Mob Cop: My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department

Description

Former Chicago police officer and Outfit associate Fred Pascente is the man who links Tony Spilotro, a central character in Nicholas Pileggi's Casino and one of Chicago's most notori-ous mob figures, to William Hanhardt, chief of detectives of the Chicago Police Department. Pascente and Spilotro grew up together on Chicago's Near West Side, and as young toughs they were rousted and shaken down by Hanhardt. While Spilotro became one of the youngest made men in Chicago Outfit history, Pascente was draft-ed into the army and then joined the police department. Soon taken under Hanhardt's wing, Pascente served as Hanhardt's fixer and bagman on the department for more than a decade. At the same time, Pascente remained close to Spilotro, mak-ing frequent trips to Las Vegas to party with his old friend while helping to rob the casinos blind. As a policeman he led a double life, doing genuine police work un-der Hanhardt's tutelage while at the same time keeping an eye out for opportunities for bribery and theft. His position on both sides of the law gave him unrivaled knowl-edge of the workings of Chicago's deeply rooted culture of corruption. Mob Cop details the decline of tra-ditional organized crime in the United States, and reveals information about the inner workings of the Outfit that has never been publicly released. Fred Pascente's col-orful stories of crooked cops and danger-ous criminals make his memoir a matchless tell-all.

Fred Pascente was a Chicago police officer for twenty-six years and professional thief with close ties to organized crime. He died in 2014. Sam Reaves is the author of ten novels and has served as president of the Midwest chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

"Worthwhile glimpse into the schizoid world of a corrupt cop." Kirkus Reviews "A tale from the underworld that's rich in Outfit history and the characters that come with it. Pascente's memories unspool like letters from a dark and fading Chicago." Jeff Coen, author of Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob "A detailed, gritty account of growing up around Grand Avenue and of life on both sides of the law, from someone who was a mob associate and a Chicago police officerat the same time. Sam Reaves's commentary that goes along with Fred Pascente's story is excellent." John J. Binder, author of The Chicago Outfit "The book is chock full of the dark side of both the police department and the mob but it is surprisingly also full of strong friendship, family devotion, unswerving loyalty and at times had me laughing out loud at some of the ridiculous antics on both sides of the law." Chicago History Cop "Fans of mobster stories will want to grab a copy of the foul-mouthed but fascinating memoir of Fred Pascente, the corrupt former Chicago cop who was tight with Tony Spilotro and a host of Las Vegas ne'er-do-wells. Written with novelist Sam Reaves, the book is titled "Mob Cop: My Life of Crime in the Chicago Police Department." A friend and business partner of former Crazy Horse Too boss Rick Rizzolo, Pascente also was a member of Nevada's casino Black Book. Pascente died in 2014, so I'm guessing the book tour is out." Las Vegas Review-Journal