About Kenji

Kenji was one of the most unlikely and controversial gangsters in the history of the American underworld. Born to a Japanese-American family in ritzy Orange County, California, Kenny was a bookish, hyperactive suburban kid who lived a double life as a car-bombing, gun-toting international drug trafficker. "One of the top cocaine smugglers on the West Coast" in the words of journalist Luke Ford, Gallo led his own crew, which was aligned with Pablo Escobar's Medellín drug cartel, owned his own nightclub and was arrested for the murder of his own best friend (which he proved he was innocent of)—all before he could legally drink.

When the police cracked down on his drug-trafficking empire, Gallo abandoned the cocaine trade for life in the American Mafia, making millions in credit fraud, "pump-and-dump" stock fraud, gambling and extortion. As the protégé of Mafia legends like John "Sonny" Franzese, Jerry Zimmerman, and Vincent "Jimmy" Caci, Gallo quickly earned the reputation as one the smartest and most capable young mobsters in America. 

After over two decades as a gangster, Gallo voluntarily made a deal with the F.B.I. in 1998 to act as a wired-up, undercover informant against New York's Colombo and Lucchese Mafia Families (not his LA family) in exchange for a fresh start in life. Given the codename "Breakshot" by the FBI, Gallo risked his life to send some of the most dangerous criminals in America to jail—in the process participating in a botched Mafia hit, narrowly escaping a Mafia attempt on his own life, and earning two contracts on his head. 

Kenji wrote the book Breakshot which was originally published in 2009.
He appears as the subject of Discovery Channel's Flipped: A Mobster Tells All.
He also appears on Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior, where he served as an expert for the Medellin Cartel.

Today, Kenji's goal is to reach troubled youth who are headed down a similar path, in order to share his story and demonstrate there is no real future in the life of crime. He has used his fresh start to work on his skills as an MMA fighter, coach and teacher. 

He is working on a second book that details his attempt to start life over in Hollywood where he found the Hollywood life of glitz and glamour was also hollow and empty. He has since found purpose and joy in life he was seeking and wants to share it with as many as he can reach.

Kenji also regularly speaks to Law Enforcement, schools, writing clubs and libraries about undercover work, focusing on why a life of crime is a dead end.

As a fighter and trainer, Kenji trains pro MMA fighters and boxers.

To relax, Kenji hikes the desert and the mountains, prospecting for gold.

Other recent life highlights include:
• Selling two new scripts at practically the same time
• Sold a screenplay to FOX
• Sold his screenplay "The Gunfighter" about Clay Allison to the History Channel
• A brief, successful stint as a commodities trader

These days, Kenji continues to stay connected in media, as Hollywood producers, directors and other writers often enjoy picking his brain about his experiences. He is an avid history buff who is always reading and ready to debate current news and hot topics.

This blog is Kenji's commentary on current events in Mafia news and stories he's collected over the years from his sources.