A gangster's Cookbook
written by Frank Cullotta and Dennis N. Griffin
Summary
“I have known Frank Cullotta since he served as a technical consultant
for the movie ‘Casino.’ Frank’s reputation is primarily that of a master
criminal and an enforcer for Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro.
While that is true, he also had a softer side that few people knew about.
He loved to cook. In ‘Frank Cullotta’s Greatest (Kitchen) Hits,’ Frank
swaps his gun and fedora for an apron and chef’s hat and shares the
recipes for some of his favorite dishes. If you like to prepare and eat
delicious meals, this is the book for you.” –
Nick Pileggi, screenwriter and author of "Casino"
Frank Cullotta was best known for his exploits as an associate of the
Chicago Outfit and his role as Tony Spilotro’s enforcer and street lieutenant
in Las Vegas. However, he had another interest besides crime.
He loved to cook. In this book he shares some of his favorite recipes
for your eating pleasure. Although Frank died on August 20, 2020,
his memory will live on every time you prepare one of these lip-smacking dishes.
"I first met Frank in 2005. Over the years we became close friends and
co-authored a total of four books, including the bestseller The
Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster. As Frank's health failed,
I promised him that I'd see the cookbook through to publication even
if he couldn't be with me. I know that Frank is pleased that our final joint
project is now a reality." - Dennis N. Griffin
My Review
the recepies, the pictures were well described.They gave me inspiration
to try them out. I think the ingredients are easy to find. I missed some
structure at the end of the book for example no list of all the ingredients.
cuisine! I give it with lots of pleasure a 4 star rating on 5 and I want
to read more books of Dennis N. Griffin.
The Author
Navy in 1962. After being honorably discharged in 1966, he returned to
central New York. He is married and has four adult children.
Mr. Griffin began his career in investigations and law enforcement in
1975, when Pinkerton, Inc. hired ...him as a private investigator.
His duties included insurance fraud, missing persons, financial
and background investigations, as well as undercover operations.
In 1979 the Madison County, New York Department of Social Services
hired him as a Senior Child Support Investigator. He was responsible
for locating and conducting financial investigations of persons failing
to provide legally mandated child support.
In 1981 he joined the Madison County Sheriff's Department, and attained
the rank of sergeant. He was a shift supervisor and public information officer.
During the same time-period, he moonlighted as a part time patrolman for
the Village of Chittenango Police Department.
In 1987 Mr. Griffin was hired by the New York State Department of
Health as Director of Investigations, Wadsworth Center. The primary
mission of his unit was to investigate violations of the Public Health Law
relating to clinical and environmental laboratories, and health care fraud.
He was responsible for hiring and training investigators, case assignments
and general supervision. In addition, he personally handled the more difficult
and complex investigations. Many of these cases received both local and national
media attention. He retired in 1995.
In 1996, Dennis was supposed to be retired, but decided to tell the story of
what he learned while investigating the operation of a medical examiner's office.
It was an eye-opening experience and he felt compelled to share it with others.
Dennis eventually authored a fictionalized account called, The Morgue.
However, readers didn't believe anything in the book could actually happen,
but they liked the story and his style; rough edges and all.
Six more mystery/thriller fictions followed.
The author is an active member of the Police Writers Association.
He attended Onondaga County Community College, Mohawk Valley
Community College and the Central New York Regional Academy for
Police Training. He has three other novels published through 1stBooks.
The first, The Morgue, was published 1999. Red Gold, followed in 2000.
In January 2002, his writing career was at a crossroads. Would he continue
the uphill struggle for recognition in a genre with a number of well-established
authors? Or was it time to find another hobby? The question was answered at
a writers' conference when a lady suggested Dennis try his hand at police-related
non-fiction. That was the turning point. He began writing Policing Las Vegas,
the history of law enforcement in Las Vegas and Clark County from 1905 thru 2004.
Policing was released in April 2005.
Writing that book opened his eyes to some interesting things about Las Vegas
and the mob that he wanted to explore; leading to his second non-fiction book,
The Battle for Las Vegas, the story of the Vegas reign of Chicago mob enforcer
Tony Spilotro. In the movie Casino, actor Joe Pesci played a character based
on Spilotro. The Battle for Las Vegas was released on July 1, 2006.
In writing that book, Dennis relied heavily on resources such as retired FBI
agents and police detectives from that era, and through his conversations with
career criminal and former Spilotro lieutenant Frank Cullotta. Those conversations
led to a third Vegas-based non-fiction, CULLOTTA - The Life of a Chicago
Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness, released nationally
in July 2007.
Since that time, Dennis has written several books on the true stories of the
Las Vegas mob and the era in which they reigned.
In 2007 Denny began hosting his own Internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio.
BookSirens
this review voluntarily.
