Author - Joe Bradley

Bradley’s New Book

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On a hot November day in 2003 in Springfield, Massachusetts, local Genovese family Captain “Big Al” Bruno was shot five times with a .45 caliber handgun as he walked out of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel social club—a lit cigar smoldering next to his lifeless body. Since Vito Genovese took his empire north from New York City, a string of mobsters dating back a hundred years have operated in the Greater Springfield area. With this migration came murder, mayhem, treachery, criminal trials, and inherent corruption.

Not until 2010 did authorities charge new Springfield Genovese boss Anthony “Bingy” Arillotta with Bruno’s murder. At the time, Arillotta’s connections spanned the Northeast. With the Patriarca family in Rhode Island to the Angiulos in Boston, the Gambinos and Bonannos in New York, and from Billy Grasso and Whitey Tropiano in New Haven to Whitey Bulger’s Winter Hill Gang. During his seven-year reign, Arillotta had beautiful women, total power, and millions in cash. However, it eventually came with a devastating price.

South End Syndicate tells the untold story of a young boy’s infatuation with Springfield wiseguys, who rose from a street criminal to become his city’s Mafia boss. How did a young Italian-American kid from Springfield work his way up the chain to become a Made wiseguy in charge of Western New England? Arillotta, now a free man, tells a timeless tale of power, money, and murder.