“Mix The Godfather with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre . . . [a] true-crime study of one of the most coldblooded murderers in history” —Kirkus Reviews

The New York Times–bestselling author of Gaspipe and The Ice Man, Philip Carlo returns with a hair-raising portrait of arguably the most depraved psychopath in the history of the Mafia, mob enforcer Tommy “Karate” Pitera. The Butcher tells the riveting true story of a hit man who loved his work too much—a maniac believed responsible for more than sixty remarkably brutal murders—whom even organized crime’s most cold-blooded assassins feared. Another riveting journey into the darkest corners of the underworld, Carlo’s The Butcher is destined to be a true crime classic alongside Wiseguys by Nicholas Pileggi and Underboss by Peter Maas.

“A veteran chronicler of the mafiosi, Carlo turns his attention to Tommy Karate Pitera, a brutal capo in the Bonanno crime family who allegedly killed 60 people . . . [A] scalding depiction of this mob mad man.” —Publishers Weekly