Frank Calabrese Sr. and his son Frank Calabrese, Jr., who tells the story of a domineering abusive Father that forces him into the same way of life. The cold blooded descriptions of one murder after another are not for the squeamish. Frank Jr. who kept trying unsuccessfully to get out from under his multi-personality cold-blooded killing Father to try to lead a “straight” life… eventually winds up in a federal prison with his Father. Then he does the most unthinkable of the unthinkable. He puts his life on the line by contacting the FBI to rat on his Father… and agrees to wear a wire *IN THE PRISON YARD* to get taped confessions of his Father’s almost uncountable amount of murders. The reader can feel the spine tingling tension and fear when the son takes a walk with his Father in the “yard” fully “wired-up”. Jr. feels his Father is such a menace to society as well as already reneging on his pledge to get out of the “business” after prison, it’s the only chance he himself has for a real life after prison. As if the emotional toll isn’t high enough… simply ratting out his Father… but for Jr. to tell the whole story to the FBI he will have to include putting a noose around his Uncle Nick’s neck, who Jr. has real affection for. Nick was involved in double digit murders either with… or at the bequest of Frank Sr. Though Nick was a cold-blooded killer himself… even he buckled under and cowered in the presence of Frank Sr. the few times he tried to stand up to Sr. regarding not forcing Jr. into “the-life”… he was physically and emotionally pummeled.
The family “outfit” specialized in “juiced” loans, gambling, labor racketeering, “no-show” jobs that were made famous in numerous “Soprano” episodes’, extortion, and countless murders. And when it came to murder it didn’t matter whether you were in the “outfit” or not. The corruption covered travels from Chicago to Las Vegas to Indiana and points in between. Numerous real life killings, skimming’s, and breaking of mob code described here were used in Martin Scorsese’s film “CASINO”.
There are millions of dollars buried in the ground… riches hidden behind fake walls… and an abundance of one of my favorite nuances indigenous to true life mob sagas… *NICKNAMES*! Here are a few: “JOE BATTERS… BIG TUNA/DOVES/THE LACKEY/THE HOOK/JOHNNY APES/POKER TIRES/SHORTY/BIG STOOP/TOOTS/LITTLE GUY/TWAN/GUMBA/CICCIO/CURLY/WINGS/JOE NAGALL/ROCKY/TONY BORS/LITTLE JIMMY/JIMMY LIGHT/TONY THE HATCH/SOLLY D/THE CLOWN/LUMPY/THE ANT/THE INDIAN/TOOTSIE/JIMMY THE BOMBER/NO NOSE/THE BUILDER/THE MOOCH. The history making trial that is built around Jr.’s tapes and testimony has gone down as one of the biggest mob convictions in history… and you have a front row seat with this book.
April 6, 2020
Frank Calabrese Jr., one of the sons of infamous mobster Frank Calabrese, Sr. talks about life under his father and how both he, his other son, and his uncle got dragged into working in illegal mob activities, thanks to fear, physical violence, and emotional intimidation on his father's part. Frank Sr., after a rebellious childhood, went into making money via juice loans and extortion, first on his own accord, then the Outfit forced him to deal with them. Though he was never "made" or even lived a wild lifestyle, he became an unofficial tool of the Outfit, even participating in murder and assassinations, not only of criminals but sometimes innocent people as well.
Frank Jr. tried to rebel and go straight, but his father was always stronger and even willing to kill his son for stepping out of line. Finally father, son, and uncle got arrested and imprisoned, and Frank Jr. was contacted by the FBI to spy on and record his father's speeches and activities-would he really do it, and what would be the consequences?
Frank Jr. tells his story matter-of-factly and tells of his emotions and feelings throughout all phases of his life, as well as how his own father was such an excellent manipulator who made life difficult for everyone around him. We also learn who certain mobsters such as the Spilotro brothers were killed, as well as others such as John Fecarotta. (I knew his son briefly in high school.) There are plenty of other people with their own stories, but this is definitely one to investigate.
Frank Jr. tried to rebel and go straight, but his father was always stronger and even willing to kill his son for stepping out of line. Finally father, son, and uncle got arrested and imprisoned, and Frank Jr. was contacted by the FBI to spy on and record his father's speeches and activities-would he really do it, and what would be the consequences?
Frank Jr. tells his story matter-of-factly and tells of his emotions and feelings throughout all phases of his life, as well as how his own father was such an excellent manipulator who made life difficult for everyone around him. We also learn who certain mobsters such as the Spilotro brothers were killed, as well as others such as John Fecarotta. (I knew his son briefly in high school.) There are plenty of other people with their own stories, but this is definitely one to investigate.
June 22, 2025
So here’s the deal. This book? Fuggedaboutit. Starts off with a bang—bodies droppin’ left and right, everyone’s got a nickname, and the old man? He’s a real piece of work. I mean, this guy, Frank Sr.—selfish, greedy, no loyalty to nobody but himself. Steals his own kid’s paychecks while sittin’ on a mountain of cash. Let his daughter-in-law go broke. Acts like he’s a made guy but forgets the family part. Real stand-up guy, huh? (That’s sarcasm, capisce?)
Now Junior, he’s different. Smart, smooth with people, got a way of talkin’ even the guards can’t resist. Guy’s doin’ his old man’s commissary while pops is writin’ death threats like he’s got nothin’ better to do. Locked up ain’t enough—he’s gotta get locked down for bein’ a loudmouth. Never seen someone do so much to dig their own grave.
I met Junior at the Mob Museum in Vegas—nice guy, sharp. You can tell he wrestled with this whole thing. Kill his father or turn him in? That ain’t a choice most people gotta make. But he made it, and you gotta respect that.
Only gripe? Too many names, and they switch it up like musical chairs. One minute it’s first names, next it’s last names, then suddenly it’s some nickname that sounds like a pasta dish. I needed a cheat sheet just to keep up. Coulda used a little more paint on the people, y’know? Gimme somethin’ to picture in my head.
Anyway, the story’s wild. It ain’t all cannolis and loyalty—it’s ugly, it’s real, and it hits you hard. Just don’t go into it expectin’ Goodfellas glamour. This is the real thing.
Now Junior, he’s different. Smart, smooth with people, got a way of talkin’ even the guards can’t resist. Guy’s doin’ his old man’s commissary while pops is writin’ death threats like he’s got nothin’ better to do. Locked up ain’t enough—he’s gotta get locked down for bein’ a loudmouth. Never seen someone do so much to dig their own grave.
I met Junior at the Mob Museum in Vegas—nice guy, sharp. You can tell he wrestled with this whole thing. Kill his father or turn him in? That ain’t a choice most people gotta make. But he made it, and you gotta respect that.
Only gripe? Too many names, and they switch it up like musical chairs. One minute it’s first names, next it’s last names, then suddenly it’s some nickname that sounds like a pasta dish. I needed a cheat sheet just to keep up. Coulda used a little more paint on the people, y’know? Gimme somethin’ to picture in my head.
Anyway, the story’s wild. It ain’t all cannolis and loyalty—it’s ugly, it’s real, and it hits you hard. Just don’t go into it expectin’ Goodfellas glamour. This is the real thing.
January 23, 2020
This reviewer was given this book from someone who had heard Frank Jr. speak about his experiences. After reading the entire book, what struck mostly was the lack of consistency in the names of the outfit’s members (it was odd that Frank Jr. never seemed to care about the nicknames given to members until the end then he was ‘proud’ to be given one) and the government jobs that went to members with no knowledge of any of the work they were doing. It is no wonder the roads and infrastructure of the cities are in the state that they are.
One issue with the writing was the need for more careful editing of the story line. This reviewer felt that a decision should have been taken to either cover few events thoroughly or many events vaguely. Hearing that Frank had a job at a restaurant, owned a restaurant, worked at a pizza place, worked for the city, owned a skin care company, then another pizza place…… most did not tie-in to the narration and were breezed over so quickly one wondered why they were added. On the other hand, there was great detail over the stolen dresses that his ex-wife was willing to go buy at half the price.
Overall, an interesting story relayed with vigor.
One issue with the writing was the need for more careful editing of the story line. This reviewer felt that a decision should have been taken to either cover few events thoroughly or many events vaguely. Hearing that Frank had a job at a restaurant, owned a restaurant, worked at a pizza place, worked for the city, owned a skin care company, then another pizza place…… most did not tie-in to the narration and were breezed over so quickly one wondered why they were added. On the other hand, there was great detail over the stolen dresses that his ex-wife was willing to go buy at half the price.
Overall, an interesting story relayed with vigor.
February 25, 2024
I listened to the audio version of this book and thoroughly enjoyed every second. But, I believe I would have loved it more had it been narrated by the author.
When I visited the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, next to the gift shop, there happened to be a guy speaking about his life story. I was quickly enthralled by his involvement in the Chicago "outfit" and his role in bringing it down. It becomes all the more real to hear Frank Calabrese Jr recount the events himself. And to add even more intrigue was the FBI agent involved in the investigation sitting right in front of me corroborating every detail.
There was a formal speaking event that night which I would have loved to attend but I had conflicting plans. And so I read the book to learn the whole story. This is a must-read for any person who shares my fascination of organized crime.
When I visited the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, next to the gift shop, there happened to be a guy speaking about his life story. I was quickly enthralled by his involvement in the Chicago "outfit" and his role in bringing it down. It becomes all the more real to hear Frank Calabrese Jr recount the events himself. And to add even more intrigue was the FBI agent involved in the investigation sitting right in front of me corroborating every detail.
There was a formal speaking event that night which I would have loved to attend but I had conflicting plans. And so I read the book to learn the whole story. This is a must-read for any person who shares my fascination of organized crime.
September 27, 2025
Having grown up in Oak Park, I had heard about the mafia and its violence. This book explains how some individuals, such as Frank Calabrese, Sr. thought murder for any reason, such as a small disagreement, was acceptable.
In this book the author details the physical and mental abuse he endured from his father, and why he decided his father needed to remain in jail. Even in jail, he feared for his safety, largely because his father was in the same jail and made serious death threats against him. Working with the FBI, the murders and other crimes in which his father participated were confirmed, and he was sentenced to multiple life sentences.
In this book the author details the physical and mental abuse he endured from his father, and why he decided his father needed to remain in jail. Even in jail, he feared for his safety, largely because his father was in the same jail and made serious death threats against him. Working with the FBI, the murders and other crimes in which his father participated were confirmed, and he was sentenced to multiple life sentences.
March 7, 2019
You can't win even if it meant for you to do the unthinkable. Frank Calabresse Jr. had no alternative but to turn his father in for good.
A ruthless dad who seemed to have double personalities. Is The Sopranos in real life. Some of them deserved each other and some got dragged by accident. A thrilling and dark Mob story with dire consequences. Frank Calabresse Jr. is now living the straight narrow path of life with an unspoken target behind his back for helping the FBI break down the Chicago Mob Outfit disappear or so to speak.
A ruthless dad who seemed to have double personalities. Is The Sopranos in real life. Some of them deserved each other and some got dragged by accident. A thrilling and dark Mob story with dire consequences. Frank Calabresse Jr. is now living the straight narrow path of life with an unspoken target behind his back for helping the FBI break down the Chicago Mob Outfit disappear or so to speak.
February 14, 2025
In his memoir Operation Family Secrets, Frank Calabrese, Jr., recounts the history of his mob family and the illegal and often heinous crimes his father orchestrated. Born into a family already knee deep in organized crime, young Frank really only had that one pathway, so he began finding his own place in the family business during his teen years. His memoir is a brutally honest look into the lives of those embroiled in a criminal lifestyle and its troubling impact on the lives of everyone even remotely associated with the Calabrese family.
April 4, 2025
After meeting Frank Calabrese Jr. and hearing him tell his story at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas I had to know more about how he got drawn into the Outfit in Chicago, the role he played and what lead to his change of faith as a member of the underworld. The book has been reprinted >25 times since it was first published in 2011 which gives you an idea of the public interest in the Family Secrets trial in Chicago at the heart of this book and organized crime in general. Good fellas, Good times as they say.
September 29, 2025
An easy to read to read and engaging book, the author gives a very detailed account of forty years of Mafia operations in Chicago. There is a lot of information but it's presented well and I didn't feel bogged down with all of the facts. It's interesting to learn about the family dynamics of the Mob, such as most fathers don't want their sons to also work in "the business", but the author does and has to make the very tough decision to ultimately provide evidence to keep this father in prison for the rest of this life. Even though I knew the ending, it was well worth reading.
November 26, 2017
Great read!! As someone who grew up in the same neighborhood's and same time and knew some of the players personally. It's exactly as I remember. Especially the John Fecarotta murder, which I had witnessed when I was 16 and didn't know it was a mob hit! Would recommend for anyone interested in the Chicago Outfit!
June 28, 2020
Oh wow what a great book. My focus was to find a book on Frank Calabrese Sr. so who better can tell a more detailed story of it. He has an ability to recall the past in high detail, its pretty incredible and he only says what he knows or what is known as a fact. Nothing in this book is a guess. He covers the hits as best he could. I read it in less than 48 hours.
August 4, 2025
I listened to this audiobook and it was very well done. How this author remembered all the names and places is remarkable, but it was his whole life, every day, for too many years. It was a whole culture at one time and although terribly sad, was very interesting to look back on a such a significant phenomenon in Chicago life.
November 12, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I bought this book directly from the author at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He was there sharing his incredible story to visitors.
His book reads easily and builds as he, the son of a brutal ‘made’ mobster in Chicago’s ‘Outfit’ yearns to escape his father’s clutches at the same time he desperately wants his father’s approval.
I bought this book directly from the author at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He was there sharing his incredible story to visitors.
His book reads easily and builds as he, the son of a brutal ‘made’ mobster in Chicago’s ‘Outfit’ yearns to escape his father’s clutches at the same time he desperately wants his father’s approval.
March 3, 2018
The book is slow in parts and it is difficult to follow “the cast” that are part of the story though the author helpfully provides a list at the beginning of the book. I knew nothing about organized crime - never saw a move or tv show about it. Found it very interesting!
February 5, 2020
Interesting story now that I live in Chicago, it is fascinating to know how deep the Outfit really went. Only complaint is that there are so many names and events that its a little tough to follow. But I think that is just the nature of a book like this. Overall not bad.
August 4, 2025
This was during my youth on the West side of Chicago, teens and twenties. Had no idea the Calabrese family was this involved or how their story went on to the arrests and after. Brought back a lot of memories...
August 2, 2017
Good read
Good read many characters to follow but does give good look into how things are done within the mob ranks.
Good read many characters to follow but does give good look into how things are done within the mob ranks.
August 23, 2017
Fascinating family tale. Best listened to for there are so many characters to keep track of.
January 23, 2018
Mob stuff
Good read...slow start but the authors had to lay the ground work...I wanted to get to the good stuff. Good read.
Good read...slow start but the authors had to lay the ground work...I wanted to get to the good stuff. Good read.
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