March 15: The Mob’s Alive and Well in “Garden State Gangland,” a Wiseguy Speaker Series with Scott Deitche
You may think the glory days of mobsters are over, but they’re still going as strong as ever in New Jersey. Author Scott M. Deitche covers it all, past and present, like only an insider can in his new book, Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey.
The Garden State has a colorful history as home to some of the most powerful mobsters and gangs in organized crime, like Willie Moretti, Phillip Testa, Gerardo Catena, and the DeCavalcante family. Deitche is an organized crime historian with roots in that history. His grandfather, Jay Deitche, was a bookmaker in Perth Amboy, N.J., for nearly 30 years. His book covers this ongoing history from Prohibition to the peak of the Mob’s power in the Garden State. And Deitche will also illustrate how organized crime looks in New Jersey today.
In this Wiseguy discussion Deitche will cover topics like:
- The real story behind the TV series Boardwalk Empire
- The mobster known as “the Al Capone of New Jersey”
- The gangsters who inspired The Sopranos
- Frank Sinatra’s alleged ties with New Jersey gangsters
- The Mob boss who was immortalized in a Bruce Springsteen song
You’ll get the true stories of the New Jersey Mobs in this presentation and book signing with Scott M. Deitche as he goes deep with Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey.