Last of the Gladiators: A Memoir of Love, Redemption, and the Mob by the Son of the Legendary Trial Lawyer Jimmy Larossa

(Hardback)

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From the 1960s until the turn of the 21st century, New York City was the world's epicenter of organized and white-collar crime. During those four decades, the most feared Mafia chiefs, assassins, defrocked stockbrokers, Orthodox Jewish money-launderers, and Arab bankers sought the counsel of one man: my father, Jimmy La Rossa, a Kennedy-era prosecutor who became the defense lawyer of first resort in the big, important, highly publicized cases for four full action-packed decades. On January 30, 2009, I snuck my famous and mortally ill father from New York Presbyterian Hospital to a waiting Medevac jet, where we flew in secret to a place few people would look for two die-hard New Yorkers: a town in Southern California aptly named Manhattan Beach. During our five years in exile, we, "the La Rossa boys" as we came to be known, made our mark as a most irreverent and unrivaled father/son duo. While I cooked him his favorite Italian dishes and kept him alive using the most up-to-date equipment and drugs, he recounted his legendary courtroom exploits. Not only is True North a memoir about some of the seminal legal events of a generation, but it's also a love story between a father and son--a theme not often seen in American arts and letters. Not until I wrote that story, though, did I realize that I had not saved my father. He, in fact, saved me. I became a better man and father thanks to him--a more joyous, grateful, and grounded soul. Jimmy was, and always will be, my "true north."

Reviews

"I once dubbed Jimmy LaRossa 'the godfather of the New York defense bar.' A feisty, quick-witted, straight-shooting ex-Marine, he just happened to be one of the best criminal defense attorneys ever to hang out a shingle in New York. For decades, he was the go-to lawyer of Mafia bosses, labor leaders, politicians, and judges. True North, an account of his life as seen by his eldest child, is nothing less than a gripping father-son love-story. It makes for very compelling reading."--Gerald "Jerry" Capeci, a journalist considered by CNN, The BBC, and others to be one of the foremost experts on the American Mafia
"This is The Godfather meets The Year of Magical Thinking!"--Linda Fairstein, Bestselling Writer and Former Head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan D.A.'s Office

The author's father, James LaRossa Sr., was a high caliber defense attorney who represented notorious defendants spanning the criminal spectrum. His list of clients included Gambino family boss Paul Castellano, Longshoreman Union head Anthony Scotto, and arms dealer Frank Terpil, among others. No matter the client or the charges he faced, LaRossa Sr.'s defense was effective and competent. He cemented his reputation as a superlawyer from the 1960s through the early 2000s, poking holes through the prosecution's cases and making mincemeat out of lying witnesses. Author LaRossa grew up in the dominant shadow of his storied father, later taking care of him as situations warranted. However, their deep ties would be solidified over a five year period from 2009 to 2014, when LaRossa assumed responsibility for his father's care and whisked him away to California; a bonding time that leaves an indelible impression on the author. The love between them runs deep throughout LaRossa's poignant biography, which regales readers with stories from both father's and son's lives. Not to be missed by true-crime aficionados.

--Philip Zozzaro, Booklist
"True North is better than any legal thriller you'll read this summer because this one is an amazing true story with all the important things that begin with the letter L: Life, Law, Lawyers, Larceny, Laughter, Lasagna, La Cosa Nostra, and the Lifelong Love between a father and son named LaRossa."--Denis Hamill, Award-Winning Journalist

Author Bio

James M. La Rossa Jr. was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Manhattan and Connecticut. He is a publisher, journalist, and third-generation New Yorker.

La Rossa spent four years in the writing department at Sarah Lawrence College. In 1984, he left Fordham Law School to become a book reviewer for The International Courier in Rome, Italy. La Rossa has almost 1,000 published bylines to his name, in a wide range of subjects, spanning literature, medicine, and business.

Upon his return to New York City, he wrote for Fairchild and ABC/Cap Cities, before founding MedWorks Media Inc., one of the largest publishers in psychiatry, drug development, and mental fitness. In 2006, he relocated permanently to Southern California. His dying father--the infamous trial lawyer and political insider, Jimmy La Rossa--joined him in Manhattan Beach, California, on January 30, 2010.

In the last five years of his life, the legendary attorney revealed to his eldest son and confidant the most closely-held secrets to more than a generation of New York City's organized and white-color crimes.

La Rossa continues to live within a mile of the house where he lived with his father. He resides with his fiance, Sonya. Their four children--Sofia, Gianni, Max and Juliana--are frequent visitors.

A large photo of their fearless father and grandfather hangs high on a prominent kitchen wall.