Author: vicfoster80

August 10, 1991-Freelance writer and Journalist Danny Casolaro is found dead in a hotel bathtub in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The scene was indicative of a suicide, at least on first inspection. However, things are not as they seem. Casolaro had traveled to Martinsburg to gather further evidence on a book he had been laboring on for more than a year. The story begins with the theft of software from a small company named INSLAW. The company, owned by Bill and Nancy Hamilton had designed software that would revolutionize case management for the Department of Justice. A contract had been signed, INSLAW would be compensated. At some point, the software named PROMIS, was seen as fulfilling larger purposes far beyond what was ever intended by its creators. The copy furnished to the Justice Department would soon be duplicated, backdoors installed to track those utilizing the software. USDOJ soon cancels the contract with INSLAW. INSLAW soon learns that copies of PROMIS are turning up in Canada. The DOJ double crossed them and drove INSLAW into bankruptcy.

By the time Casolaro enters the picture, INSLAW is at a crossroads. One judge has ruled in their favor, citing the government stole the software through “trickery, deceit and fraud.” Yet the government is unyielding in its resistance to compromise. The men who inhabit the background of the theft served in the Reagan Administration, some having connections with Reagan back to his days as Governor of California. A computer prodigy named Michael Riconosciuto has reached out to the Hamiltons and alleged that he helped install the backdoor on the PROMIS software. Riconosciuto is soon a source for Casolaro, who is ensnared in the story of a lifetime. The men who helped engineer the PROMIS theft are seen as operatives in a long running cabal known as “The Octopus”. Casolaro sees connections between the PROMIS theft and the long rumored October Surprise scandal, where Bush/Reagan operatives allegedly negotiated a deal to keep hostages in Iran until after the 1980 election in exchange for weapons. Shadowy figures appear with great frequency in the October Surprise, Iran-Contra stories. As Casolaro keeps finding connections, the makings of a great book seem more apparent. He meets a man named Robert Booth Nichols. Nichols is an enigmatic figure, you never know what angle he is truly playing. He gives Casolaro information, yet not without a hint of menace. Casolaro bounces information he receives from Riconosciuto off Nichols. Nichols is an associate of the Gambino Crime Family as well as the Yakuza, CIA connections are hinted at as well.

The potential to break a major story propels Casolaro’s movements. The danger is apparent, but the light isn’t blinking red at least to Casolaro. The book proposals aren’t generating enough traction, but Casolaro is undeterred. The theft of the PROMIS software has connections to weapons deals and the utilization of sovereign Native land in California involving the small Cabazon tribe. Unsolved murders in the 1980s of multiple tribal members have tangible connections to the subjugation of the land for nefarious purposes. Riconosciuto is arrested for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine. Casolaro is talking to members of law enforcement who warn him about Nichols. Nichols issues a threat to Casolaro. Threatening calls are being made to Casolaro’s home. Casolaro refuses to drop the story, as its importance is paramount. He travels to West Virginia to link up with a former Hughes Aircraft employee who is giving him vital evidence in Casolaro’s story. Casolaro is found dead the next day. His notes have gone missing. He had told his brother if anything were to happen to him not to believe it was an accident. The Martinsburg authorities embalm him before conducting an autopsy or notifying his family. Bloody towels under the bathtub are ignored as are evidence of a struggle.

The death of Danny Casolaro hits family and friends with the shock of a tremor. Many don’t see him as suicidal, his note reflects a spiritual side, which is contrary to his beliefs. The funeral leaves a lingering mystery as well…..As his coffin is set to be lowered, a soldier accompanied by a Government agent of sort, salutes the coffin and lays a medal on the coffin. Casolaro hadn’t served in the armed forces, in any capacity. The identities of the two mourners remain unknown. One more mystery to add to a plethora of mysteries. The work done by Danny Casolaro is not to be forgotten, his quest not quixotic. The pursuit of truth should never be belittled or marginalized in any way.

Bobbie is a teenage criminal who specializes in breaking into vending machines. His scores vary with each success, but his loot keeps him hooked into a budding drug habit and keeps his girlfriend Rosie off the unforgiving streets of the inner city. Bobbie’s fortunes take a twisting turn when a sure thing break in degenerates into a vicious counter assault by a security guard which leaves Bobbie near death and the security guards status unknown. Bobbie manages a death crawl to his place, where a friend summons his Uncle Melvin. Melvin attends to Bobbie and shoots him up with the healing but deadly addictive Heroin. Melvin has found a young apprentice in Bobbie and thereafter decides to train Bobbie in the fine arts of burglary, B & E’s…Higher stakes, higher risks. Melvin possesses a Jekyll/Hyde personality, capable of a paternal guidance one moment, a cruel curmudgeon the next. Mel and his longtime girlfriend Sydney take Bobbie and Rosie on a cross country trip of crime, gauche excess and creeping danger that puts all four in the grim specter of early mortality.

Eddie Little’s own life parallels the story of Bobbie. “Another Day in Paradise” is not a word for word, action for action autobiography, but instead a no holds barred crime narrative that goes for the throat, while not sparing the heart either. Each character brings a deep sense of individuality, stark realism coupled with fatalistic tendencies. The action threatens to carom off a cliff, taking the reader into the pits of a dark abyss. Eddie Little has told his story and made his mark with it.

The idea of sinister forces seeking to crush the little person (guy or girl) by any means necessary is not nuanced. Books exposing alleged secret societies with cloak and dagger rituals and operations have been written for over a century, theoretical indictments levied against the Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicruscians…..Most conspiracy theories were ignored or mocked. The idea of a gathering of elites controlling world events seemed laughable, deserving of the mockery. The conspiracies to be given credence involved Godless Communists looking to infiltrate our government and ruin our way of life. The too numerous to ever be accurately accounted for were ensconced in government bureaucracies, according to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and demagogue Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. While Communists were to be feared, outed and crushed, previous cabals emerged to attempt government coups. General Smedley Butler had been approached by wealthy conservative types in a plot to overthrow Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Butler feigned adherence to the plan, but his allegiance lie with the country and the constitution. The plan fizzled, but the exposure on a grand stage was scuttled by politicians who were inclined to “let sleeping dogs lie”. The shocking assassination of 35th President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 ground the nation to a halt. The quick identification of 24 year old Lee Harvey Oswald as assassin proved shocking, his televised killing 40+ hours by nightclub owner Jack Ruby proved equally stunning. Plans to investigate the assassination by Texas authorities, Congress were scotched when President Lyndon Johnson named his blue ribbon commission to be headed by Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. The reputation of Warren and the other men appointed (John McCloy, Allen Dulles, Gerald Ford, Richard Russell, Hale Boggs, John Sherman Cooper) appeared sterling enough along with the integrity of the FBI. The idea of conspiracy appeared non-existent, at least in the mainstream. But cracks had begun to appear on the surface. Non-government personalities, such as Syliva Meagher, Vince Salandria, Mark Lane, Harold Weisberg were challenging government assumptions, doing the research and threatening the status quo. The CIA decided to fight back in their own dirty way and proclaim these people as Conspiracy Theorists, looking not for the truth but fame seekers and nuts. Not worthy of laudatory statements, but derision, scorn and worse. The investigation of the Kennedy assassination involving Intelligence elements in New Orleans and Lee Harvey Oswald by District Attorney Jim Garrison worried CIA and others. The investigation was infiltrated by CIA assets who subverted Garrison and his team in their tries to unearth the dark connections between assets Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and Lee Oswald. Any attempts to link the alleged assassin and Shaw, Ferrie or Guy Bannister were explained away as mistaken identity or pure fantastical fabrication (i.e. Clinton, LA vote drive)…The assassination of JFK led to a plethora of books being released attacking the investigations for being narrow in focus and scope……The mainstream media greeted these books with little fanfare, only salacious details that dismantled the Camelot myth were welcomed. For every book such as Mark Lane’s Rush to Judgment, there was pro lone gunman books like Marina and Lee by Priscilla McMillan or November 22 1963 by David Belin. New disclosures by pro conspiracy authors are not welcome by the Government as the Lone Gunman narrative most hold…..If not, the government is content with the Mafia, KGB, Radical Right assisted assassinations….The whole truth is not meant for public consumption. But new authors and the release of JFK would change everything.

Caitlin Hendrix is in a emotional tailspin, her boyfriend Sean is on the trail of an elusive bomber, her best friend and Sean’s ex-wife was nearly killed in a hospital bombing and a bold new serial killer is leaving a trail of dead bodies and fear in their wake in Southern California. This killer is striking families, murdering the parents, but leaving the children unharmed. Most alarming is the messages he leaves with the terrified kids. The local police are being assisted by Hendrix and her crew of profilers. The UNSUB strikes with random and terrifying precision, leading to a panicked populace, mistrust between police and FBI over suspect possibilities and missed opportunities. Hendrix is tangling with a personal life hanging by a fingernail on a cavernous precipice, demons threaten to derail mental health and career. But Hendrix is embodied with a strong inner core, her desire to match wits with the dangerous stronger than her will to self destruct. She is a worthy adversary to any potential UNSUB. But is that the case this time?

“The Dark Corners of the Night” is the 3rd of the UNSUB series and the series gets stronger with each new entry. The protagonist is relatable and the reader can empathize with her demons while carefully following her on the journey to capture madness. The mystery packs a wallop of spine chilling and cringeworthy moments with a creepy killer who befuddles law enforcement. The pace is fast, but never to its detriment. This is a fantastic thriller that will leave the reader more than satisfied, terrified and anticipating the next chapter.

Release Date: February 18, 2020

The allure of the tell-all book captures the attention of the random reader with the skill of a carnival barker. The tell-all biography/autobiography potentially has the makings of the supermarket checkout impulse buy (National Enquirer/Globe/Weekly World News). The biographies (told in cooperation with, outside of the Unauthorized) and autobiographies promise to deliver the goods about guarded personalities…This is especially true of the repentant/reformed gangster. In 1963, Genovese Family Mobster Joe Valachi mesmerized the nation with his tales of life in a Mafia family and his knowledge of the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra. The truth behind that was his national knowledge was suspect, his testimony was coached in certain aspects by the FBI & Justice Department. In 1969, “The Valachi Papers” was released, authored by Peter Maas. Maas had interviewed Valachi while Valachi was in protective custody following his defection. The book details the origins of the American Mafia from a soldier’s perspective, the reader an eyewitness to the brutality of the vendettas and double crosses that highlight Organized Crime. The book is gripping, but the possibility that Valachi held back on Maas has been speculated for years since, especially when it comes to a button man with the appellation “Buster”. He is the man behind the gun, pulling the trigger on scores of hits, until he is eventually on the other side. Mafia insiders have held that Valachi was the prolific killer and didn’t want authorities to know more than what he told them.

Maas would have a hit further down the road when he co-authored “Underboss” with Salvatore “Sammy the Bull Gravano” in 1997. Gravano’s defection from the top echelon of the Gambino Crime Family and his testimony against John Gotti had cemented his mark on Mafia history. After serving a few years for 19 murders, Gravano parlayed infamy into celebrity. “Underboss” is a revelatory view of an upward climb into the highest ranks of the Mafia. Gravano possessed the valued skills of muscle and financial acumen to being a successful member of the Gambinos. His upward mobility was greased by the elimination of troublesome Mafiosi and associates, including his own brother in law. The key moment in his ascension was striking up an alliance with John Gotti and betraying Boss Paul Castellano. The time at the top was short-lived, as Gotti’s high profile and the governments relentless drive to nail Gotti led to the 1990 arrests of Gravano, Gotti and Frank Locascio. Gravano learned of the evidence, which mainly consisted of Gotti’s excoriating Gravano’s various businesses and pinning multiple murders on Gravano and his alleged greed. The decision to cooperate didn’t come lightly, but Gravano flipped in 1991. The book is a great and easy read, but you can’t help but notice the bravado underneath. Is the remorse genuine? Gravano would leave Witness Protection and get arrested for running an Ecstasy ring in 2000. In the mid-2000’s, hitman Richard Kuklinski would finger Gravano in the slaying of policeman Peter Calabro. Controversy was in the air, as any murders Gravano would be implicated that he hadnt previously admitted to would complicate any conviction generated by Gravano’s testimony. Kuklinski would pass away in 2006, the issue of Gravano’s involvement in the slaying would fade away.

The selling point of the Mafia/Gangster tell all is access into a secret society, where if you are cunning enough, money and power are yours for the offing. The reality is that many mobsters fight for every nickel they steal. Power is usually just as hard to come by. The prospect of constant surveillance by the government or the stab in the back from a friend looms. The grittier and honest a look at an existence in the Underworld is, the better. In the late 1970’s, Aladena “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno was arrested and became a government witness against the Los Angeles Mafia and went on to testify in trials across the country. He was the one time acting boss of the Los Angeles Crime family, he was admittedly involved in a dozen plus murders. His defection sent shockwaves across the Mafia. In 1980, Fratianno told his life story to Author Ovid Demaris. “The Last Mafioso” was a best-seller and unveiled further information about the Mafia’s stranglehold on the Casino industry, Unions and their involvement in scores of murders. The book is full of some exaggeration (later admitted to by Fratianno), but never feels contrived. Fratianno served multiple jail/prison sentences before and during his Mafia career. The dysfunction of the LA family and his arrest ultimately led to his betrayal. “The Last Mafioso” shines through as one of the better written Mafia exposes. As the years have past, the Mafia in the United States has been in a state of flux. Epic prosecutions have struck at the heart of Mafia power, weakening it in some cities, but the Mafia has endured in New York and Chicago. The defection of Underboss Philip Leonetti in Philadelphia rippled through the Bruno-Scarfo Crime family in the late 1980’s. Philip Leonetti’s re-telling of key events in “Mafia Prince” are vivid, gripping and all too true. Leonetti’s fractured relationship with his Uncle, Nicky Scarfo is highlighted. Scarfo’s paranoid reign at the top of the Philadelphia Mob is laid bare for the reader. Leonetti accepted the sentence meted out by a judge before cooperating with the government. Leonetti’s autobiography never lacks color or insight, he has some choice opinions about other gangsters he encountered in his pre/post Mafia life. This post could go on forever, but I will list a few of the best confessional bios:

Wiseguy-Nicholas Pileggi (Subject: Henry Hill)

The Last Mafioso-Ovid Demaris (Jimmy Fratianno)

Hitman-John Martorano

Mafia Prince-Philip Leonetti

Rat Bastards-John Shea

Underboss-Peter Maas(Sammy Gravano)

The Last Gangster-George Anastasia(Ron Previte)

The Sinatra Lounge-Sal Polisi

May 1973-The administration of Richard M. Nixon has reached a crisis point. The end of the previous month witnessed the upheaval in the wake of Watergate with the resignations of Chief of Staff HR Haldeman, Adviser John Erlichman and the firing of counsel John Dean. The allegations facing the administration and questions over the President’s knowledge of the break-in at the Watergate were hampering efforts to enforce a Domestic let alone Foreign policy. Nixon was advised to bring General Alexander Haig abroad to take control. Nixon had a high opinion of Haig, due to his service in Vietnam and his work with NSA Henry Kissinger. The unknowns about Haig, including his role in the pilfering of documents essential to the detente with China and The Soviet Union, his chronic leaking to friendly reporters and his suspect loyalties would lead to Nixon’s 1974 resignation. Haig has always been seen as a force of stability in the chaotic times of the final days of the Nixon White House, but Haig’s agenda is seen as much more sinister nearly 45 years afterwards. His relationship to Washington Post Reporter Bob Woodward is re-examined in a new light, spotlighting Haig as one of Woodward’s Deep Background sources. Nixon’s lies got him into trouble, but Haig’s actions sped up the downfall.

Haig’s Coup is the author’s follow-up to Nixon’s Gamble which examined how the set-up of a covert government led to distrust among Nixon’s military and Intelligence services. The role of Alexander Haig has always been murky at best. He was seen as the calm hand to steady a sinking ship, but documents now show Haig spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He enabled Nixon’s decisions, sometimes to his detriment. Haig covered for himself and others in keeping the Moorer-Radford spy ring out from the public eye. He kept himself relevant, despite others knowing better. Ray Locker has written an excellent examination of a paranoid period in our time, where everyone seemed to plot against each other and the long knives were out. Unfortunately, the truth didn’t win out. At least not then. An excellent book to read and re-read.

Top 10 Biographies:

The lives of politicians, celebrities, athletes, notable people make for fascinating reading, as long as the author chronicling them is willing to dig down deep into the subject’s life with empathy but also detached…so as to remain objectional. Here is a list of my top 10:

Robin-David Itzkoff (Robin Williams)

The Devil’s Chessboard-David Talbot (Allen Dulles, CIA)

Bush-Jean Smith (George W Bush)

American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace (VP under FDR, Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce)-John C. Culver and John Hyde

Trouble Boys-Bob Mehr (The Replacements, Rock Band)

The Good Spy-Kai Bird (Robert Ames, CIA Station Chief)

Room to Dream-David Lynch and Kristine McKenna (Lynch, His career)

J Edgar: The Man and the Secrets-Curt Gentry (J. Edgar Hoover, FBI)

Mr. Untouchable-Leroy “Nicky” Barnes and Tom Folsom

Handsome Johnny: The Life and Death of Johnny Rosselli-Lee Server

This is the first of a few top 10 book lists (some might exceed 10, others might not have enough yet, but that will definitely change over time)

How far would you go to protect the ones you hold close? Would you throw out every preconceived notion about yourself in saving a family member? The abduction of her daughter throws Rachel O’Neill into a tailspin, where she must commit unspeakable actions in order to save her daughter’s life and preserve the structure of the chain. The captors and conspirators are unknown, their presence made by anonymous phone calls with instructions and dire consequences if instructions not followed. Rachel, having just gone into remission from a battle with Breast Cancer, is weary and financially strapped. Her husband has left her for a younger woman. She is at a loss for how to get needed ransom money, but also how to kidnap a random child who meets a certain criteria of the group. As Rachel plows further into the criminal morass, her moral compass askew, her thoughts focus on daughter Kylie. She will get her back, no matter what the cost.

The Chain is the latest from Adrian McKinty, talented author of the Sean Duffy series (The Cold, Cold Ground, Rain Dogs). This stand alone effort is a schizophrenic thriller-drama not for the faint hearted. The plot is well written and striking(due to real life parallels), McKinty’s novel serves as a cautionary tale. The Chain is the type of thriller with a lasting resonance well after the book has been added to the reader’s library. A literary gut punch well worth embracing.

Release Date: July 9, 2019

This is my blog about books. I can’t truly describe how much books mean to me, but they are at the top of my list of things I can’t live without. The subjects that capture my attention vary, as long as the first 20 pages keep my interest, I will read that book. I have been writing freelance book reviews for 4 years, and have enjoyed every second of it. This blog will feature the latest books I have finished, along with links to the book on Amazon or other sites. Enjoy!!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

Welcome to my blog about books. I am a fiend for the written word, libraries and book stores are my home away from home. I will serve as a tour guide towards books that interest me and may just hold yours as well.