Unraveling the American Mafia

The shocking true story of the highest-ranking Mafia Boss in history to betray the organization and strike a deal with federal authorities, ending the Mafia’s reign.

After his conviction in 1983, Cleveland Mafia Boss Angelo Lonardo became the highest-ranking Mafia Boss to betray his legacy organization and cooperate with federal authorities, aiding in the collapse of the Mafia nationwide. Facing a life-sentence and certain death behind bars, Lonardo’s desertion marked the most stunning and consequential turn of state evidence in history.

In Unraveling the American Mafia: Angelo Lonardo, Carmen Zagaria, and the Beginning of the End in Cleveland, Tim Gill reveals how Lonardo was born into the organization, ascended the ranks of the hierarchy, and ultimately burned it all to the ground. As Mafia royalty, he had long-standing knowledge of the crime families in Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and New York City. His wealth of information on the inner-workings of the Mafia across the country would become central to the destruction of Mafia organizations nationwide.

Drawing from interviews with FBI agents, prosecutors, and the families and associates of the mob, Gill unveils the shocking details behind the downfall of not only the Cleveland Mafia, but also the crippling of Mafia leadership throughout America.