For the Sins of My Father by Albert DeMeo

Admittedly, I find a strange fascination in the mob and crime scenarios often glorified on the silver screen. I am no different than millions of other rubber-neckers in that respect. I loved Donnie Brasco and Good Fellas. I have seen Reservoir Dogs no less than a hundred times, I’m sure, and I’ve sat through all of Scarface more than thrice (once in Spanish)! Who knows why we enjoy this? It must tap into some secret desire we have for a life filled with a little adrenaline, a little danger. I remember riding in a car in Germany, many years ago, flying over a hill at top speed when the driver looked at me with a maniacal grin and asked, “Do you like living on the edge?”
Well, I don’t know about all of that, however ....

Although it was rather poorly written (as if it would have received a B+ in a high school Comp class), I actually enjoyed reading For the Sins of My Father by Albert DeMeo. Maybe it was because it was true and had pictures!! It gave testament to the human side of a mob family and the mob family. We were able to see the compassion of the father and the humorous aspects of a boy hanging out with real men. Ultimately, though, it just made me sad. I feel like the author did exactly what he accuses others of doing: he glorified the mob connections and quickly swept the post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and a life falling apart under the rug. To me, that would have made a better story. And in the end - and I don’t feel at all badly for revealing this - the dog saves his life!