Untold Story of National Enquirer Told at Party

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A tell-all book about Mafia-influenced media family the Popes was launched at a star-studded party at celebrated Elaine's restaurant on New York's Upper East Side last night.  Among the guests celebrating author Paul David Pope's family saga "The Deeds of My Fathers: How My Grandfather and Father Built New York and Created the Tabloid World of Today" were:

• Real Housewives of New York's Luann De Lesseps and Kelly Bensimon

• Star of stage and screen Kathleen Turner

• Noted philanthropist Lois Pope

• Celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan (patrickmcmullan.com)

• wireimages.com

• gettyimages.com

• zimbio.com

• Sopranos' stars Aida Turturro and Federico Castelluccio

• Scarface producer Martin Bregman

• National Enquirer editor Barry Levine

• Actor-writer-producer Tony Lo Bianco

• Writer-director Richard LaGravanese

• The Bachelor's Gia Allemand

• Judge and author Edwin Torres

• Actor Gianni Russo

• Producer Sonny Grosso

• Celebrity photographer Sante D'Razzio

• Celebrity photographer Len Prince

• Chazz and Gianna Palminteri

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The book took Paul Pope 15 years and a not-so-small fortune to uncover the startling untold stories of his grandfather, Generoso Pope, Sr., an Italian immigrant who became one of the city's most influential power brokers and deal makers, and Gene Pope, his son, who founded and published the National Enquirer.

"The Deeds of My Fathers" vividly portrays how the elder Pope, arriving in New York at age 15 with no money in his pocket, used both his wiles and the assistance of mobsters to eventually become the most successful Italian immigrant in American history, cornering the market on building materials as well as Italian-language newspapers that could reliably deliver the vote to whomever Pope chose.

After his death, son Gene Pope, who was booted from the family business, turned a dying weekly newspaper into a national publishing phenomenon, forever changing the world of pop culture by merging hard news with tabloid sensationalism.

"After my dad died, I originally intended to tell just his story," says author Paul Pope.  "But the more I looked into it, the more I realized his story and my grandfather's were intertwined."

The book is a Philip Turner Book, with Roman and Littlefield, $24.95.  For more information log on to www.thedeedsofmyfathers.com.

SOURCE The Deeds of My Fathers