The real mafia was more involved in ‘The Godfather’ than anyone knew
“The Godfather” is regarded as a Hollywood classic, one of the highest grossing films of all time. But the making of this mafia movie got off to a rocky start, as author MATT BIRBECK describes in “The Life We Chose: William ‘Big Billy’ D’Elia and The Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family” (William Morrow). It required plenty of negotiations and hard bargains — with some real-life characters who knew quite a lot about the mob.