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What if you belonged nowhere and to no one? What if you learned as a teenager that the father who had mistreated you for years wasn’t your father at all–and that you were actually born to the mistress of a Greek gangster? And what if the only way to connect with your real father was to become his fiercest rival?
Kevin Cunningham grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, just another kid from the wrong side of the tracks. But from his first days, Kevin gravitated toward power, and in Tarpon Springs that meant local crime boss Lukie Pappas. As a boy, Kevin hung out at the Pappas Restaurant, and he saw how the townspeople approached Lukie. How they respected him. How they came to him for help. How they called him nounos–Greek for “godfather.” From the shadows, Kevin admired it all.
When he turned seventeen, Kevin’s world flipped upside down. His dying father confessed that Kevin was the son of another man–and not just any man. He was the son of Lukie Pappas. Suddenly, Kevin’s destiny was clear. His lineage became his fate. His rightful place was beside the Greek godfather who ruled his hometown.
But Lukie coldly rejected him, as both a son and a colleague. Fueled by rage and pride, Kevin claimed the Pappas name as his own and embarked on his own criminal enterprise. From two-bit swindling he rose quickly to high-stakes drug trafficking. Money laundering, gunrunning, and racketeering polished his underworld résumé, even as they placed him squarely in the crosshairs of every federal agency with three initials and a most-wanted list. And when he got caught, Kevin’s time behind bars only honed his criminal instinct, hardened his resolve, and cemented his reputation as a larger-than-life outlaw who sometimes went down but could never be taken out.
Still in his early twenties but as powerful as any crime boss, Kevin surrounded himself with an elite group, a posse that called itself the Band of Five. Flush with fast cars, boats, planes, and women, they wanted for nothing, but their antics invited violent attempts to bring Kevin to his senses–or at least to his knees.
More than a gripping tale, Godfather of Night unveils the Greek American crime syndicate and its close alignment to power and takes readers to a dark place where family secrets collide with high-level crime and corruption. Kevin Pappas’s story is a true-crime epic for a new generation of wiseguys–full of the harrowing war stories and hard-won wisdom of a man who lived by his own rules, broke everyone else’s, and dared the world to try to stop him.
Reformed gangster Pappas offers a potent, fast-paced memoir: "I didn't become a gangster out of greed, money, or to drive fancy cars. I got into it to make a point: To prove my manhood to a father who denied me." That father was Lukie Pappas, "head of the biggest Greek crime family in the Southeast." At age 17 the author learned he was Lukie's illegitimate son. He changed his name from Kevin Cunningham to Kevin Lucas Pappas, but still received only a cold denial from Lukie. Angered by the rejection, Pappas began his own criminal life of swindles, drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering. As "a kingpin in Atlanta," he found the cocaine competition turning ugly: At age 24, he landed in the violent Atlanta federal prison. While serving two consecutive life sentences, Pappas agreed to an FBI offer: freedom in exchange for infiltrating his father's group as an informant: "I walked out of prison full of anger and animosity toward my so-called father." Pappas is adapting this high-octane book into a documentary, scheduled for 2010 release. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Aug. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Chapter One
I grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, during the 1970s. Twenty miles from Tampa, the town looks like a quaint tourist spot from the outside, but in reality it’s controlled, from the docks to the courthouses, by Greek immigrants and their descendants. My name was Kevin Cunningham—an outsider in the heart of Greektown.
If you walked out of my house, turned right, and went down two city blocks over the cobblestone streets, you came to the church. Every Sunday morning starting at about seven you heard this chant that started “Na na na na . . .” coming over the loudspeakers, the sound bouncing off the waterways so the whole town heard it. It was the old priest singing the church hymns. It’s like when you go to Egypt or Morocco and they have the Islamic call to prayer. But this was the Greek version.
The next block over from my house was the Smyrlis Bakery, and the smell of bread would come through our open windows and into my room. This scent would always wake me along with the sound of the chimes and the bells and the singing of the hymns. And every afternoon I would head to the main strip, right by the water, on my bike. As you approach the wharf, the street signs start appearing in Greek and English, and you see the old ladies dressed in black dresses even in hundred- degree weather, just like they would be back in Sparta. In front of the coffee shops on Dodecanese Street there are men flipping worry beads, very ripe old rough guys who look like they’ve been in the sun forever. These are lower- echelon gangsters in the mob. Inside, the captains and the soldiers are gambling for high stakes—forty, fifty thousand dollars on one throw of the dice. Women are not allowed in the coffee shops. They don’t even walk down that side of the street. Instead they cross over.
Really, it was like growing up in a small town in Greece. Everywhere you went, you saw the blue of the Greek flag—on signs, on roofs, on house trim. It was like a painted border that circled the town, and it said everything inside this line belonged to us.
Pedaling my bike, I would make a right on the harbor street off Dodecanese and see the little wharf, where octopus hung on string lines to dry out and the masts of the shrimp and sponge boats spiked into the air like mini oil derricks. The names on the boats weren’t average American ones—there was sure to be a sponger named the St.
Michael or the St. Nicholas, very important saints in the old country. And all along the harbor road you heard music playing, you smelled the food from the diners, and you heard the chatter of the people speaking in Greek.
Today at the end of the harbor road, you come to the Pappas restaurant. Out front, there’s a sculpture of a man in a deep- sea diver suit, with the round metal helmet and the grille, straight out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It’s a statue of Louis Pappas, the man who brought the clan to America, and it honors him and the other divers who made the town the sponging capital of the world, the place where the natural sponges from the bottom of the sea are harvested and sold. Louis died under the water in a mysterious accident years back—some people say it was a hit, but the town likes to think he died doing what he loved.
Under the statue, there is a plaque that tells how Louis brought “honor and fame” to Tarpon Springs. If he had been another nationality it might have said “riches” or “commerce” or something like that. But the Greeks want above all to be respected by their countrymen, and that is what that plaque is about. The Greeks feel that their nation invented the modern world, that they are unlike any other culture out there, and that they will survive when all others are gone. I would park my bike outside the old restaurant and then walk in and start working. My job was as a delivery boy and busboy or what- ever the owner, Lukie Pappas, Louis’s grandson, wanted me to do that day. Lukie was a big man in Tarpon Springs. He owned racehorses in the Tampa Bay Downs and he had Arabian studs and trainers and a 120- foot yacht. It seemed like he owned half the town. Later, I would learn that wasn’t quite right. In reality, he owned only the most important parts.
Lukie was a quiet person, but commanding—very Greek, very compassionate. He made me feel accepted and wanted. When he was going out to do something, he would come over and say, “You want to come with me?” That meant a lot to me. I just found him to be a very compelling man, and I spent more time with him than I did at home. And when I had done a good job, worked extra hard busing tables or mopping the floors, he would take me to the bar, lift me up onto a stool, and order me a drink. God, I loved those moments. I felt like I was a big man like him, having a cocktail at the end of a hard day. “Give the kid anything he wants,” he’d tell one of the old Greek bartenders. The guy would think, turn and look at all the bottles of gin and whiskey and rum behind him on the wall, then make me a Shirley Temple. And he’d always make my drink first, then give Lukie his Tanqueray and tonic or his Crown Royal with a splash of ginger. Then Lukie and I would sit at the bar looking out at the tourists and the boats coming in and out of the harbor. I was king for a day, or for an hour.
By the time I was ten or so, I knew Lukie did more than run the restaurant—he was the head of the biggest Greek crime family in the Southeast, a prince of a great mob syndicate.
Lukie wasn’t a pushover. I had to work hard, and I did. There’s no quicker way to lose a Greek’s respect than to be a lazy bum. I started working in the kitchen in high school, sweeping floors and making salads. Then Lukie graduated me to short- order cook. I went right after school and stayed there and worked and ate my dinner. I’d drop into bed in my family’s miserable little shack at the end of the day, exhausted but happy.
Anonymous
Posted August 19, 2009
The theme in this book is that the author was a really, really bad guy and then this woman's love saved him. He HAD to become a criminal so his daddy would love and claim his bastard. This is a grown man who chose to become a criminal - a machine-gun toting drug drealer who sold drugs that no doubt ended up in the hands of children. There is no excuse for this behavior and glorifying criminals in memoirs just makes it worse. My husband bought this book and I admit I picked it up and read through it. Then I returned it because I didn't want to contribute to Mr. Pappas' cause. He doesn't seem to be contrite or apologetic about the damage he caused and the lives he either took himself or endorsed the destruction of. I just don't see any redemption here and was very disappointed with the book. It wasn't genuine or authentic and the ending had no value, no message, no regret and no sincerity. Don't bother with this piece of offel.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 2, 2009
It amazes me that some publishers will take on any crap they come across.
this has got to be the all time fiction story since the godfather at "least that had taste"
This person has actually convinced himself that he is some sort of mafioso
The Don himself, anyone that actually knows him knows that he is related to Aesop, who knows maybe this is actually Aesop himself, the book is so untruthful that the manufactured ought to be sued for lying, anyone who buys this book is real desperate for some mediocre entertainment, please anyone reading this don't waste your money, do yourself a favor and go to the library and pick up a good ole Agatha Christie novel.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 31, 2009
I hope Random House, Ca is ready to be sued....This book is so full of untruths that it should have been categorized as a fictional book, even then it is still not worth the wasted money to read it.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 20, 2009
I personally know this guy and almost everything written in this book is pure fiction, besides be deluded by is own stories he is to convince the public that its all true, kevin is a dreamer as likens himself to al capone. If you like a good fiction story then maybe you'll like this book ???
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 4, 2009
Kevin has a special gift with people. This is a fascinating story that kept your interest from the first page to the last. You didn't know what was coming next. Kevin has a very special talent with people and with the drive for power took over Atlanta. The language is real and easy to read. I recommend this book for all walks of life. Tutu
2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 6, 2009
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Godfather of Night Book Review by Gerald Dore
Wow! This is the first time I have read a book from beginning to end and didn't want to put it down. Because of other commitments I had to. This book, this true story, is riveting, compelling, and has several life altering messages.
Many men, including myself, will relate to this story of Kevin Pappas's journey through life, not because of the drugs, cars, gold, unlimited amount of cash and the women but because of events that took place in his early years of development that set the stage for how his early adult life would unfold. A father that did not show love and affection, and did not validate his son's worth and purpose in being born. A mother who was not true to her son and did not teach the importance and value of integrity, commitment, and morals.
The life of Kevin Pappas is a journey of twist and turns to find his acceptance, find validation and prove to himself he was loveable and capable of love and devotion. Most men will do anything for the love of women, not physical sex but true love for who he is, and the understanding of where his true heart lies.
As I read this book I felt I was in the story. It was easy to read and understand. I was right there with the story teller. The book keeps your interest an provides vivid incites into the underworld many people are oblivious to yet at the same time it tells a compelling story of on man's struggle to find love and acceptance. Great!
Jerry Dore
2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 19, 2009
This was such a let-down. It's very disjointed, seems like it was written by different people. I can't even decide if I believe about half of it. I actually hope it isn't true, because if it is, this guy is really awful. He doesn't seem to care too much about the criminal aspects of his life as a burden on society. It all seems to be about him - he wants a daddy, so he had to be a criminal - he wants the hot chick, so he had to be an adulterer - he wants more money, so he wrote this almost unreadable junk, and I stupidly bought it. I wonder if books like this come with a money back guarantee? I think I will go back to Barnes & Noble and ask them - I am so very disappointed. I knew it was a "true-crime" type book when I bought it, I just expected more truth.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 18, 2009
If I was the Pappas family, I also would deny any relation to this wannabe gangster. The only one in this with a proven criminal record is the "author" - and I say that loosely since he is barely literate and obviously didn't pen this himself. This is a work of pure fiction and a carelessly woven tapestries of lies. Kevin Cunningham is a two-time felon and a con artist and convincing Random House to publish this nonsense is his biggest con to date. Will the Pappas family tolerate this besmirching of their repuations by a mongrel seeking retribution for imagined infractions? Shame on this neanderthal for creating these lies, shame on Random House for foisting them on the public and shame on anyone who buys a copy and puts a dollar in this cretin's pocket.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Of course, you will get the rants of the anonymous that have not even read the book yet, I have read the entire manuscript and I am a close personal friend of Kevin's since childhood, this book is more than precise as I had to research for accuracy. I think if you don't read this book you think it may be just another crazy organized crime book, but in reading it you find a man that was not sure of his place in the world, and in his strive to find his place came across the unbearable news that he wasn't who he was told who he was. I remember Kevin at an early age and how living in a Irish home, he did not fit in physically and emotionally and mentally he was drawn to the heritage of the town, Tarpon Springs, a quiet Greek Town in Florida. This story is not really a crime story but a story of one finding himself and the pangs he went through to do so.
Amazing how 3 people,, anonymous people have something to say about a book they haven't even read yet, kind of makes you wonder. The first galleys are out and in reading I have found to be almost taking back to the 70's when Kevin and I ran around Tarpon Springs and allot of the things that I didn't know about then that looking back make so much sense today. I do remember the park bench incident, not from Kevin, but from his mother talking about it. I knew Kevin's whole family, and the underlying truths now that make so much sense.
1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 19, 2010
The Godfather of Night is a story about a son who tries to earn his rightful respected position in his father's life. I thought that this story was good because it is viewed through a realistic point of view. Kevin Pappas wrote it honestly and thoroughly. Since it had a lot of intense scenes it was more enjoyable; he really worked his way through tough times. It's another one of those stories where you start from the bottom and get to the top with struggles and difficulties but in the end your goal is reached. However to determine Kevin Pappas's real goal is what needs to be discovered. I found delight in how he had friends who were stuck next him through life and death. They would do anything to make him happy which shows a strong sense of loyalty. Although a realistic point of view and loyalty are reasons on why I liked this book, I also liked it because, most importantly, it was a viewing point to the inside REAL drug world. It's intense and suspenseful; it kept me on edge because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. However there were also some things that I did not like about the book. For example, all the profanity used in the book makes it seem unattractive. The diction was enforced within the tone of the book showing that he wasn't ashamed to be using profanity. Also Kevin dated around a lot of girls he just messed around with them and didn't treat them the way women should be treated. He was also a large influence in his area with his drug dealing which, even though it's over now, it's irritating to know how many people he dealt drugs to. His drug empire became augmented and he got deeply into it, selling and dealing, being the top dog was his addiction. That's another thing that irritated me because it's despicable but there's really nothing to do about it because it's in the past. Overall this was a good nonfiction story to read, it brings you into the deep secrets and the life of a drug dealer and most importantly a son who yearns to be loved by his father.
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Posted July 29, 2010
Possibly the most pathetic attempt at self aggrandizement in the history of literature. Poorly written and saturated with pompous strutting and posturing, the book begs to be described as hyperbole. Little more than a cheap hood, the author likens himself to a crime godfather, and revels in the delusion that honor and distinction are elements of the life he chose to live. Mr. Pappas shows little or no remorse or regret for the misery he inflicted upon others, and as such, the book yields a hollow reading experience. Yes, the book cover indicates that the author had a "shot at redemption", but he has not been redeemed. I know this man. He continues to live the life of a parasite, sucking everything out of those who get too close to him. Please, if you must read this drivel, do not support him by buying it. Borrow the book, then throw it away.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 10, 2009
I read this book because I knew Kevin in highschool and now live in Atlanta, this was very interesting to me because of all the people I knew from the story and that is the only thing that kept me reading it. The language was horrible, his character has not changed since highschool, and I am embarassed to see what he turned into. I continued reading it because I wanted to see him change because he realized how wrong he was. He seems to be proud of his past and only sorry he was caught. I would not recommend this book, it is a guy who does not have any humbleness or remorse and I am embarassed to say he is from my hometown of Tarpon Springs. I think he needs Jesus.......
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Posted September 3, 2009
Truly the best books of 2009! I have read this book a few times to understand all the detail from front to back and this story is quite amazing. The story seeks you in like an unstoppable force. I read one review and they said they hated it and blah blah blah, but he/she couldn't even put down the book which is saying something. He/she obviously liked the read, but couldn't stand for what the author has done in his PAST. The books detail is endless with some information that is so insightful to the underworld crime games. I believe the author when he says he entered the game just to get approval of his father. I know that is kind of crazy to fathom, but look at him now....he has a family! I think and hope the author has changed and I am one of those people who believe that people can and do change for the better!! If you are looking for a great read that you can't put down....GET THIS BOOK!!!!
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Posted August 26, 2009
I read this in a day. This guy was the real deal, he writes like a person who was there and he used the same organizational skills that he leveraged as a gangster to legally manipulate the federal prison system. The story has a nice curve with the love of his life and his desire to leave 'the business'. I recommend this book for those who want an inside look at a life that very few of us would ever want to live, yet wonder to themselves, 'what is it really like'.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 27, 2009
I Also Recommend:
This book is based on a less than impressive story, what seems to be a less than impressive person and was just blah. It ranged from obvious lies to poorly told exaggerations. Out of curiousity, I got on the net to try to verify some of the "facts" in this book. Claims his wife was Mrs. Hawaii in 1992 - that isn't true. The guy arrested for cocaine - supposedly his brother - was the son of his "uncle". Nothing can be verified - did Random House just skip the fact checking process? If it was supposed to be fiction, it should have been better written. If it was supposed to be non-fiction, should have included some facts...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I highly recommend this book. It's so interesting you won't want to put it down. I stayed up until 2am reading and reading about Loukie and the Greek community, his mother and horrible step-father, etc. The drug world, the dealers, his clientele and all the money, but no real happiness. So inspiring to have come from that to his present life. A great read! Seriously, a great read!
0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 8, 2010
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Posted July 21, 2009
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Posted December 30, 2009
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Overview
What if you belonged nowhere and to no one? What if you learned as a teenager that the father who had mistreated you for years wasn’t your father at all–and that you were actually born to the mistress of a Greek gangster? And what if the only way to connect with your real father was to become his fiercest rival?
Kevin Cunningham grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, just another kid from the wrong side of the tracks. But from his first days, Kevin gravitated toward power, and in ...