Mafia Wife: My Story of Love, Murder and Madness - Hardcover

Milito, Lynda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0066212618 ISBN 13: 9780066212616

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

The spellbinding, explosive memoir by Lynda Milito, wife of Louie Milito, a capo in New York's most powerful and notorious Mafia family, the Gambinos.

In the 1950s and '60s, Louie Milito came of age with the Junior Rampers, a tough-minded gang from his Brooklyn neighborhood. Eventually, Louie graduated to more prominent ranks, becoming a made member of the Gambinos, a capo, and architect for some of the infamous family's most bloody work. Louie was also a trusted friend and colleague to family underboss Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. Since their teenage years running the streets of Brooklyn through their reign in the inner circle of the Gambinos, Louie had no doubt that Gravano and family boss John Gotti would forever watch his back. But in 1988, Louie Milito disappeared. His body has never been found. Louie's wife, Lynda Milito, discovered that Louie was killed by the very people who were supposed to protect him.

Mafia Wife is the story of Lynda's and Louie's life. Lynda shares an unforgettable, intimate portrayal of living inside the dangerous world of the Mafia. In this fascinating personal drama about coming of age and being married to the mob, Lynda recounts her lonely childhood, aching to find a comfort that would counter her loveless relationship with her mother. She confesses to being attracted to the danger and headiness of being with a powerful man, and ex-plores the searing pain of child molestation and spousal abuse, life-threatening bouts with mental illness, and strained relationships with her children.

Mafia Wife is Lynda's frighteningly illuminating story of the myths of the Mafia. The Mafia, she contends, is not about The Godfather–esque ideals of honor and loyalty. Gambino and Gotti were not that romantic. Mafia life is about money. It's also about betrayal and love -- and watching your back. In exposing the unadulterated truth about the mob, Lynda divulges what details she knows about Louie's criminal enterprises and the blind eye she turned, year after year, to the blood on his hands. It was only after his death, and twenty-two years of marriage, that Lynda Milito is finally talking.

Mafia Wife is a true Sopranos-like portrait of a life most of us cannot imagine: the story of a woman who lived outside the law and whose worst fears were realized when her husband was murdered and his body never found. In an extraordinarily brave voice, Lynda illuminates the horror her family went through, seeing what her husband and children's father was capable of, trying to comfort him when he knew he was in over his head, enduring his stays in prison, seeing his “friends” take stands (both in and out of court) about why and how Louie was murdered, having to relocate to another state, being questioned by the FBI, and trying, after all this, to find a small peace.

Mafia Wife is a blindingly honest survival story and love story. Milito presents an astonishing and groundbreaking perspective on the world of the Mafia, depicting with uncommon lucidity the merciless heritage of true love wed to true crime.

About this title

Review:

"Palpable . . . offers an often-shocking glimpse inside the world of organized crime." -- Booklist

"Excellent job of keeping the narrative running smoothly . . . and maintaining Milito's honest and streetwise Brooklyn voice." -- --PublishersWeekly.com

"Gripping . . . An absorbing, myth-smashing tale . . . " -- Toronto Sun

"Brutally honest . . . Fascinating." -- Bookreporter.com

About the Author:

When Lynda Lustig met Louie Milito, she was a sixteen-year-old high-school dropout with a taste for adventure and an agonizing childhood. When they were married two years later, he was not yet a "made man" in the powerful Gambino crime family. Louie was a hairdresser who dabbled in petty thievery. But Lynda was so happy to be out of her domineering mother's loveless house. And over the years, she was willing to forgive her husband for anything: his violent rages, his frequent absences, his shady associates, and the blood on his hands. For twenty-four years Lynda Milito remained loyal to this charming and dangerous criminal -- her children's father and close friend of crime boss John Gotti and underboss Sammy "the Bull" Gravano. But in 1988, Louie Milito disappeared, murdered by the very people he had always trusted to protect him. A crime story, a family story, a love story, Mafia Wife is the shockingly intimate, brutally honest tale of a survivor -- and of the life she lived in the dark bosom of the underworld. Lynda Milito

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0066212618
• ISBN 13: 9780066212616
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 306