Tony Accardo is Joe Batters
The Last Untold Story of the 20th Century
Accardo had secrets, not the boyish yarns of pranks and horseplay, but Hitchcockian tales of the macabre. He owned Las Vegas, from the Desert Inn and Sahara to the Stardust and Caesars. Why has this story never been told? Accardo killed everyone in his path. Ruling his criminal empire from the depths of the shadows, he influenced national policy, exploited the FBI, owned Supreme Court Justices and fixed presidential elections. Add in the mobbed-up careers of Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack, every gangster from Al Capone to John Gotti crossed his path.
With the passing of Tony Accardo (aka Joe Batters) in 1992, America lost forever the inside story on Jimmy Hoffa, Sam Giancana, Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano, Johnny Roselli, Lee Harvey Oswald, Marilyn Monroe, and President John F. Kennedy.
Arguably some of the most scandalous assassinations of the 20th century, if anyone in history knew where the bodies were buried, it was “Joe Batters.”
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"This kid's a real Joe Batters." -Al Capone
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About the Author
Neil Gordon is the author of the sensationally terrifying book Joe Batters, the definitive work on Tony Accardo and The Chicago Outfit. A creation of nonfiction, this is the last untold story of the 20th century.
Gordon’s story began as a kid. While growing up in Phoenix, his father Dean, a novelist of Caribbean intrigue, surrounded his son with tales of mystery, suspense, and adventure. In 1972 when The Godfather premiered at the Cine Capri Theater, it was an eye-opener, and Gordon was hooked into the history and lore of the Mafia.
A graduate of DU’s Hotel and Restaurant School, Gordon career included owner/operator of a Scottsdale steakhouse and blues club, and ten year stints as Senior Buyer with City Meats Phoenix and Vice President of Meat Operations at Braunger Foods in Sioux City, Iowa.
While vacationing in Nova Scotia where his father grew up, a stop at what was once his great-great uncle’s house changed Gordon’s life. The man renovating the house happened to be Chicago’s mob boss Tony Accardo’s illegitimate son, Stephen. Stephen’s mother, who survived a mob hit and attempted kidnapping, was one of many affairs Tony Accardo took to his grave. The story of Joe Batters started to manifest. After nearly ten years of research, writing, and editing, Neil Gordon is excited to share Joe Batters with Mafia fans around the globe.
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Z-ROY, Amazon Review
JOE BATTERS IS A VERY INTERESTING READ!
This is one of best books that I've ever read about the Chicago Outfit! I've read and own several credible books on the subject of the Chicago chapter of the mafia, written by; John Binder, Bill Roemer Jr, Gus Russo, William Brashler, Chuck Giancana, and Laurence Bergreen. Yet, I'm comfortable with saying that this book was just as informative, and even a more interesting read than most of the books on the Outfit in my library. What makes this such a non-stop page turner, is that Neil Gordon has managed to make a true-crime book that reads like a novel. He captures the culture, attitude and lifestyle of these hardened criminals and gangsters. He also does a fantastic job of not glorifying these murderous evil people. This book is also a great study on US history during the 1920s thru the 1990s. I think this book fell short due to it's lack of photos, and the fact that it also doesn't have an index. A lot of the reviewers commented about the language being inaccurate or corny, but what you people must understand is, Joe Batters Accardo and Al Capone were men with very little education. They started as gangbangers and later became mobsters. That didn't make them stupid, in fact they were very intelligent. Just not educated. I thought that the language was straight gangster, and more accurate than how most writers present these individuals. I agree that there were several inaccurate statements throughout this book, but Neil Gordon made up for it with his writing style. All of the gangsters that made the Outfit one the most powerful criminal organizations in world history are all in this book. There are also plenty of other interesting characters as well. Of course no book on the study of gangsterism would be complete without their machination into legal and illegal businesses, and you will also get a fair amount of information on that as well. This book has plenty of action and violence, as well as blood, torture, and murder. I highly recommend this book!
Reviews
John A. Southard, Amazon Review
The Real Chicago Crime Boss after Capone
Well written biography about the Chicago Crime Boss who operated quietly behind the scenes and set up other men such as Paul Ricca to take the credit. Tony Accardo was one of the few Crime Bosses never to be convicted of a crime , spend a night in prison, and died of old age at home. Fascinating story!
Craig Morrison, Amazon Review
This was good in the fact that its the first book written about Accardo that is not simply a rehash of stuff taken from newspapers or parts of other books. Yes some of the dialog was assumed and sometimes a little corny but there was finally some new info about him,instead of the same old stuff that everyone has already seen a hundred times.