Scott Deitche on Garden State Gangland

We interview noted mob historian and author Scott Deitche about his latest book, Garden State Gangland and the listener learns about the New Jersey crime families. As a bonus, Scott also tells the Wiretappers about Santos Trafficante Jr. and the development of the Tampa crime family. Scott has written six books on organized crime, including Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey, Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld, The Silent Don: The World of Santo Trafficante Jr., and Rogue Mobster: The Untold Story of Mark Silverman and the New England Mafia. He has written dozens of magazine articles on organized crime and has been featured on The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, A&E, local news shows, and radio. Scott conducts periodic Mafia tours of Cigar City and the different mob historic locations. One of his most interesting books is titled Cocktail Noir. He relates, “I thought Noir was a great concept because a lot of these crime stories and films have bars and drinks that are either important information gathering points and help the story move forward, or they really set the mood of the character and help define them. A great example is Kiss Me Deadly. Mike Hammer goes into the bar and says, ‘Give me a bourbon and leave the bottle.’ Something about a scene like that says all you really need to know about the type of day he had.” Cocktail Noir blends alcohol, mixers and gangster stories and is shaken, not stirred for a delightful montage of short stories. Most recently Scott has gone on the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas Mob Museum. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his family.   Don’t forget to listen to Aaron on the Big Dumb Fun Show, live on Monday nights. To go to the store click here To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here To subscribe on iTunes click here, give me a review and I will send you a link to see the film for free.