Il Dottore: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor

by Ron Felber

Overview

The inspiration for Fox TV’s drama series, “Mob Doctor,” Il Dottore is the riveting true story of a Jewish kid from the Bronx who became a Mafia insider and physician to top NY Mafia dons such as John Gotti, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, and Joe Bonanno. As a result, the doctor led a double life: well respected surgeon and socialite by day, and “Il Dottore,” gambler and sex addict, by night. Welcomed into an exciting and glamorous underworld which included discos, drugs, high-stake gambling and beautiful women, he somehow managed to pursue his true profession seriously and in time, became one of the nation’s leading cardiac surgeons. Eventually, he had to make a choice between loyalty to the mob and killing a government witness on the operating table, or remaining true to his Hippocratic Oath, all under the watchful eye of New York's top federal prosecutor, Rudolph Giuliani.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781569805015
Publisher:	Barricade Books, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/22/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	263
File size:	342 KB

About the Author

Ron Felber is a graduate of Georgetown University and Loyola University Chicago, where he earned his master’s degree. After graduation, he worked as a deputy sheriff transporting federal criminals including hit men, terrorists, con men and drug dealers. His writing career began with articles based on his experiences for True Detective magazine. He has authored eight book and his latest effort, A Man of Indeterminate Value, is the first novel in the “Jack Madson” series to be published by Barricade Books in the spring of 2013. Ron lives in Mendham, NJ.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	vii
1.	The Commission	1
2.	Bronx Boy Discovers Body	7
3.	Initiation	15
4.	Birth of the American Mafia	21
5.	Into the Mirror	27
6.	Boss of Bosses	35
7.	Surgeon 1	49
8.	Studio 54	59
9.	Babania	65
10.	Giuliani at the Waldorf	71
11.	The Businessman Godfather	77
12.	Love and Bullets	89
13.	Mob Courier	99
14.	JFK and the Mafia	109
15.	Godfathers and Presidents	119
16.	Trouble in Paradise	127
17.	The Speed of Sound	135
18.	The Mafia and Hoover's FBI	141
19.	Giuliani vs. Gotti	153
20.	Tough Guys Don't Dance	161
21.	Rico Redux	171
22.	Star Wars	181
23.	Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Pestilence	191
24.	The Concrete Club	201
25.	The Hit On Scopo	211
26.	"New Godfather Heading Gambino Gang"	219
27.	A Tangled Web	229
28.	An "Interesting" Life	237
29.	The World According to Frankie Valli	245
30.	The Death of Myself	251
31.	A New Beginning	255
	Epilogue	263
	Index	271

Editorial Reviews

A respected thoracic surgeon and also a Mafia confidant, Elliot Litner was a self-described "nerdy, Jewish kid from the Bronx" who'd witnessed a slaying as a boy yet kept mum, impressing local hoodlums; later, his acquaintance with mobsters' sons provided entree to New York's Cosa Nostra during its heyday. In 1971, while a surgical resident, Litner helped Gambino family associates establish clandestine abortion clinics. Soon, Litner was the Gambinos' go-to for sensitive medical emergencies and even served as a courier for the family. His enthusiasm for the gangsters' rough-edged lifestyle wrecked his marriage, even as his career was, according to Felber, abetted by hospital associates with mob connections. In an overwrought narrative, Felber (The Privacy War, etc.) alternates depictions of Litner's divided life with the narrative of how Paul Castellano unwisely divided the Gambino family into white collar and "muscle" crews. This led to open warfare in the 1980s, Castellano's assassination and Rudy Giuliani's devastating RICO prosecutions. Things climaxed for Litner in 1986, when he was asked to engineer an "accident" during surgery on Giuliani witness Ralph Scopo, the request accompanied by John Gotti's threats. Litner's story, though provocative, is related with melodrama and purple prose and sheds little new light on figures like Castellano and Gotti. (Oct.) Forecast: An NBC Dateline segment on Litner could boost sales for an otherwise marginal Mafia account. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Il Dottore presents a new perspective on organized crime in the late 20th century. Elliot Litner was first introduced to gangster activity when, as a child, he befriended children of Mafia members in his Jewish and Italian Bronx, NY, neighborhood. Those connections, along with much determination and luck, helped Litner become one of the leading (and youngest) cardiac surgeons in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Through a combination of Mafia pressure, curiosity, and his willingness to help those in need, Litner assisted the top guys (John Gotti, Carlo Gambino, and Joseph Bonanno) with a range of medical conditions. As the doctor became aware of the power he held in his unconventional "family," he enjoyed living a double life, saving patients during the day and indulging in prostitutes and gambling at night, while unsuccessfully keeping it a secret from his wife and child. Jim Knobeloch's fantastic performance provides a variety of voices for the many characters involved in Litner's life. Squeamish listeners should beware of some gory medical procedure descriptions. Recommended for public libraries.-Jesse M. Light, Memorial Hall Lib., Andover, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Elliott Litner lived on a slippery slope. By day he was a respected cardiac surgeon, by night a personal physician to Mafia kingpins. Eventually he had to make a choice between loyalty to the Mob and adherence to the Hippocratic Oath, a choice that held nightmares beyond anything he could imagine. Jim Knobeloch narrates this rambling history of the Mafia with a variety of stereotypical Neopolitan gangster voices, reflecting those who spoke in expletives and preferred force to solve disputes. In contrast, he also captures the whispers of the quintessential Mafia don. Except for mispronunciations of medical terms, the medical process is accurately presented. Dramatic music, reminiscent of THE GODFATHER, begins each CD. K.A.T. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 05 - AudioFile