The Good Rat: A True Story
by Jimmy Breslin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jimmy BreslinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN: 0060856696
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of The Good Rat: A True Story
Book Review: RICO Trial Informant
Summary: 5 Stars
Based on the 2006 trial of the NYPD Mafia cops, Eppolito and Caracappa, "The Good Rat" details the documented testimony of Burton Kaplan: government witness, informant, stool pigeon, rat, and criminal. Though Kaplan is no Sammy Gravano, his own participation in mob activities and hits over the years was substantial. This is the story of a man that talked his way out of the consequences of his career choice by playing main witness for the government in a RICO prosecution.
The talented and witty Jimmy Breslin offers profound insight to consider. In chapter six, Breslin states: "Years ago the state looked upon gambling as a low vice, a depravity, and those who profited from it were no better than cheap pimps and deserved years behind bars. That opinion held right up until the government took it over..."
This account incorporates Kaplan's trial testimony throughout while giving the reader the background by way of flashbacks in this shockingly true narrative of two seriously bad cops. As a trial and organized crime enthusiast I loved it!
Summary of The Good Rat: A True Story
In his inimitable New York voice, Pulitzer Prize winner Jimmy Breslin gives us a look through the keyhole at the people and places that define the Mafia?characters like John Gotti, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso (named for his weapon of choice), and Jimmy "the Clam" Eppolito?interwoven with the remarkable true-crime saga of the good rat himself, Burt Kaplan of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the star witness in the recent trial of two NYPD detectives indicted for carrying out eight gangland executions. Through these unforgettable real-life and long-forgotten Mafia stories, Jimmy Breslin captures the moments in which the mob was made and broken.
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