NJ Natives Nathan Gottlieb and Fred Boff Mysterious Odd Couple; Former DEA becomes Central Character in Mystery Series

New Jersey met Hell’s Kitchen at a book party to launch Newark native Nathan Gottlieb’s mystery novel The Zero Tolerance Game on Monday (June 20) at Rudy’s Bar and Grille on Ninth Avenue in New York City.

‎Fred Boff, the Elizabeth, New Jersey-born former DEA Agent and private investigator whom Gottlieb’s fictional central character is based on, was in attendance. As it turns out, Boff wouldn’t be the only Garden State star in attendance on the day. Gottlieb’s friends, among them three former writers on the Knicks beat - the New York Times ‎Harvey Araton, Filip Bondy, formerly of the New York Daily News, and Barry Rubinstein, a former Star-Ledger colleague now at NHL.com - were all at Rudy’s to help him celebrate the launch of his sixth novel.

Before Gottlieb started his career as a novelist, he cut his teeth at the Newark Star-Ledger covering a variety of sports during a 21-year run with the Newark paper. He met Araton, Bondy, and Rubenstein during his nine-year stint as the Star-Ledger’s New York Knicks beat writer.

These old friends grew up just miles apart in New Jerset, but their paths weren’t always destined to cross.

"I never considered writing about sports,” says Gottlieb. Growing up in Maplewood, he never knew he wanted to write at all. It took an injury during his football career at Rutgers, the free time allowed Gottlieb to discover his passion.

"I never read anything that was not assigned for school. Once I got injured, I started reading everything I could. I read a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I knew I wanted to be a writer. Now I wake up everyday knowing that I am a writer."

But unlike the real-life character who helped pen him into stardom, there was never a question about Fred Boff’s passion--or his "addiction," as he calls it.
“I love hot dogs, so sometimes I'll be talking about my 'hot dog addiction' and my wife will tell me I have issues,” laughs the Elizabeth-born action hero. Luckily for both Boff and Gottlieb, their careers and their passions never got in the way of each other.

"Back when I was an agent, my partner and I would have to contact an informant from the mob every now and then, down in Brooklyn by the bridge. We would wait for him in a little place that had great hot dogs. I absolutely hated this guy, and he knew it, so when he showed up he'd always say: ‘Alright Fred, hurry up and get in the car. I know you're not taking the time to order me a hot dog.’”

Boff’s time spent wrestling with the bad guys is in the distant past now, but some things are harder to leave behind. His affinity for hot dogs - he consumed four at the book party - and his home state of New Jersey are perfect examples.

“I love living back in New Jersey now. I have a house on the shore, I've got a boat, the kids have a couple jet skis, some kayaks, I love it. I do a lot of fishing with my grandsons, who I call ‘Larry, Mo, and Curly.’”

The New Jersey stars aligned as everything came full circle in Rudy’s Bar and Grille, and as Nathan Gottlieb sat signing copies of The Zero Tolerance Game for his longtime friends, Fred Boff was right by his side, expertly neutralizing hot dogs with the ruthlessness of a real-life action hero.

Nathan Gottlieb is a former sportswriter for the Star-Ledger who covered the Knicks as beat writer for nine seasons, college basketball, Monmouth Park, the Yankees, Mets, boxing, and sports television during a 21-year career at the Newark, NJ daily newspaper. He currently writes boxing stories for HBO’s website, an assignment he began in 2005.

Mr. Gottlieb was born in Newark, and raised in Maplewood, NJ. He attended Columbia High School, and received his BA from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Prior to “The Zero Tolerance Game,” Gottlieb published seven other books, “The Hurting Game,” “The Punishing Game,” “The Killer Sex Game,” “The Payback Game,” “The Death Dealing Game,” “Stinger” and “The Zukovka Experiment.” He is presently working on the seventh book in the Frank Boff Mystery Series.

Fred Boff is a former DEA agent and retired high-profile private investigator. A lifelong New Jersey native, he played varsity basketball and graduated from Elizabeth HS and Kean College.

After graduating Kean he was recruited by the DEA where he was a Special Agent for 14 years. When he left the DEA he became a high profile private investigator. His notable clients included Doris Duke and Imelda Marcos. He was involved in The Great Mob Trial in NJ, which resulted in a book by Bob Rudolph (of the Ledger), and The Cowboy Mafia, a case with multiple murders, politics, and massive drug smuggling that involved Texas, Florida, New Jersey and other parts of the country.

Boff has lived most of his adult life in New Jersey, and has been married to Ginger for 47 years. His son, Dave, has been head basketball coach at Roselle Catholic in Jersey for nine years and during that time he has helped make the school one of the preeminent programs not just in the state (3 titles), but nationally as well. His daughter, Suzie, is an attorney, who lives in NJ with her lawyer husband and their three boys.