Chin

The Life and Crimes of Mafia Boss Vincent Gigante

By: Larry McShane

Narrated by: Paul Costanzo

Vincent "Chin" Gigante.

He started out as a professional boxer - until he found his true calling as a ruthless contract killer. His doting mother's pet name for the boy evolved into his famous alias, "Chin", a nickname that struck fear throughout organized crime as he routinely ordered the murders of mobsters who violated the Mafia code.

Vincent Gigante was hand-picked by Vito Genovese to run the Genovese Family when Vito was sent to prison. Chin raked in more than $100 million for the Genovese Family, all while evading federal investigators. At the height of his power, he controlled an underworld empire of close to 300 made men.

And yet Vincent Gigante was, to all outside appearances, certifiably crazy. A serial psychiatric hospital outpatient, he wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in a ratty bathrobe and slippers. He urinated in public, played pinochle in storefronts, and hid a second family from his wife. On 22 occasions, he admitted himself to a mental hospital. It took nearly 30 years of endless psychiatric evaluations by a parade of puzzled doctors for federal authorities to finally bring him down.

©2016 Larry McShane (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Full of astonishment... A kind of dark wonder." (Pete Hamill, best-selling author)

Loved it!

The Chin is kind of a sad dude. because of his mental illness story the guy could basically never do anything fun or travel. no dinners out with the fam and friends. no vacations. no prize fights or football games. no nothing. basically never left his neighborhood. all so what? he could be a super rich mob boss that never did anything?

a great book

i'm a big mob buff with an extensive library of mafia books both read and listened and i think this is one of the best of them all. i'd had this one waiting in my wish list for a while and finally got to it and it was just as good if not better than i had hoped it would be. as you will hear in the book vincent "the chin" gigante is for many people one of the most interesting mafia figures ever. this book touches on and goes into detail on many very well known mob scams deals and events including many well known murders hits wars and mafia in fighting as well as rats double crosses and the trials and testimonies that brought down some of the biggest names in the mob. it tells you how he chins crazy act both started and finished and how it all finally ended for the chin. it's a great book that any one who enjoys mafia history will enjoy. the performance by paul costanzo was very good. not quite a five but a solid 4. a really enjoyable listen.

Not as good as others

It's just kinda slow and more factually dulling. It's awesome facts but reads as a text book more than a story.

Overall great info to learn more or if your just getting started.

Grab it

Enjoyed book immensely. It is a must-read for any mafia aficionado. Interesting for cover to cover.

GREAT BOOK

I'm not very discriminating and I listen to lots of books. The writer and the story itself is entertaining and not boring, comfortable and not disturbing, the reader was enjoyable and overall a good listen.

Chin

I loved this book...And just as it couldn't get any better McShane named every chapter after a Bob Dylan song. Too cool.

Amazing book

Loved the narrator and the intel regarding the life of the Chin. I read several Mafia books and this is a must into anyone who loves the biography of bosses

Family and honor

So what’s good out for me? The most in this book was the reference that the chin had for his family and his honor in defending it his family being his mafia family and his immediate family in that order because the mafia family definitely came first the chin whose headquarters was at 208 Sullivan or Stewart Street. I think it was Sullivan Street in the village was a place that I used to walk by often and never saw him and I always thought that he was a genius to put Anthony Salerno out front, and he pulled the strings from the back, classic move so that Tony Solo took all of the heat and he stayed out of the limelight book, especially if you had the history of the five families which is a passion of mine

Entertaining

I found this a good book although 5 families was a much better organized crime book in my opinion.

Awesome!

Great read/ listen. I love this book. I'm fascinated by all things mafia. I love how the author walks you through The Chin's life.