Mafia Hitmen And Assassins: The True Crime Stories of Contract Killers

By Daniel Brand

 Are you fascinated by the mafia? Do you want to learn the stories of some of the deadliest men of the past one hundred years? Do you want to know one of the many ways that the mafia managed to keep control over the USA for so many years?

One of the easiest ways that mafia bosses would keep control is to have hitmen working for them. Dangerous, cold-hearted men who killed without any thought whatsoever. Who were these men? How did they become the way they were? How did they kill? Why did they kill?

In this book, we'll talk about many infamous mafia hitmen and answer the above questions about them. Just a few of the hitmen we'll be talking about include:

● Sammy "The Bull" Gravano and the reasons he became one of the most important flips on the mafia to date, plus, how he ended up in prison again for the second time

● Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski and the crazy ways he would get away with his murders and all the genius ways he'd get rid of a body

● Thomas Pitera and the years he spent in Japan studying samurai

● Giuseppe Greco and his death crew

● Joseph Barboza and the actual, totally crazy reason he was often referred to as "The Animal."

● Abe Reles and his mysterious death; he thought he was safe and he really wasn't; was he actually trying to escape or is there something far more sinister at play here?

● Alexander Solonik and the absolutely incredible things he could do with two guns, and his never-ending determination to stay out of prison

● Benjamin Siegel, the father of Las Vegas and the only one who says it's potential to become what it is today

It's hard to pinpoint the reason to why reading about these people, and their horrific crimes are so fascinating, but we're not here to explain that. We're just here to give you enjoyable, fascinating stories, and there's no shame in that. The stories in here are shocking, twisted, and pretty amazing.

So, if you're interested in finding out about any of these men and how they got away with their crimes or just are interested in hitmen in general, this book is definitely a good part to start full of enjoyable stories.   

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tru Nobilis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393314783

Daniel Brand

Daniel Brand, Hansi and Joel's one surviving son, has been researching the Hungarian holocaust for the last 20 years. Previously, he was a Scientific Attaché for the State of Israel, a senior advisor for Israel's Department of Defense, and a researcher at Israel's Atomic Energy Commission. Earlier in his career, he served as lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Defense Force.

Book preview

Introduction

Killers are fascinating.

Whether we like it or not, reading about killers—how they operate, why they do what they do, and how they become this way—is fascinating. There is a reason that shows such as Law and Order are so popular; it’s not just about watching the good guys win, but it’s also about seeing twisted killers and seeing the chase.

The men in this book are not fictional characters on TV. These men lived and died, and some of them are still alive today. They are killers. Some of them are incredibly dangerous and disgusting in the way they operated. Let’s face it; these men have serial killer numbers. If they didn’t get paid for what they did, that’s what we would be calling them.

These men were not only killers, but many of them were businessmen who worked high up in the mafia. Many of them were made men. Some of them made lasting effects that still affect us to this day. Looking at you, Bugsy.

I hope you enjoy this book, and I hope you’ll find exactly what you need. I personally find killers fascinating, especially those who are in the mafia. What kind of person do you have to be for you to take money for murdering someone? Many of these men wouldn’t even know the victims they killed—they only cared about the paycheck.

I hope you enjoy reading this because I definitely enjoyed writing it. Have fun!

Chapter 1: Charles Harrelson

Charles Voyde Harrelson was a hitman and the first person to have killed a federal judge in the 20th century, Judge John H. Wood. He is also at the center of numerous conspiracy theories being the person who may have killed President John. F. Kennedy. And, strangely enough, he is also the father of a famous American actor who's known for his role of Woody Boyd in the television sitcom Cheers, Woody Harrelson. Well, after all, it is said that the most interesting artists come from the most interesting childhoods, so apparently, Woody Harrelson fills that role with a hitman for a father.

Born in Huntsville, Texas in 1939, there is very little known about Harrelson's childhood. His parents were named Voyde Harrelson and Alma Lee, and he married his first wife, Nancy Hillman Harrelson. They eventually got divorced, and he met and married his second wife, Diane Lou Oswald in 1959. It was with her that he had three sons, Woody, Brett, and Jordan. The marriage only lasted five years, and they also got divorced. According to his son, Woody, the elder Harrelson disappeared completely from their lives. They didn't hear from him again until 1981, and this was only once his crimes came to light.

Harrelson married two more women in his life: first, it was Jo Ann Harrelson, then after their divorce, he married Gina Adelle Foster. He worked as an encyclopedia salesman and professional gambler. It was through gambling that he began his criminal life and was arrested for armed robbery in 1960. This was only the beginning of a career as a hitman. Thanks to his debts through gambling, he became connected to the mob and began contract killing as a way to pay them off. It is not known who his first kill was, but he got arrested in 1968 for the murder of a carpet salesman named Alan Berg, who lived in Houston, Texas. At this point, he was already linked to numerous deaths.

On May 28th, Berg received a phone call from an unidentified woman offering sexual favors (Harrelson's girlfriend at the time claimed it was her who made the call on Harrelson's orders). He was never seen again. It is believed that he was then kidnapped and killed. According to testimony by Harrelson's girlfriend, who was present at the murder and who agreed to be a witness, Harrelson cornered Berg out in the parking lot, and after driving away, killed him by first gun wounds, and when that didn't work, ended up strangling him. In a podcast years later, Berg’s brother would say how much that was just Alan.

Harrelson got away with the crime, but the only reason why was that the defense claimed that the girlfriend who testified was his common-law wife, meaning that her testimony was useless. Alan Berg's brother, David Berg, wrote about the trial in his book, Run, Brother, Run. Why Berg was targeted is still a subject of mystery, but his brother alluded to the fact that it may have been payback against their father that was put together by a former employee or business rival. Their father had been spreading the news of his terrible work ethic all over the town. There was also evidence that Alan Berg had significant gambling debts and was struggling to pay them back. Either way, Harrelson got off. However, he remained in jail.

Why? Because in July 1968, only a few months after Berg's death, Harrelson was hired by a man named Pete Scamardo to take out Sam Degelia Jr., his business partner. On the surface, Degelia was a grain dealer who had been best friends with Scamardo since he was in second grade, but the two were involved in smuggling heroin across the Mexican border. Harrelson would help deal heroin from time to time, but once he was arrested while dealing it, and he had to get rid of it. To pay off his debt, Scamardo told him that he would pay him $2,000 to kill his business partner and he would forget all about the missing heroin. Why would he do this? To get the $100,000 insurance claim. Harrelson was already incarcerated when this happened, and he ended up being tried and convicted in 1973. He was given 15 years, but weirdly enough, was let out after five years for good behavior in 1878. After he was let out, he returned to his hitman lifestyle, and it wasn't long before the murder that would put him on the hitman map made him infamous would take place.

In February 1979, a man named Jamiel Chagra was arrested and put on trial for drug trafficking. The judge overseeing his case was named John H. Wood Jr. He was often referred to as Maximum John, thanks