NEW: RI Director Michael Corrente Options Mob Book For New Film
Monday, March 11, 2013
Casey Sherman's upcoming novel about New England hitman Joe "The Animal" Barboza, has been optioned by RI film director Michael Corrente.
Corrente and Aufiero have optioned the film rights to the soon to be released novel, ANIMAL: The Bloody Rise and Fall of the Mob’s Most Feared Assassin, by Casey Sherman (Northeastern/UPNE April 9, 2013).
ANIMAL tells the shocking true story of notorious New England hitman Joe “The Animal” Barboza, the first man placed into the Federal Witness Protection Program. Barboza murdered 26 men for the mob in the 1960’s before becoming a star witness against the mafia in three high-profile trials, one of which led to the successful prosecution of New England mob Godfather Raymond L.S. Patriarca. Barboza also worked with corrupt FBI agents to help convict five men for a gangland slaying they did not commit. The case eventually led to congressional hearings and the largest settlement against the United States Justice Department in history.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe FBI's Frankenstein
"Joe Barboza was the FBI’s version of Frankenstein’s monster,” said Corrente. “He was the creation of two sworn enemies, J. Edgar Hoover and Bobby Kennedy who developed a lawless program to eradicate the mob in the 1960’s. Sherman’s amazing book not only focuses on Barboza’s vicious gangland battles but also the political environment that turned cops into criminals.”
Corrente’s 1994 drama Federal Hill was recently named one of the 100 Greatest Gangster Films by the California Literary Review.
“Without Joe Barboza, there would never have been a Whitey Bulger,” said producer Dorothy Aufiero. “ANIMAL is really the origin story of the FBI’s corrupt relationship with mobsters in New England.”
The option deal was negotiated by Michael Previtt of the Gotham Group and John Ivey of Altus Marketing and Management.
Dorothy Aufiero is also producing another book by author Casey Sherman called The Finest Hours for Walt Disney Studios under the Whitaker Entertainment and Red Hawk Entertainment banners.
Corrente + Sherman
Michael Corrente has directed six films including American Buffalo (starring Dustin Hoffman & Dennis Franz), Outside Providence (starring Alec Baldwin), Brooklyn Rules (also starring Alec Baldwin), Loosies (starring Peter Facinelli) and Federal Hill.
Casey Sherman is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of A Rose for Mary: The Hunt for the Real Boston Strangler and Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains, among others. He is the co-author of The Finest Hours: The True Story of the Coast Guard’s Most Daring Rescue.
Related Articles
- On the Set: The Men Behind ‘Loosies’
- Loosies Gets Major Distribution on Cable, iTunes + More
- Up Close with “Loosies” Stars on Location in Providence
