Made Men

December 1, 2002
Based on more than 1000 hours of secretly recorded conversations, this book tells the story of New Jersey's DeCavalcante crime family. Originally dismissed by the large New York City crime organizations, the DeCavalcantes sought the opportunity to move up in the crime world when their big-city counterparts began having legal troubles and when The Sopranos, which recounts the life of a fictional Jersey mob family, became such a hit on HBO. Unfortunately for the DeCavalcantes, they had been infiltrated by an FBI informant. Although the show's creator has denied it, much of The Sopranos is said to be based on this real-life crime family, and DeCavalcante members were even caught on federal wiretaps bragging about their similarity to the TV mobsters. But while Daily News mob reporter Smith draws many parallels between the DeCavalcantes and the fictional Sopranos, the book does not quite live up to its potential. Much of the writing seems disjointed and repetitious, and a few superfluous anecdotes scattered throughout seem to have little relevance to the rest of the story. Recommended with reservations for large public libraries where there is a strong interest in organized crime books.-Sarah Jent, Univ. of Louisville Lib., KY