Blood & Volume: Inside New York’s Israeli Mafia

In the l980s a group of Israelis set up one of the most lucrative crime syndicates in New York City’s history. The gang’s rackets ranged from drug dealing to contract killing and were dubbed the Israeli Mafia by the tabloids. They butted heads with the Italian Mafia, killed Russian gangsters and pulled off the biggest gold heist in the history of NYC’s Diamond District

Ron Gonen, a successful cocaine dealer, wanted to end his life as a career criminal and focus on caring for his wife and infant daughter but Johnny Attias, a cold-blooded killer head of the Israeli mob, had other plans. Ron was pressured into joining the Israeli Mafia or become one of its victims.

He paid a heavy price for his crimes. When he messed up, he went to jail. When he really messed up, he was nearly killed. In the end, after three decades as a gangster, he had nothing to show for it.

The book doesn’t glorify Ron Gonen or the criminal life. It reveals the workings of one of the most successful Israeli gangs ever to operate on American soil. This is simply the story of one of those gangsters.