Two Irish-Americans have recently released books meant to feed the public's apparently boundless fascination with the Mafia. For many years, Bob Delaney had a fine job as a professional basketball referee with the NBA. Previously, he had worked as a New Jersey state trooper. And as he now reveals in "Covert," Delaney infiltrated the mob at the highest level. In a book certain to remind many of "Donnie Brasco," we learn about the dangers of coming too close to organized-crime killers. In fact, Delaney came across Joe Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco, while both worked undercover. In 1975, Delaney was practically still a rookie when he signed onto a project which would ultimately lock up key members of the Bruno and Genovese families, and pave the way for additional arrests by the federal government in the 1980s. This is the fascinating story of how an Irish kid from New Jersey waded into the mob, survived, and then went on to have a second career as a referee in pro basketball. ($19.95 / 288 pages / Union Square Press)