Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with Kip Addotta by clicking on the video player above! Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience that will repeat after me: We commit to the interview; We go through the interview; And we never ask permission to tell the interviewee that this part is... Continue Reading →
Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies? Say hello to my little friend! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of made men who wouldn’t kill as many people if they had to clean up after themselves… in the NEW new media capital of the world, St. Petersburg, Florida! The danger of writing the “Ultimate Book” of anything is if you wind up demonstrating... Continue Reading →
The Sopranos’ scariest, Richie Aprile, roughs up Mr. Media! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Richie Aprile was crazy. Not gangster or organized crime crazy, but nuts. Way over the top, barely functioning in society, nuts. Of all the characters ever invented on HBO’s long-running mobster drama “The Sopranos," Aprile—played brilliantly by actor David Proval during season two—was the only one that genuinely scared me with his anger and quick-to-violence... Continue Reading →
My favorite writer of the 20th century: Nick Tosches talks shop! INTERVIEW
(AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: I recently found this typewritten story in my files from July 25, 1985. Probably produced on my Apple IIc! I believe it was a freelance piece I wrote for the St. Petersburg Times when I was writing most of the paper's pop music articles and reviews. This version was not edited by... Continue Reading →
NBA ref or Covert police operative? Bob Delaney was both! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Bob Delaney, NBA referee, New Jersey State Trooper, author, Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob with Dave Scheiber Bob Delaney has lived not one but two enviable and intimidating lives—and he’s nowhere near done, yet. In his first career, Delaney was a New Jersey State Trooper who went undercover for three years to... Continue Reading →
Donnie Brasco had Unfinished Business says FBI’s Joe Pistone! PODCAST INTERVIEW
My favorite book in the 1970s was Serpico by Peter Maas, the story of a New York City cop who seemingly single-handedly fought the force of corruption in the city’s police department. I read all the books of that genre in that era, from Supercops to The Valachi Papers and The French Connection. One... Continue Reading →