• Family Secrets

  • The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob
  • By: Jeff Coen
  • Narrated by: Matthew Boston
  • Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (115 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Family Secrets  By  cover art

Family Secrets

By: Jeff Coen
Narrated by: Matthew Boston
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.91

Buy for $18.91

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Even in Chicago, a city steeped in mob history and legend, the Family Secrets case was a true spectacle when it made it to court in 2007. A top mob boss, a reputed consigliere, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Painting a vivid picture of murder, courtroom drama, family loyalties and disloyalties, journalist Jeff Coen accurately portrays the Chicago Outfit's cold-blooded - and sometimes incompetent - killers and their crimes in the case that brought them down. In 1998 Frank Calabrese Jr. volunteered to wear a wire to gather evidence against his father, a vicious loan shark who strangled most of his victims with a rope before slitting their throats to ensure they were dead. Frank Jr. went after his uncle Nick as well, a calculating but sometimes bumbling hit man who would become one of the highest-ranking turncoats in mob history, admitting he helped strangle, stab, shoot, and bomb victims who got in the mob's way, and turning evidence against his brother Frank.

©2009 Jeff Coen (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[A] revealing, shocking book . . . superbly crafted." ( Publishers Weekly)

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about Family Secrets

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    67
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    71
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exhaustive, coherent account of a complex trial

The author gives lots of good detail and makes the huge case understandable. The narrator adopts a passable Chicago accent for the gangster’s dialog, although pronunciation of certain place names (“Noperville” “Hyr-on”) suggests he is not native.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

“You Do It”

Great true crime story. The performance is the best part. You literally feel your there at the trial of Joey the Clown, Jimmy Marcelo, & Frank Calabrese Sr. I’ve listened to it 3-4 times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Excellent story about the Chicago Mob. Well done. This was my first audiobook and It won't be the last!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent history

It was a comprehensive telling of the trial that kept things moving along. I was enjoying this book because I lived the first 30 years of my life in Wrigleyville, and connected the cities neighborhoods with the gangsters in the trial.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best

If you want a real, not glamorizing look at mafia, this is an excellent book to get

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really hard core .

Talks about many big name gangsters.Very informative one of the best mob books ever The Chicago outfit was is big.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good story tons of detail

good read holds your attention even though its full of detail it doesn't get boring.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

What a bore!

The book is way too verbose with trivial details. I wouldn’t read this again if a gun was held to my head.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not very good at all.

Would you try another book from Jeff Coen and/or Matthew Boston?

If your big into mafia and audio-books, you will hate this book. First, it sounds like a 1970-80's read. Second, the narrator is awful. But if you can get past that, the data it conveys is interesting. They go into a lot of nonsense that doesn't need to be in the book and duplicate things unnecessarily.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I wouldn't......

This is hard to listen to, between the narrator and the story, it just doesn't hold ones attention.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!