Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street (ISBN 0446528579)

Pulitzer winner Weiss with a very fascinating story:
Mr. Weiss shows us how he has been able to capture his Pulitzer. The author "lets the hood tell his story" as one reviewer complains, but I would assert that this is a BIG asset to this book. Yes, we find out the "banality of evil" but that is beside the point. You may find yourself dealing with this part of society in one shape or another eventually and you may be surprised to find that the Mafia is NOT so dead as it is being assumed to be. Of course, if you really read between the lines of this book you realize that this is an example of Organized Crime ADAPTING. The penny stock industry (Yes. .it is an ongoing industry . . and NOT going the way of the buggy whip, if my FAX machine is any indication. . .filled as it is with unsolicited stock BS) was the place to be if you wanted to rub shoulders with mobsters in the 1990s. Weiss acts as narrator as the life story of Pasciuto unfolds. Some here have complained about the prose style. I found it very accessible. The story is an easy read and you are not supposed to wind up "compelled" by any character. They are almost all bad guys. This time, Weiss didn't complain about how incompetent the legal watch dogs must be to simply let this all unfold without being much hindrance, but if you think this stuff through fully, you would wind up wondering that. . .WHERE IS THE SEC??? . . .the NASD? Anyway, if you want to get a feel for the chop stock industry you should read this book. If you feel compelled to invest in those ULTRA LOW CAP stocks that you see in your fax machine or in unsolicited e-mails. . .you MUST read this book! Caveat Emptor! Chris Tune

very disturbing:
It nevers ceases to amaze me that people could be so gullible as to send a check for a large sum of money because some guy with a great line of BS says he can make you rich and he represents an official sounding brokerage house. Wow. The story is very captivating. Reading about Louis spiral out of control, hooking up with organized crime "Guys", the drugs, the lies, the scamming. Pretty entertaining. This book really makes me wonder what all those regulatory agencies actually do. Its obvious they are not running around trying to protect the average consumer. Too bad, cause with people like Louis manning the phones, many people out there need protection. I found myself looking for excuses during the day to get back to reading this book. I really enjoyed it.

Goodfellas meets Boiler Room:
If you can imagine a book written that blended these two movies together, bada-bing, there's your book. There's your review.

Most intriguing three day read you'll find!!!:
I do most of my reading on the train commuting to and from work. This book did not give me that luxury because I was so into the story of how this kid became rich and invested for well known celebrities. I read it in three days because I kept wondering how and when this guy was going to get whacked by the mafia. The real life photos in the book make the stories more justifiable. Also, these pictures help keep the reliability of the book in tact. Business mostly draws my interest for reading material, so that was the reason I bought the book at an airport one day. If you like business success stories and real life mafia drama, then this book will knock you off your feet.

Disappointed, Average:
The book starts off fast, however lacks true storytelling details. The information about the firms and scams is severally lacking. The first 150 pages seems to mirror the firm and characters depicted in the movie the Boiler Room. I kept thinking of that movie while I was reading this book. I would recommend the movie the Boiler Room over this book, as if you are interested in more details of how the scams and firms actually work, the Boiler Room does a much better job. Overall I think the book is about 2.75 stars, as I thought it was a little below average, maybe my expectations were a little to high. However, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes organized crime and wants to hear an inside story of chop shops. Although I was disappointed I could not put the book down, and it will likely grasp your attention. I would not recommend this to book to someone who is looking for the specific ins and outs of how a chop shop and penny stock scams work, it will disappoint you if you are looking for that. I would also not recommend this book to those of you who are easily offended by frequent use of the f word. If you do like this book I would recommend watching the Boiler Room, which is a very good movie.