- Cowan, Rick and Douglas Century. Takedown. New York: Berkley,
2002. ISBN 0-425-19299-7.
- This is the true story of a New York Police Department
detective who almost accidentally found himself in a position
to infiltrate the highest levels of the New York City garbage
cartel, one of the Mafia's fattest and most fiercely guarded
cash cows for more than half a century. Cowan's investigation,
dubbed “Operation Wasteland”, resulted in the largest organised
crime bust in New York history, eliminating the “mob tax” paid
by New York businesses which tripled their waste disposal charges
compared to other cities. This book was recommended as a real world
antidote to the dramatic liberties taken by the writers of
The Sopranos. Curiously,
I found it confirmed several aspects of The
Sopranos I'd dismissed as far-fetched, such as the ability
of mobsters to murder and dispose of the bodies of those who
cross them with impunity, and the “mad dog” behaviour (think Ralph Cifaretto) of high ranked
top-earner wiseguys.
September 2004 