L.A. Moglié’s The Brutal Truth: Surviving in a Mobster’s World is a gripping and deeply personal account that reads like a confession whispered across generations. It offers an extraordinary window into the life of a woman entangled in an organized criminal world she never asked to be part of. The strength of this story lies in its authenticity. The raw voice, historical references, and vivid personal memories create a narrative that feels intimate and historically significant.

This story pulls back the curtain on organized crime in San Francisco during the 1920s and early 1930s—a world of Black Hand extortion, white slave trafficking, prostitution, bootlegging, rum-running, racketeering, corruption, and murder.

This is a true story, as told by the wife of a mobster and how she survived in an organized crime world. The author “L.A. Moglié means The Wife in Italian. My grandmother, Mary Rispoli was the Wife of a Mobster, Tony Lauretti, my grandfather. I gave my grandmother a voice to tell her story.

What this book offers: