Outskirts Press, INC.

Breaking Out of an American Crime Family

The Mafia is a phenomenon that has been explored from many angles in popular culture—the violence, the romance, the colorful characters. But there are very few stories of men who escape from the mob and succeed in a different life. Nine Lives is the story of Juliano Crusifero, who grew up in a lower-class neighborhood in Chicago and fell into the fast pace and easy money of the Mafia lifestyle. Smart, quick, funny, and honorable, Juliano wins the trust of the thieves around him and becomes a professional. He pulls off heists, becomes a smuggler, and gets a degree in mortuary science…all with the flair and style of his Italian heritage. But deep down, Juliano wants more out of life. This is the story of how he turns it all around, going from a dangerous life of crime to a legitimate businessman and devoted husband and father. Juliano is one of the lucky ones…but there are consequences he will have to face when his life of crime catches up with him. This roller-coaster ride of a novel will keep you on the edge of your seat, as it depicts with vivid realism the price of turning away from friends and family to embrace a different vision of the American Dream.

Ernie "Butch" Severino, the only son of an Italian American family, growing up in "the patch" a neighborhood of immigrant Italians. He tells the story of his struggles to survive the influence of his mobster family and his decision to become a professional jewel thief known as the Ghost as well as the Gentleman hijacker moving on to become an International smuggler and his own extraordinary life of loves, friendships, and the strange way he lived on the edge of danger, and triumphed over his own bad choice.