Gotti's Rules

The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia

By: George Anastasia

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don", John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways, an image perpetuated in popular Mafia mythology.

John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell. An Albanian-American from Queens, Alite was an unlikely ally to the Gottis and the Italian mob, but with his street smarts he was eventually recruited to be Junior Gotti's protector and muscle. For decades Alite worked as a thug, drug dealer, and murderer for Junior Gotti and his infamous father. Although he reaped the benefits of working under the powerful mob figure, Alite discovered firsthand that the legendary American Mafia - an organization that claimed to be built on honor and loyalty - was nothing more than a facade for the hypocritical, manipulative, and greedy criminals like the Gottis who ran it. Following a harrowing sentence in a Brazilian prison (a system considered among the worst in the world), Alite was extradited to the United States in 2006 and agreed to help the feds put Gotti Jr. and his fearsome crime family behind bars. No one was better placed as an informant than Alite - the man who knew the real truth about the Gotti family.

In Gotti's Rules, veteran true-crime writer and prize-winning reporter George Anastasia gains unprecedented access to the Gotti crime family's stories and secrets, including its fascinating "Gotti Rules" of leadership. Based on extensive FBI files and exclusive interviews with insiders and experts, particularly former insider John Alite, Anastasia's unparalleled access demystifies the infamous Gotti family and its larger-than-life legend and provides irrefutable proof of shocking allegations against Gotti Jr. that have never before been confirmed.

©2015 George Anastasia (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Caveat Emptor

This book is okay as such books go. The narration is above average and I had no difficulty following the storyline. It's as advertised, no less, no more. But having seen many a fatuous author taken in by these guys I think one should keep in mind that most of them wouldn't know the truth if they met it walking down the street. Exceptions exist of course but in the main these mafioso are degenerate liars. I find it helpful to take anything these professional flimflamers say with a huge bucket of salt.

Classic Anastasia

Very quick read. Well written and researched. I expected no less from George Anastasia. I ve never been let down by any of his work and this lived up to what I've come to expect. Thank you for another great book.

One sided story, a John Alite point of view

First I hate the voice performance, the voice was so bad that I was going to stop listening and read the printed version instead.
The stories are good, they are one sided, nobody can say whether Alite says the truth or not, he describes himself as a hero idk what to think about it.

This was a good long story of real stuff .

This reminds me of the old days in Brooklyn. It was rough growing up in Brooklyn in the 90s.

great stories

great stories that put the gotti reign in perspective, definitely an easy listen, and enjoyable

Good book

Very well told but a lot of characters to keep track of. I enjoy mafia books.

Finally a truthful narrative on American organised crime

I have studied organised crime around the world for over 25 yrs. After years of watching, listening and dissecting you have a keen awareness of what is bent; fact from fiction. This book is the former.

Powerful Book.....

Very powerful book. George Anastasia is fantastic as well. Alite has a way about him that just makes you want to have been there through his journey. I love John Gotti Sr. But this book shows us how different father and son can be. John jr was a pretender. He was not a legit street guy. He traded on his fathers reputation. That is the only reason he did not end up whacked a long time ago.....

Truly worth

Great to listen to
easy to understand
the story has you hooked
It's amazing how much a human can go through and grow.

Good book if you like fiction

John Alite is one of these guys who has been there and done that a total bkiw hard 99% of his story is pure fiction!!