The big roundup of alleged Mafia members in Montreal this week may be good timing for the authors of The Sixth Family, The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. If the arrest of Vito Rizzuto’s 82-year old father, Nicolo Rizzuto, and 69 other people sparks more interest in the book written by Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys and published in July by John Wiley and Sons Canada, it will be just in time for the big holiday book-buying season.

Both the authors and publisher may be looking for a bit of good news now too, after receiving the bad news earlier this month that they are being sued along with Canwest Mediaworks, which published stories about the book, by two of the Rizzuto children (who are lawyers) for almost a million dollars. The suit filed by Bettina and Leonardo Rizzuto claims that the book falsely alleges co-operation between them and the criminal underworld.

Mark Bantey, a lawyer for the Montreal Gazette, said the suit will be contested in court. “Neither The Gazette nor the book said the Rizzutto children did anything inappropriate,” he said.

Definitely the kind of book you want to write and edit very carefully. Quillblog will refrain from any smart remarks because, frankly, we know when to just shut it. Capisci?

Related links:
Click here for the story in The Montreal Gazette