Alan Gunner Lindbloom

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Alan Gunner Lindbloom
Born	Alan Gunner Tocco-Lindbloom (1973-04-05) April 5, 1973 Grosse Pointe Michigan
🏳️ Nationality	Sicilian Scottish Swedish
🏳️ Citizenship	United States
💼 Occupation	Writer/Novelist “To Be A King” CEO “OUR THING” Apparel Radio personality on 910 Super Station Inspirational/Motivational speaker Writing Coach
🏢 Organization	CEO La Mia Famiglia LLC
Height	5 ft 11 in
👩 Spouse(s)	Maria Jomaa Lindbloom
👴 👵 Parents	George Alan Lindbloom (father) Grace Tocco (mother)
👪 Relatives	Peter Paul Tocco (Grandfather deceased) Giacoma “Black Jack Tocco (Uncle deceased) Tocco Peter Paul Tocco Jr (Uncle) Anthony Giacolone (uncle) Joseph Tocco (uncle)
🌐 Website	gunnerdetroit.com
🥚 Twitter	Twitter=

label65 = 👍 Facebook

Alan Gunner Lindbloom (born 5 April 1973) is an American novelist and entrepreneur known for his To Be A King novels and remarkable personal story. Known to most as “Al” or “Gunner,” had quite a life journey. Raised in and around the Detroit Mafia, what the FBI know as the “Detroit Partnership,” Gunner was destined for a life of crime and, ultimately, prison. At only age 15 he was expelled from school indefinitely for being part of a stolen merchandise ring. He then became immersed in a full-time life of crime, and his life would slowly take him further into a life of organized crime.

Around age 19, Gunner was taken under the wing of a well known Detroit mafiosi named Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacolone, who was best known for being the number one suspect in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance. Gunner’s grandfather, Peter Paul Tocco, was “goombadi” with Giacalone. In fact, one of Tony’s daughter’s married one of Peter Paul Tocco’s nephews, solidifying the connection between the families, a long standing practice between mafia families in Detroit. They almost exclusively intermarry amongst a small handful of families. Tony Giacolone wasn't just another Detroit wiseguy. He was the street boss, the face of the local mafia, and the undisputed king of the illegal gambling in the city. Gunner’s grandfather, Peter Tocco, was an accomplished sports handicapper and layoff bookie. Roughly the same age as Giacolone, they had grown up together their entire lives and were related through several marriages. The two men were close and it was rumored that Peter Paul Tocco was in fact a middle man between his cousin, Giacoma “Black Jack” Tocco, Boss of the entire Detroit Mafia, and Tony Giacolone, street boss, as well as several other high ranking Detroit Mafiosi. At some point, Peter Tocco would officially go on record and ask Tony Giacolone to put his grandson, “Alanzo,” to work. Tony did. For the next ten years, Gunner quietly worked as a contract enforcer for Tony Giacolone, his uncle Peter Paul Tocco Jr, his uncle Salvetore Tocco, and at least a dozen more cousins and uncles in the mafia. He did everything from work security and running poker games, to collections and robberies, to beatings and extortions. At age 29, Gunner would be indicted for extortion, bank robbery, armed robbery, kidnapping, weapons violations, and a litany of other capital crimes that carried up to life in prison. He would cop out to 13-50 years in the MIchigan Department of Corrections, and serve 13.3 years total.

In prison, Gunner Lindbloom decided he no longer wanted to live a life of crime. During a 17 month stretch in solitary confinement, he discovered that he had a knack for writing. Or at least creating. Shortly thereafter, he began writing and did not stop writing for the next 13 years, penning nine novels, including his debut TO BE A KING novels, which cracked the top 100 in their genre within weeks.

One of the things that makes Alan Gunner Lindbloom’s life so remarkable is how he met his wife, Maria. Six years into his prison sentence, Maria found him on Facebook and decided to reach out to him because she saw on his profile that he was in prison writing books, and she worked for a publisher. She knew nothing about him other than he was a neighborhood “bad guy and drug dealer who beat people up.” After reading his books, she was so taken aback by his raw talent that she called him a “unicorn.” She then began writing to him regularly, and over the next several months the two would fall in love. Maria would leave her current husband and move north to Rogers City, Michigan, five hours north of their hometown of Detroit, and wait 6 years for Gunner to come home from prison. They would marry the day after his release, and be baptized by his cousin in Lake Huron that very same day.

Nine months after Gunner’s release from prison, he published the first of his nine novels. He chose “To BE A King,” about a fictional Mafia family, first, hoping that his former life and family history would work as marketing leverage. It worked. The books shot to the top of their genre, Organized Crime, and at one point cracked then top #5, listed as #3 on organized crime, only two behind The Godfather. A month after the release of his first novel, To Be A King Volume 1, he released To Be A King Volume 2, which also shot to the top 50 in the genre.

Shortly after releasing his debut novels, Gunner was promoting his books when he was struck with an idea for a line of gangster-inspired apparel. He had previously had a hoodie made with the cover of his book on it. The back read “DETROIT, OUR THING.” The reason for the words “our thing” was because the book was based on a fictional Detroit mafia family, and the term “our thing” is the English translation for the term “La Cosa Nostra,” a common euphemism for the mafia. After posting pictures of himself wearing the hoodie on Facebook, he became inundated with requests from people who wanted a hoodie of their own, with his book cover on it but with their own city on the back. And so the brand “OUR THING” Apparel was born. Gunner created an LLC and secured the trademark for the branding. Within months, the brand took off and now carries everything from high-end leathers and tracksuits, to hats, hoodies, and every facet of apparel. Mens, women, and kids. The brand now sells all over the world.

Lindbloom’s journey, from growing up in a dysfunctional mafia family, to spending 13 years in prison, to becoming a world renowned novelist and CEO has amassed him a worldwide following on social media. He is often featured in national media outlets, television shows, national news sources, podcasts, and YouTube show, such as VLAD TV.

Early life and education

Lindbloom was born 5 April 1973 in Metro, Detroit, to a pure Sicilian mother, Grace Carmella Tocco, and a Scottish Swedish Father. HIs mother’s family was well known in Detroit for having Mafia ties to the Tocco/Zirelli Crime Family. Exposed to organized crime his entire youth, it was no surprise that Gunner would eventually end up in prison.

Gunner was expelled indefinitely from high school only nine weeks into his freshman year. He was caught in the middle of a stolen property ring and refused to rat on his partner, Ricky, so he was expelled permanently. That is when he took straight to the streets. By age 15, Gunner was selling drugs and fencing stolen merchandise for local cons and hoods. While his “normal” friends played sports and dated cheerleaders, he associated mostly with thugs and criminals while his friends received their education. He often had run-ins with the law and caught his first felony at age 14, for destruction of property over $100. His next felony charge would come only months later, for falsifying a police report when he refused to identify two men who had robbed him of a $600 TROOP Jacket at gunpoint. He would go on to track down the men (both in their late teens) and take repossession of his jacket. Not soon after that, Gunner would catch a pair of assault felonies. At age 17 he was indicted for a delivery of nearly $5000 worth of steroids, and would eventually get 6 months in then county jail, after his grandfather allegedly bribed a judge. The next 15 years would be a roller coaster of run-ins with the law, lawyers, judges, prosecutors and jail. At age 29 he would go on a crime spree and ultimately be sentenced to 13-50 years in prison for 17 capital crimes, ranging from bank robbery and extortion to armed robberies and kidnapping. He would serve 13.3 years in prison.

Career

Prior to his 13 years in prison, Alan Gunner Lindbloom was primarily a drug dealer and muscle for the mafia. But he did work as a bouncer at a number of high popular nightclubs on the eastside of Detroit. He did manage a health club for a few years, but the job was in fact part of a shakedown his uncle was doing on the owner. He also worked a few years as a sales rep for a large home improvement company right before prison, but that job would end after he was caught scamming from the company and doing side jobs. For the most part, Gunner was a street guy who made money from any racket he could find. His primary racket was collecting money for loansharks and bookies in the mafia. He would engage in robberies, extortion, shakedowns, beatings, and anything else where he could make a quick buck. Most of the time, he was simply muscle for hire, and never felt he had any particular loyalty to his family, other than his uncles Peter Paul Tocco Jr. and Anthony “Tony Jack” Giacolone,” the two men he reported to directly. .

In prison, Alan (Sometimes called “Alanzo” by his Sicilian family) would write nine novels. As soon as he was released in 2016 after serving 13.3 years, he published the first two books, To Be A King Volumes 1 & 2, a series about a fictional Detroit mafia family. He hoped that by releasing these books first, he could leverage his past and family history as marketing tools. .

Gunner’s To Be A King novels quickly gained recognition in the “Mafia-sphere,” with fans of the genre all over the world talking about the books. Fans were not just impressed by how well the books were written, but by the authenticity and complexity of the characters and plot. Within days, Volume #1 cracked the top #50 in the world in the Organized Crime genre. Fans began calling the series “the next Godfather,” and comparing Lindbloom to Mario Puzo, author of the Godfather series. To Be A King would eventually peek at #3 in the world, and since then the books have stayed in the top 5% of all organized crime books, an amazing feat in itself considering the books have been published for more than four years. The books both have rave reviews and people clambering for a movie.

In 2017, Lindbloom embarked on his entrepreneurial journey by launching “OUR THING” Apparel. While prompting his books online, Alan Gunner made a small promotional run of sweatshirts with the cover of his book on the front, the words DETROIT “Our Thing” on the back, the term “our thing” being the English translation for the term Cosa Nostra, a common euphemism for the mafia. When he and his business partner posted pictures of themselves on Facebook wearing the “OUR THING” hoodies, they became inundated with requests from people who wanted “OUR THING” hoodies of their own. Thus, the brand was born. Today Gunner’s “OUR THING” brand sells all over the world, from T-shirts and hoodies to tracksuits and jackets, to even high end leathers. Most garments are custom made to each individual’s city/state.

He has popular brand ambassadors, such as WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Rob “RVD” Dam and Johnny Curry, one-time Detroit drug kingpin, who was made famous for his involvement with Richard “White Boy Rick” Wershe,” also a Detroit native.

Gunner is the host of “Our Thing” Detroit, a mainstream radio show on 910 SuperStation Detroit.

Books

• Lindbloom, Gunner A. (2017). TO BE A KING: Volume 1. Harbinger Media Group. Retrieved 4 December 2021. Search this book on
• Lindbloom, Gunner A. (2017). TO BE A KING: Volume 2. Harbinger Media Group. Retrieved 4 December 2021. Search this book on

Personal life

Alan Gunner Lindbloom is married to Maria Jomaa Lindbloom the day after he was released from prison. Gunner is a huge fan of the outdoors, and an almost manic obsession for trout fishing and deer hunting. Lindbloom is fluent in English and knows some Sicilian.

External links

• Official Website
• Personal Website
• Gunner Lindbloom on Facebook
• Gunner Lindbloom's channel on YouTube
• Gunner Lindbloom on Twitter
• Gunner Lindbloom on LinkedIn

References

This article "Alan Gunner Lindbloom" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Alan Gunner Lindbloom. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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