Gangland: How the FBI Broke the Mob

A blockbuster, this suspenseful and superbly written expose by former New York Times reporter Blum ( I Pledge Allegiance . . . The Story of the Walker Spy Family ) will surely hit the headlines. Blum chronicles the struggle from 1987 to 1992 to build a flawless case against Gambino Family boss John Gotti by the FBI's C-16 squad, a latter-day incarnation of Elliot Ness's Untouchables. Gotti appeared virtually untouchable himself after he was tried and found innocent three times for various crimes. Courageously, the electronics expert on the team was able to bug the ``Teflon Don's'' headquarters and other meeting places. Along the way, leader Bruce Mouw and his co-workers uncovered two Gotti moles--one a deputy court clerk, the other a NYPD officer assigned to Intelligence--as well as an instance of jury tampering. The case was clinched when Gotti's No. 2 man, Sammy ``The Bull'' Gravano, turned informant. Gotti was convicted and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole. First serial to New York magazine; movie rights to Columbia Pictures; paperback rights to Pocket Books. (Nov.)