Mafia Secrets: Untold Tales from the Hollywood Godfather

By Michael Benson and Gianni Russo

A Mafia insider and authentic Hollywood tough guy reveals the explosive secrets he's learned (and kept) for decades in this shocking tell all that unveils the hidden worlds of film and organized crime--from who shot JFK and murdered Jimmy Hoffa to the truth about Marilyn Monroe's death.

With a foreword by Steve Schirripa, star of The Sopranos, Blue Bloods, and Under the Boardwalk

The Kennedys, Marilyn, the Vatican, Vegas, The Godfather, the Mob, and more...

During a cursed childhood in a Manhattan neighborhood teeming with Italian immigrants, Gianni Russo fended for himself at an early age. It was a quality that didn't go unnoticed by Frank Costello--father figure, mentor, and legendary crime boss. Thanks to Costello, Gianni was only twelve when his luck would change for a lifetime. All of it charmed--and thrilling. With it came Hollywood glamor, Vegas risk-takers, political conspiracies, sex, murder, shadow governments, and secrets. The stories Gianni Russo could tell . . .
Now he does in this bombshell confessional. This is the inside account of the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, what really transpired in those Mulberry Street clubs, and who whacked whom--including how mobster Tony Spilotro and his brother really died, finally revealed for the first time. This is Gianni, buddy of Frank Sinatra, and intimately more with Marilyn Monroe. What's the cover-up behind her death, JFK's, and Jimmy Hoffa's? It's all here. So is the clandestine role of the pope as the sacred boss of bosses, the glory days and downfall of Las Vegas, and the colorful behind-the-scenes tales of Gianni's role in the greatest movie ever made, The Godfather.

The go-getter Frank Costello once called the "Kid" shares his shocking, exhilarating, sometimes violent, and always riveting life with the dealmakers of Hollywood and the Mob. Gianni Russo lives to tell, and spills it all.

FOREWORD BY STEVE SCHIRRIPA

Star of The Sopranos, Blue Bloods, and Under the Boardwalk

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806544759
• ISBN13: 9780806544755
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.