9781780576107by Douglas Thompson

Bibliothèque de Ville Mont-Royal

From the rogue cops who took on the Mob on the streets of Los Angeles to the stars who became stars because Mafia Godfathers said they would, the sinister true story of the Mafia in Hollywood

Detailing how the 21st century Mafia uses Hollywood, this no-holds-barred exposé features previously unseen legal files and FBI documents, and thoroughly strips away the veneer of the movie studios’ American Dream. It is an ambitious account of Hollywood’s hidden history, crammed with legends, myths, murders, madness, superstar tantrums, super-sexed starlets, power brokers, and politics. The book reveals how all is masterminded by the money-obsessed Mafia, for whom everything and everyone is simply a commodity, in a saga that charges across America: from Hollywood bedrooms to the Oval Office, from California’s 21st century computer capital to the cocaine-connection headquarters that stretch from the Sunset Strip across the world. It is an intriguing coincidence that Lucky Luciano was born in the same year, 1897, and place, Sicily, as Frank Capra, who promulgated the fantasy and romance of the movies. With the American Mafia, Luciano helped create the world’s most powerful crime organization. Meanwhile, Capra’s best-known film, It’s a Wonderful Life, was made the year Luciano was deported back to Italy. Both men’s legacies remain crucial parts of history of Hollywood, unveiled as Tinseltown without the tinsel in this magnificent and highly compelling volume.