SICILIAN DEFENSE

Another of those semi-admiring books about the wheelings and dealings of members of that most ubiquitous non-organization, the Mafia. In this case it's the kidnapping and ransom of Sal Angeletti, who has his brass-knuckled fingers in the pie of most of New York's illegal enterprises (self-righteously excluding drugs), via a bunch of black petty crooks who think only blacks should rip off blacks. Led by the intelligent maneuvers of Gianni Aquilino (a retired mafioso who the author seems to feel is constantly being unfairly harassed by those endless Grand Jury investigations), the hoods get their leader back and drop the only half-dead kidnappers on the steps of the police station for some ironic old-fashioned justice (Gianni is tired of murder). The book veers between fulsome ""Dragnet"" style (""Tuesday, February 9, 1971:12:15 a.m."") and humorous apologia for killers that the author seems to think are less harmful for being subtle and semi-legitimate, but the writing is passable and the action flows with a minimum of the pious Italian sentimentality that unfortunately extends only to members of one's own Family.