Uncle Jack: Last of the Jewish Gangsters by Liliane Gill

After my mother’s death, I went in search of her only remaining sibling, mysterious Uncle Jack. He was the outlier in the family, said to be a gangster, said to be a liar, said to be dangerous...

“Do you know anything about how I’ve spent my life? What I did to make a living?” I was surprised at how quickly this subject came up, unbidden, shortly into our first familial reunion. I thought I should try to be tactful.
“My brother has talked to me about you. So I guess I know what he knows.”
“Which is?”
“He told me that your professional life has been… unconventional.”
Jack laughed. “That’s great—professional life! I never thought of calling it that.”
I smiled to reassure him. “The word is that you’re Mafia connected. Is that it?”
Jack nodded.
“But I don’t know anything about what you actually did.”
“Do you want to know?”