A rookie cop vs. the west coast mafia
Subtitle: breaking up the "best in the west" gang
By: Tanya Chalupa and William G. Palmini, Jr
Contributors: Palmini, William G.
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 312
ISBN-13: 9780882824604
Subjects: Organized crime; Undercover operations; Police; Biography; History
Description: In this gripping, true crime exposé, Bill Palmini, a rookie detective, hopes to take down the West Coast Mafia by gaining the confidence of notorious mob operative William Ettleman. Set against a backdrop of social turmoil, the book immerses readers in free love, drugs, robbery and murder, orchestrated by organized crime in locations like Sausalito, California. The Trident Restaurant, once a drug Mecca for Hollywood, the music industry and the New York hip, was co-owned by the Kingston Trio and their manager, Frank Werber, a self-proclaimed drug priest. Robin Williams worked as a busboy there and Janis Joplin had her own table. Sally Stanford, the former San Francisco Madam who later became Sausalitoʹs mayor, was a confidant of the infamous. Ettlemanʹs safecracking gang targets the Trident. Mobsters like Frank "the Bomp" Bompensiero, on whom Sopranos character "Big Pussy" is thought to have been based, become involved. Palmini, utilizing Ettleman, joins the FBI and the Federal Strike Force on Organized Crime to penetrate the crime scene in Sausalito, loaded dice in Las Vegas and Reno, corruption in San Diego and stolen credit cards in Texas. Then he begins to break up one of the most notorious gangs on the West Coast.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages [281-294]).
Table of contents: title: Assault on the Trident; title: Water in the safes; title: The Black Hull; title: Dodge Ridge; title: Shoemake jewelry hit; title: The station wagon gang; title: Secret identity; title: The best in the West; title: Frank ʺThe Bompʺ Bompensiero; title: The Central Valley debacle; title: San Diego supermarket caper; title: Growing interest in Sausalito; title: The Trident era; title: See you at Sallyʹs; title: ʺFat Bobʺ Tegay; title: Vegas schemes; title: Capturing Ettleman; title: Wired; title: Front row seats; title: No shoes for Ettleman; title: A Chabot by any other name; title: San Jose boss Angelo Marino; title: No dice; title: Dealing San Diego; title: The beat goes on; title: The old guard dies out; title: Morris mystery.