Thirty-Two Percent to the Mob

Joe Capino is a member of the Mafia, but he doesn't believe in violence. He owns a pizza shop and a number of apartment buildings legitimately, and he's conflicted by his participation in hijackings that involve beatings and by the unrelenting incidents of revenge between competing underworld factions.

The book opens after Joe has been forced to join in the murder of his best friend, who had stolen from the mob by skimming off the weekly loan sharking receipts. Joe is consumed by guilt, and by resentment of the mob boss, Gabone, for having forced his involvement in the hit - a conflict that grows throughout the story. Gabone, a violent Old-World type, becomes increasingly aware of Joe's hatred of him and is inclined to whack him. But Joe's father, Pedro, always steps into derail Gabone's ire. Pedro, a retired mob member. Is close to Gabone, because both came from the same small town in Sicily.

Joe, meanwhile, consumed by his hatred, schemes with his live-in buddy, Carmen, to bring in a hit man from Chicago to eliminate Gabone. But in the end he changes his mind because he can't stomach killing. He and Carmen do. However, burn down a competing pizza joint that's hurting Joe's own pizza business. Carmen and Joe are close, but there's an underlying tension between them. Carmen is jealous of Joe and feels, rightly. That Joe frequently calls on him for help without giving him fair compensation or looking out for his future.

The main vice in Joe's life is women. He maintains a stable of them by pretending (to them) that each is his only love. He visits each one weekly, spends about an hour satisfying his sexual needs, and then departs quickly, using a weak business excuse. Emotionally. He's unaffected by any of them - except for the girlfriend of his younger brother Dom, whom he gets involved with even after promising the brother he would stay away from her - a romance that causes a devastating upheaval in the family.

That girl's name is Marcy. As a way of getting close to Marcy, Joe becomes friendly with Marcy's father, Charlie, whom he then grows fond of for his wisdom. Intelligence, and integrity. Charlie, and engineer. Ends up helping Joe build a palatial dream home out of four row homes Joe purchases in South Philadelphia. Learning of this new relationship in Joe's life, Gabone becomes suspicious. He doesn't want Joe associating closely with a non-member and a Jew. Fearful that Charlie is learning the secrets of the Mafia, Gabone has Charlie beaten so badly that he ends up hospitalized.

Incensed, Joe secretly reports the incident to the Godfather in New York, who promptly comes down to Philadelphia and holds a meeting with the Philadelphia contingent. Gabone, denounced for his outdated violent ways. Is thrown out as leader, and - to everyone's amazement - Joe, a symbol of the new, nonviolent, business - oriented mob. Is named to take his place. Gabone leaves the meeting with his henchmen, vowing revenge.

Gabone settles in West Philadelphia, where he builds up a gang that competes with Joe for mob business. Eventually the tension between them comes to a head and Joe and Carmen again plot to destroy Gabone.

Joe's live - in buddy Carmen, who does building demolition for one of the mob's businesses. Is an expert in explosives. He tells Joe of a newly developed detonator that can be triggered at a distance. All they have to do is plant the explosives within Gabone's various buildings. Then detonate the charges from across town.

Joe likes the idea. After conducting some tests. He and Carmen sneak over to West Philadelphia and plant the charges in Gabone's building complex. The two escape back to Joe's South Philadelphia castle and Joe. Exhausted, falls asleep. Carmen a