MAFIA WIFE

A minor spin-off from Moore's hugely successful The French Connection (1969), this is the woman's angle on what really went down. The woman is Barbara Fuca, wife of Patsy Fuca who was nailed for the heavy heroin traffic. Barbara ran away from home at fifteen and took up with tho hoods of Little Italy: nice clothes, swanky boyfriends, lotsa excitement. She had fun because she knew the rules: eyes and ears open, mouth closed. She knew that girl friends usually had it better than wives but eventually she married Patsy who worked for Uncle Ange of the Lucchese family. Unlike most Mafia wives, Barbara was no pushover; she made Patsy tell her the score. Even so, their home life fell apart under police surveillance and Patsy's heroin operations--Barbara didn't approve, but a wife had to be loyal. Soon everyone was busted including Barbara who was pregnant when sent to the Women's House of Detention. This, she realized, was no life for a fun-loving girl. To get out she told the cops where the 88 lbs. of skag was stashed--according to Barbara they never could have found it without her. Moore goes along with' her story and suffers through her disillusionments with Mafia glamour. Barbara had street smarts, resilience, and a determination that she and her two daughters would make out. They'll probably make out better after this book--the first story of life in a mobster's family from the ladies' point of view.