Peter Maas

Peter Maas (June 27, 1929 – August 23, 2001) was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish ancestry.

He was the biographer of Frank Serpico, a New York City Police officer who testified against police corruption. The book was made into a movie starring Al Pacino. He is also the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, Underboss, about the life and times of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

His other notable bestsellers include The Valachi Papers, Manhunt, and In a Child's Name, recipient of the 1991 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book. The Valachi Papers, which told the story of Mafia turncoat Joseph Valachi, is widely considered to be a seminal work, as it spawned an entire genre of books written by or about former Mafiosi. In May 1966, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach had asked a district court to stop Maas from publishing his book on Valachi—the first time that a U.S. Attorney General had ever tried to ban a book. Maas was never permitted to publish his edition of Valachi's original memoirs, but was allowed to publish a third-person account based upon interviews he himself had conducted with Valachi. These formed the basis of the book The Valachi Papers, which was published in 1968 by Putnam.

He made a brief cameo as himself in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In 1972 Maas attempted to convince retired mob boss Frank Costello to allow him to write a biography of Costello's life. They had a series of interviews before Costello finally decided to agree to the months of interviews that would be required for the book. However ten days later he died of a heart attack.

Maas died in New York City, aged 72, on August 23, 2001.