The book also says Bufalino participated as a mob representative in the botched Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1963 collaborated with the CIA in a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro and ordered the hit on the Teamsters' Jimmy Hoffa because of concerns the one-time union kingpin might spill details of his involvement in the Castro plot. Birkbeck says it was Bufalino who organized the first big get-together of the La Cosa Nostra crime bosses at Apalachin, N.Y. But Birkbeck, after years of poring through reams of legal documents and conducting dozens of interviews with those close to Bufalino, paints a revelatory picture of the man. Up until now, the mild-mannered mobster, who died in 1994, was best known for racketeering in the northeast part of the state. (Read Chapter One of the book here.) Close followers of La Cosa Nostra may recognize Bufalino's name. Ed Rendell pushed through legalized gambling in the state, allegedly steering contracts to favored campaign contributors and derailing state police efforts to investigate mob-tainted applicants for casino licenses. It's also the near-fantastical tale of how Gov.

Firstly, it's a gripping biography of the little-known Russell Bufalino, a crime boss with the uncanny ability to pop up, like a malevolent Forrest Gump, at crucial moments during post-World World II history.

In 'The Quiet Don,' Matt Birkbeck weaves together the stories of two of the most powerful men to emerge from Pennsylvania in the late 20th century.

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