- Hardcover: 308 pages
- Publisher: ReganBooks,U.S. (6 April 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061122696
- ISBN-13: 978-0061122699
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 374,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Mesmerizing and fascinating ... no organized crime fiction I have read has anything on this book. I couldn't put it down."--- Michael Palmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Society
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
When James J. "Whitey" Bulger, currently on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list with a $1 million reward for his capture, ran the Irish mob in South Boston, no one was closer to him than Kevin Weeks. Weeks was Bulger's handpicked deputy, trusted confidante, and loyal partner for the last dozen years of Bulger's reign. He was there when Bulger carried out his hits; he dug basement graves when bodies needed burying; and he followed Bulger's instructions to lie low when tipped off that the Feds were moving in. Weeks was so trusted by Bulger that after Bulger went to ground, it was Weeks who met with him five times in New York and Chicago to give him new identification and the latest news. And the it was Weeks who ran the Bulger mob's rackets for five years until he was finally arrested. In 1997, nearly 20 years after Weeks began his association with Bulger, Weeks learned that his mentor in crime had been an FBI informant for 25 years, which went against everything mobsters held sacred. Although Whitey Bulger has been written about before, including a chapter in Paddy Whacked by T.J. English, no one at the top of his operation has ever talked, and the low-level street guys who have talked just haven't gotten it right. The only other person who knows the real deal is Stevie Flemmi, but with Flemmi serving a life sentence with no chance for parole, Weeks is the only one with the goods who is able to set the record straight. Kevin Weeks is now out of prison after serving five and a half years of a lifetime sentence, which was reduced after he testified that Bulger's FBI handler had tipped off Bulger to his impending arrest, revealed the location of numerous mob graves, and cooperated with absolute honesty. Weeks is the first person who has the real inside info, and he's willing to tell it all, what it was like on the inside, how they did business, the actual deals, the hits, and where the bodies are buried.
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First Sentence
By South Boston standards, my childhood was surprisingly normal. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
By South Boston standards, my childhood was surprisingly normal. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Whitey Bulger was a very interesting criminal. Certainly very intelligent, he was one of the few careers crims to make a fortune and get out even when under detailed law enforcement investigation. AS most would know, he inspired "The Departed".
Short of Bulger's own autobiography, Week's book is likely to be the closest we get to the true story Bulger's operations, how he made his money and how he stayed ahead of the law.
This gives a non-glamorous, no-holds barred view of the reality of organised crim in Boston. lots of interesting detail on his relationship with the feds, the IRA and various other organised criminal outfits.
So far, so good.
However Weeks certainly views his old colleague through rose-tinted glasses, but doesnt have the consistency to paint a convincing picture. For example he states in numerous places that "Whitey didnt like to use violence - he only killed people when absolutely neccessary", yet a few pages on he would say "I dont know why Whitey killed X, maybe he just didnt like the guy"..
Having said that, if you are interested in the social/criminal history of Boston or Irish America, or American organised crime in general, its a must-read. Just dont expect it to be impartial.
Short of Bulger's own autobiography, Week's book is likely to be the closest we get to the true story Bulger's operations, how he made his money and how he stayed ahead of the law.
This gives a non-glamorous, no-holds barred view of the reality of organised crim in Boston. lots of interesting detail on his relationship with the feds, the IRA and various other organised criminal outfits.
So far, so good.
However Weeks certainly views his old colleague through rose-tinted glasses, but doesnt have the consistency to paint a convincing picture. For example he states in numerous places that "Whitey didnt like to use violence - he only killed people when absolutely neccessary", yet a few pages on he would say "I dont know why Whitey killed X, maybe he just didnt like the guy"..
Having said that, if you are interested in the social/criminal history of Boston or Irish America, or American organised crime in general, its a must-read. Just dont expect it to be impartial.
Format:Paperback
Very absorbing read takes you to the heart of southie and tells the tail of the Winterhill Mob great book a must for all true crime readers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
71 reviews
61 of 73 people found the following review helpful
Brutally Disgusting
23 Mar 2006
Format:Hardcover
I have read each book that has come out of the sordid, fetid story of South Boston, Massachusetts and master mobster Whitey Bulger's corrupt alliance with the FBI, including this latest and most useless scrpit by Bulger's errand boy, Kevin Weeks. Having grown up in the town during Bulger's reign of terror and knowing about the tales of terror as they occurred, I would simply advise people thinking of purchasing Mr. Weeks' book to save your money. If you do buy it, do what I did after reading the first one hundred pages or so. Throw it in the trash. As I read the book, or more precisecly, the half truths and outright lies in it, I realized I paid this fool blood money. For him to actually claim in the book that he is a borderline genius should have been my first clue to try to get my money back. A persistent reminder of what a weak minded coward this moran is, was his description of how he stood by and watched as the diminutive psychopath Bulger, strangled the life out of two young women. Weeks claims he was a champion prizefighter - never happened. He claims he was shot at by, and shot back at, his fellow gangsters - never happened. I could go on, but to save my time and your money, skip this one. Do not allow this fool and criminal, but most of all craven coward to earn a cent from living a life without contibution or honesty. If you are of a mind, send a check to the family of those two poor women he didn't have the balls to save.
40 of 49 people found the following review helpful
The title says it all- Brutal; but a good read.
20 Mar 2006
Format:Hardcover
Fascinating.As far as mob- true crime books go, this one is pretty good, the protagonist and the co-author Phyllis Karas collaborate on an extensive "memoir" from Kevin Weeks' POV. The background growing up in the Southie projects before busing and drugs is telling; the environment in the authors case was deeply colored by an extremely violent and coarse father with a hair trigger temper who was in fisticuffs ALL of the time, wacking his kids around without justification. Childhood innocence and safety being denied him, kevin becomes a soldier- a boxer and a thug who believes in the law of the jungle. Although purportedly a near genius with an 150 IQ, the emotional life of this amoral man is never developed- all he knows is that if some guy says screw you- that's justification to crack his head open. If he has to be told a second or third time, he's too stupid to live. The macho neanderthal perspective fits in perfectly with Whitey's (Jimmys) plan, Kevin is an aide-de -camp with his own sideline businesses , but mainly Kevin is like a personal bouncer for Whitey- a fascinating multidimensional psychopath with a touch of Robin Hood- (he once took part in LSD experiments during his early prison stint, perhaps this exacerbated his evil side.)
The one thing that the reader walks away with is that in this part of Boston and in this mileu, all the cops and robbers are in bed with each other-metaphorically of course. FBI, police, gangsters, and various thugs. What a cesspool! Kevin says throughout the whole book that it's always about money, not power- but in the end he's bankrupt; and he's telling all these tales of his businesses and how successful he could have been if he and Whitey went legit.Then again, in the "real" world when you lock horns with someone you cannot just shoot the guy through his eyeballs and bury him in the basement. Hello- it's call anger management, emotional maturity and lawfulness.These characteristics or lack of them qualify us as regular folks or as CRIMINALS. We don't have too many heros these days, but in these small corrupt factions where brutes unite, and of course in certain HBO series', most of the world will be shocked and amazed at the utter lack of scruples and the detached violence that was a way of life for criminals of this ilk.Next time you drive by a gated prison like Allenwood or Norfolk and you think, gosh, what would a person have to do to get a sentence in one of these places-if you read this book you'll get a glimpse.
The book was insightful of course, and closer to the truth of Whitey Bulgur than any other books in print.You don't have to worship Kevin Weeks to buy this book; and he's not going to be making red hot millions from his portion of the profits; everyone wants their story to be heard and he's no exception- so read it for yourself and make up your own opinion.
The one thing that the reader walks away with is that in this part of Boston and in this mileu, all the cops and robbers are in bed with each other-metaphorically of course. FBI, police, gangsters, and various thugs. What a cesspool! Kevin says throughout the whole book that it's always about money, not power- but in the end he's bankrupt; and he's telling all these tales of his businesses and how successful he could have been if he and Whitey went legit.Then again, in the "real" world when you lock horns with someone you cannot just shoot the guy through his eyeballs and bury him in the basement. Hello- it's call anger management, emotional maturity and lawfulness.These characteristics or lack of them qualify us as regular folks or as CRIMINALS. We don't have too many heros these days, but in these small corrupt factions where brutes unite, and of course in certain HBO series', most of the world will be shocked and amazed at the utter lack of scruples and the detached violence that was a way of life for criminals of this ilk.Next time you drive by a gated prison like Allenwood or Norfolk and you think, gosh, what would a person have to do to get a sentence in one of these places-if you read this book you'll get a glimpse.
The book was insightful of course, and closer to the truth of Whitey Bulgur than any other books in print.You don't have to worship Kevin Weeks to buy this book; and he's not going to be making red hot millions from his portion of the profits; everyone wants their story to be heard and he's no exception- so read it for yourself and make up your own opinion.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Brutally week
21 April 2007
Format:Hardcover
I am an avid reader of this scene. Since the Departed has come out I have read "the Brother's Bulger", "A criminal and an Irishman", "Rat Bastards", "Street Soldier", "Black Mass", "Paddy Whacked" and "Brutal". No doubt Brutal is a great read, but when I read reviews about Rat Bastards and Street Soldier, it said "they just brag about how good they were"......Brutal seems to fall into the same description. Although it is indirectly bragging. I find it funny how at the end of the book Weeks talks about how he is not proud of what he has done, while he highlights all the murders he took place in. As well, before the book ends and he explains how disgusted people are with him, he is sure to mention how tough he still is with his quotes. The one disappointing thing about this book is that Weeks talks about how many people he beat up (and how smart he is) and puts down virtually all things Irish and Boston that are not his own work. I won't put this book down completely though, Weeks was a top echelon guy. Unlike Shea, he was Whitey's protege and unlike Carr, he actually knows what happen. Sometimes when reading this book you have to remember that it is about Kevin Weeks and not Jimmy Bulger.
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