No Haven

The Connecticut Mob and the Rise of America's Model City

By: Paul Bleakley

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Hardcover | 3 September 2024

At a Glance

Hardcover
252 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.5

Hardcover

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With Boston to the north and New York City to the south, Connecticut's history of organized crime is often overlooked. This is the untold story of New Haven's illegal past. One of America's most historic and enduring cities, New Haven is beset with a perpetual struggle with its identity, torn between worlds, where different, often contesting, or contradictory, lives come together in a convergence of chaos and unpredictability. In this environment, organized crime can often take root and flourish. Like other cities situated along the east coast, the criminal organizations that gained supremacy mostly consisted of Italians connected to the Cosa Nostra. From the 1930s, Connecticut became a region where Mafia families like the Genoveses, Gambinos, Colombos, and Patriarcas shared turf--at times, working together with enough profits to go around and, at other times, descending into open war to rival that experienced in any major city. At the center of this conflict were three men who were, at different times, cautious allies or sworn nemeses. Each represented their own interests, first and foremost, but were also backed by outside interests who wanted a slice of New Haven's illicit markets. Representing the Genoveses, Midge Renault reigned supreme over the city thanks to his reputation for wanton violence. At the same time, Colombo capo Ralph 'Whitey' Tropiano maintained a lower profile, which belied his reputation is a vicious killer. It was his lieutenant, Billy 'The Wild Guy' Grasso who ultimately rose to the top of the heap, after signing up with the Patriarca Family. This is the untold story of New Haven's illegal past, told through the experiences of some of the key players.

Industry Reviews

No Haven is a fascinating and gripping account of a little-known segment of the mob. Paul Bleakley 's research is top drawer. I highly recommend this book.

--Jeffrey Sussman, author of Tinseltown Gangsters, Sin City Gangsters, Boxing and the Mob, and Big Apple Gangsters

Told as a narrative history, No Haven recounts a century of mob infiltration in New Haven, Connecticut, by organized crime families from neighboring states. New Haven has a legacy of mob involvement stemming from overlapping organized crime influences from surrounding New York City, Providence, and Boston. Using three major mobsters from the Genovese, Profaci, and Patriarca families as prime examples, this book offers a fascinating look into how multiple illicit activities produced self-interest, occasional allies, and sometimes brutal murder. At its core, this is the story of a city that suffered for many decades from the impact of organized crime.

--Jay S. Albanese, Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University; former chief, International Center at the National Institute of Justice; author of Organized Crime from the Mob to Transnational Organized Crime and Transnational Crime in the 21st Century

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