Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History

Author - Rick Porrello ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from Next Hat Press was reviewed on 24-Oct-2008.

Search ISBN:0966250850 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History Reference Book. Classifications : Criminals Specific Groups Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Criminology Crime & Criminals Nonfiction Subjects Books True Crime True Accounts Nonfiction Subjects Books Organized Crime True Accounts . Click the following link to view the cover of Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History.

Related topics: Criminals. Specific Groups. Subjects. Books. Criminology. Crime & Criminals. Nonfiction. Subjects. Books. True Crime.

1) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. Superthief reads more like a self written biography than it does a crime/suspense story. Porello explains that Phil´s 1200 page manuscript was the basis for this story and In my opinion, it really shows. The book recounts phils´ life story in a "and then, and then , and then" fashion. We don´t get much build up to the bigger moments, little to no foreshadowing, and details that seem very important are completely glossed over. A decent story which really suffers from poor writing and editing, you would be better off catching similarly themed books "Killing Pablo" or "The Ballad of the Whisky Robber"¤

2) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. Originally drawn to the Las Vegas-style book cover, I discovered that the story itself lived up to the bling of the high rolling art work of the cover design. This book is what I used to call a "good subway book." In other words, one that makes the train ride go quickly. It is a snappy, fast story of one man´s first-person account of his criminal activities. It can be argued that remorse is not high on mob associate Phil Christopher´s list of moral imperatives. But a criminal who shows no remorse is much more typical, and realistic, than one who sheds crocodile tears in a bid for sympathy made after-the-fact. The author seems to know his subject and brings to the story, much personal experience with life in an Italian-American neighborhood. This book has so much flavor, you can almost smell the meatballs frying and the Sunday gravy sizzling.¤

3) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. This is the highly engaging and very readable life story of master burglar/drug trafficker Phillip Christopher. Through the frequent use of the first-person, author Rick Porello provides a look inside the mind of a professional criminal. We are treated to the details of Christopher´s life -- from his Catholic, blue-collar upbringing in the Collinwood district of Cleveland, Ohio, through his spectacular criminal successes and equally spectacular blunders, to his declining years as an easy target of state and federal law enforcement -- in what is purported to be Christopher´s own words.
We share Christopher´s real-life experiences in family, business, underworld and prison situations. His lengthy and continuing rollercoaster ride through the criminal justice system is particularly educational. Christopher seems to have encountered every unfair advantage and unfair disadvantage built into that system.
Due to its frank handling of its subject matter, I suspect this book will cause those who have invested in electronic security systems to lose quite a bit of sleep. The thwarting of alarms, the acquisition of secret allies among security company employees and within local police departments and the prying open of safes and vaults are all discussed in detail. Porello-Christopher stop just short of providing a primer for aspiring safe-crackers. The various elements of the 1972 burglary at the United California Bank in Laguna Niguel, the biggest bank heist in U.S. history, are expertly rendered.
Those are the book´s positives, but unfortunately they are not the whole story. While I enjoyed Superthief and remain a Rick Porello fan, there are some noticeable flaws in the book.
For one, it is difficult to accept many of Christopher´s statements as fact. Examples: his Robin Hood-like escapades as a child thief, botched jobs that were always someone else´s fault and the high esteem in which mob bosses, union leaders and even prison personnel universally held him. Porello provides little obvious help as we strive to separate the wheat from the chaff. There is rare corroboration in the form of a quote from a girlfriend or a law enforcement officer, but Christopher´s story appears to have been left pretty much just as he told it.
Another problem stems from Porello´s inclusion of the word "Mafia" in the title. Phillip Christopher was never a "made" guy, and the Mafia has a very small, supporting role in the book. Some of the more interesting Mafia episodes of the time/place are tossed in as asides, though Christopher had nothing to do with them. The Mafia remains off in the distance and out of focus.
Though Christopher spent a lifetime living this story and Porello spent five years writing it, what lies between the front and back covers seems thin and could have been better crafted. A bit of narration in the middle chapters could have helped drive home the importance of the Laguna Niguel heist. The reader is liable to plow right through it, judging it to be a disappointment. Insight also is lacking. While we are thrust inside Christopher´s mind, we find little in the way of illumination there. He committed burglaries, he repeatedly tells us, because he wanted a lot of money. (Willie Sutton reborn.) We´re dragged along into deceit, infidelity and murder without knowing why. We readers are left in the uncomfortable position of being within the mind of a person we cannot understand and do not like.
At the bottom line, this is a good story, entertaining and informative, requiring minimal effort and investment from the reader. It should someday become an exciting movie. However, it falls far short of its considerable potential as a window into the mind of a career criminal.
¤

4) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. Christopher is an older guy from my neighborhood.....I grew up in Collinwood near the end of its salad days........we used to go on vacation without locking our doors. The place is all but gone now to the blacks.........mostly thanks to white flight and the old desegregation order of the 70´s¤

5) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. I could not put this book down. I loved reading what goes thru a thiefs mind, and then reading some background and filling in some of the questions that would come to my mind that the author seemed to anticipate. Just a great read. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the other books authored by Rick Porrello..¤

6) Hardcover Book Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History by Next Hat Press. Superthief is a captivating first-hand look at the life of Phil Christopher, a career criminal, Mafia associate, and one of the most successful bank burglars in the United States. In a raw and candid accounting, Author Rick Porrello takes readers inside Phil´s brutal street world and prison life and exposes the details behind the planning and execution of the daring and record-setting 1972 United California Bank burglary in Orange County, California. The UCB burglary is the biggest in United States history and has been featured in documentaries on Court TV and the Discovery Channel.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 21-Nov-2008, 09662508509780966250855, 170-5X0-990-500-930-881-8

Superthief: A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Heist in U.S. History, Book, Image © Next Hat Press

Search: Next Hat Press, Book Posters, Book Art