The Mob and Me

Dick Hill does his usual excellent work narrating this first-person account of the origin of the Witness Protection Program. U.S. Marshall John Partington was selected by Robert Kennedy to create a program offering a safe haven for Mob figures who agreed to name names. Hill is completely convincing as Partington. His cadence contains all the sincerity of a man on a mission. Partington spent 30 years babysitting mobsters, many of whom weren't always cooperative. Hill keeps Partington's stories fascinating--sometimes funny, sometimes gruesome. He uses original accents and timbres for the various wiseguys, never resorting to stereotypes. Listeners learn the inside scoop on high-profile underworld cases, the Watergate break-in, and various death threats and vendettas. Partington's conclusion? Bad guys can be good, and good guys can be bad. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine