About The Book

by J.A. Schwartzman with Melvin Cooper

He was an entrepreneur. He was a loanshark. He was in big trouble. 

Mel Cooper didn't set out to become the biggest loanshark in New York City or a fugitive on the run. But his easy relationship with New York's organized crime families helped him bend the rules and take risks that led to ever-increasing chaos. 

Cooper spent his early career in business, financing equipment for New York's then-Mafia-controlled carting industry. But when he partnered with a Long Island dentist who was "mobbed up to his ears," Cooper began making illegal loans to New York restaurants, clubs, and more, easing into a multi-million dollar loansharking operation.

It all fell apart when he financed a club called The Cowboy Palace. The club attracted informants, mobsters, hustlers, wannabe tough guys, and ultimately, the FBI. When the chaos become too much, the justice department moved in; Cooper and his partner were arrested along with Mafia captains Jimmy Rotondo, Michael Franzese, and others, indicted by then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani. In one of his first high-profile RICO trials, Giuliani accused Cooper of being a front for the Mafia. Cooper claimed it was a group of Long Island rabbis behind his loans.The trial ended in a 30 year prison sentence for Cooper and his partner. 

After only one year in jail, Cooper was accidentally released in a clerical error, and escaped his 30-year prison sentence. His escape and life as a fugitive are the highlights of his criminal misadventures.  Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI is a driving tale that takes readers from New York City to an Indiana prison to Fort Lauderdale where Mel lived after his escape. It's a mirror to the schemes, mayhem, folly, and corruption that characterized the 1980s New York, and which echo to this day.  

 Below are some snapshots from Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI.