"[2] As a teenager Brickman became involved with Italian mobsters, hanging out in Mafia nightclubs, seducing them in Cadillacs, and in later years running drugs.
[2] Over the next decade, Brickman worked as an informant and in 1986 her testimony helped convict gangster Anthony Scarpati of the Colombo crime family and several others of racketeering conspiracy.
"[2] Brickman was the subject of the 1992 non-fiction book Mob Girl: A Woman's Life in the Underworld by Teresa Carpenter, published by Simon & Schuster.
[citation needed] Intrigued by Brickman's story, pop star Madonna reportedly picked up an option on the book for a film.
[6] The two became friends, and Madonna asked Brickman to check out the background of her New York party promoter boyfriend Peter Shue in 1994.