The Witness

By Robert Borelli and H. Scott Hunt

Raised in the heart of an aging Brooklyn neighborhood, Robert was a small but fiery, attention-deprived Italian boy, drawn to the flashy lifestyle of neighborhood wiseguys.

His early years ushered in the opportunity to become a part of that world, as he began running errands and selling illegal goods for these same men. Simultaneously, his reputation as a fierce fighter grew, and by the time he was a young adult, he had made an impression on influential members of the Gambino crime family. By his early twenties, Robert was on his way to Mafia stardom, mentored and protected by one of the most prominent wiseguys in New York City.

While the pleasure of notoriety was fulfilling, a powerful addiction to drugs soon overrode it, negating Robert’s credibility among his mobster brothers. Even the bond of fatherhood wasn’t enough to draw him out of his chemically-dependent prison. In his mind, the situation left him with only two possible conclusions: either he will die overdosing, or the men to whom he swore allegiance will silence him before the drugs have a chance.

The Witness is the compelling account of the hard and fast life of an “up-and-coming star” within the Mafia ranks, the downward spiral created by his addiction to drugs, and his spiritual rebirth spurred by the heart-wrenching plea of his little girl.