The Last Boss of Brighton

"A fascinating, page-turning story of a genuine scoundrel." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Douglas Century fuses cultural history and popular entertainment to create the dramatic effect of a novel. Last Boss of Brighton is an engrossing true story, one of those mob epics that hits all the expected notes—murder and betrayal, swaggering power and outlandish success, featuring, at its core, a complex antihero whose life story seems stranger than fiction. More than a chronicle of a notorious crime boss, it delves deep into the systemic corruption and dysfunction of the Soviet Union that created, honed, and defined Russian organized crime in America. What a relentless, captivating read.” — Naveed Jamali, author of How To Catch a Russian Spy “In the Last Boss of Brighton, Douglas Century has written a vivid and cinematic account of a notorious Jewish gangster, Boris Nayfeld. For Jews who grew up in high-stress environments like the Soviet Union or Israel there's a toughness and steeliness that Century captures perfectly in these pages. These are Jewish guys who possess a dangerous combination: the willingness to fight—and shoot—coupled with a hair-trigger temper. We’re so conditioned to reading books and seeing movies about the Italian Mafia, it’s often forgotten how much sechel—brains, savvy and know-how—along with brawn, that Jews historically brought to American organized crime. A must-read!” — Aaron Cohen, former commando in the Israel Defense Forces and author of the bestselling Brotherhood of Warriors “There is no group of organized crime more brutal than Russian organized crime. I know it firsthand—I worked Russian O,C. cases for years as a federal agent in Los Angeles. Century has done it again in The Last Boss of Brighton. This book is the real deal: a compelling, supercharged page-turner destined for the bestseller lists.” — William Queen, Special Agent, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (retired) and author of the New York Times bestseller Under and Alone “The Last Boss of Brighton really takes me back: Douglas Century masterfully recreates a time and place—New York City in the 1980s—in which I played an intricate role ... Every single week I was stealing tens of millions of dollars with my Russian partners…. There’s some glamor and power to being a gangster, but whether we’re talking about Italian Americans or Russians, there simply are no happy endings when you choose to be part of that life. I highly recommend anyone interested in mob books give The Last Boss of Brighton a read.” — Michael Franzese, former caporegime in the Colombo Crime Family and author of Quitting the Mob and Blood Covenant “There’ve been many books and movies based on Russian gangsters. They’re mostly cartoons bearing no resemblance to the real-life characters from this complex underworld. In The Last Boss of Brighton, Douglas Century has dug deep to get to the heart of the matter. I’ve got a life-or-death personal connection to this story: in 1999, Biba was given a contract to kill me. It was strictly business—nothing personal. Thankfully, the contract was called off; Biba is as happy as I am that the hit failed because today he likes my radio show as much as I like this book.” — Steven “Seva” Kaplan, host at Davidzon Radio/RTN, the largest Russian language radio station in the United States