Ed Scarpo

Cosa Nostra News: the Cicale Files, Vol. 1: Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire Ed Scarpo

Publisher Marketing: Life (and death) inside the Mafia... Dominick Cicale was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. From a young age he was closely associated with the Genovese crime family, considered the most powerful Mafia group in America. Fate intervened. In 1999 Cicale forged a tight alliance with Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, then an up-and-coming member of the Bronx faction of the Bonanno crime family. Under Basciano's tutelage, Dominick rode the fast track: he was inducted into the American Cosa Nostra and swiftly rose from soldier to capo, amassing great wealth and power. Cicale befriended and associated with numerous high-ranking figures within all of New York's Five Families as he plotted and schemed in a treacherous world where each day could be his last. This installment views startling details surrounding the brutal gangland murder of Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia and its resulting impact on relations between the Bonanno family in New York and its Montreal -based "outpost" established by the Mafia Commission in 1931. The cast of characters further includes high-ranking Mafiosi such as Joseph Massino (The Last Don), Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna, Vito Rizzuto, Vinny Gorgeous (a nickname never used in his presence) and Cicale himself. Contributor Bio:  Cicale, Dominick Robert Sberna is a former newspaper reporter who has contributed articles to numerous national and regional publications, including Crain's, Neoconomist, the Washington Examiner, Us Magazine, the Free Times, and The Plain Dealer. Sberna's first book, "House of Horrors: The Shocking True Story of Anthony Sowell," was named the 2012 True Crime Book of the Year by Foreword Reviews.