Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI
How one man became the biggest loanshark in New York City, went to prison, and escaped.
Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI
How one man became the biggest loanshark in New York City, went to prison, and escaped.
A book about chaos and crime, New York-style
Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI is the true story of Mel Cooper, a financier with an edge who made risky loans to New York businesses. In 1984, Cooper was arrested for loansharking by then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani, along with seven Mafia captains and soldiers from the Gambino, Colombo, Genovese, and DeCavalcante organized crime families. But was it the Mafia behind Mel's loans, or a group of Long Island Rabbis? After being found guilty in one of Giuliani's first RICO trials. Cooper was accidentally released from his 30-year prison sentence, and escaped to Florida where he lived as a fugitive. read more
“The true account of Mel Cooper's rise and fall has the stuff of dark, comedic fiction – nearly too fluky to believe were it not for Schwartzman's potent blend of tireless, investigative journalism and street-wise storytelling. Cooper's brushes with the law, with the powerful and the infamous, paint a larger-than-life panorama of New York City crime and corruption.”
EVENTS & NEWS
On Sale Now
As of June, Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI is available on Amazon in paperback and other platforms. Read the summary.
Our full website will be online soon with more information and intriguing extras like audio and video. Join our email list below, and we'll let you know when it's live. We will also be hosting a book launch and readings, so join us and stay in touch.
We have the photos! Take a look at our gallery of characters.
Reviews
What readers say about "Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI"
“Whoever says the justice system works hasn't been in the system. What the system does do is give us the height of drama, insane predicaments, fuel for true-crime entertainment, and larger-than-life characters worthy of Hollywood gangster films. This book has it all."
- Damien Echols, New York Times Best Selling Author
“A stunning literary offering.
Wiseguys, Rabbis and the FBI is a true tour de force of a crime story”
– Paul Volponi, multi-award-winning author of Black and White and Rikers High
“A fascinating and fast-paced chase from East New York to Fort Lauderdale to a Midtown apartment overlooking the park, full of greed, precarious freedom, family dramas, wiretaps, and unexpected friendships. The authors nose dive into captivating scenes of Mel Cooper's capers and come up for air with lovely lines like this one describing 1980s' New York as "a city of gold teetering on an abyss."
- Rachel Federman, Author
“The true account of Mel Cooper's rise and fall has the stuff of dark, comedic fiction – nearly too fluky to believe were it not for Schwartzman's potent blend of tireless, investigative journalism and street-wise storytelling. As recounted by J.A. Schwartzman, Mel Cooper's brushes with the law, with the powerful and the infamous, paint a larger-than-life panorama of New York City crime and corruption.
– Jon B. Kushner, Writer/Director, Angelo & Ert, The Harbormaster
Contact Us
To reach CHP Works, LLC, Mel Cooper, or J.A. Schwartzman, please email us at:
info@wiseguysrabbis.com. You can also email CHP Works, LLC directly at chpworksllc@gmail.com.
Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI is published by CHP Works, LLC, New York, NY.
©2025 all rights reserved.
