BLOOD AND HONOR

Up-close and personal perspectives on a consequential Mafia family that law-enforcement agencies and turncoats have all but put out of business. Drawing mainly on interviews with Nick Caramandi (a confessed killer, loan shark, and extortionist now in the Federal Witness Protection Program), Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Anastasia offers a tellingly detailed rundown on a fiefdom encompassing not only his hometown but also Atlantic City from the late 1970's through the mid-1980's. During this violent period, an arguably psychopathic thug named Nicodemo Scarfo headed the local branch of La Cosa Nostra. His regime was notable for unusually savage rub- outs as well as for the systematic corruption of public and union officials. Eventually, however, the deadly don and more than a dozen of his henchmen were convicted on scores of felony murder and RICO charges in a series of trials that began in 1987. Among those responsible for putting Scarfo behind bars was Garamandi, a successful streetwise hustler who had been formally initiated into the mob. The erstwhile wiseguy broke the secret society's vow of silence and became an informer when he learned his capo had marked him for death in the wake of a failed real-estate swindle involving Philadelphia pols. The decision to eliminate Caramandi ranks among the vengeful Scarfo's worst since ``Crow'' (as he's known in gangland circles) provided government prosecutors with the firsthand dope they needed to bring a flock of kingpin outlaws to book. The gossipy stool pigeon here also provides the author an insider's savvy briefing on the quotidian world of organized crime; by Garamandi's credible account, there was appreciably more bad blood than honor among the thieves in thrall to Scarfo. Gripping curbside insights into mafiosi at work and play. (Eight pages of b&w photographs—not seen).