The Chicago Syndicate: Books
The Mission Impossible Backpack

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Thursday, March 07, 2024

The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through a Hitman's Eyes by Frank Cullotta & Dennis N Griffin

"The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster" is a riveting exploration of the tumultuous life of Tony Spilotro, the infamous mobster associated with the Chicago Outfit, told through the eyes of his former hitman, Frank Cullotta. Co-authored by Dennis N. Griffin, this collaboration provides a unique and authentic perspective on the organized crime scene, particularly during the era immortalized in Nicholas Pileggi's "Casino."

The Rise and Fall of a
Casino Mobster
The narrative commences with a vivid depiction of Spilotro's early life, tracing his ascent within the ranks of the Chicago Outfit. From his roots in the Windy City to his eventual dominion over the Las Vegas casino scene, the book unveils the complex layers of Spilotro's character. Frank Cullotta, intimately acquainted with Spilotro's world, shares an insider's view, offering readers an unfiltered glimpse into the dark underbelly of organized crime.

What distinguishes this book is its unapologetic tone. Cullotta, without reservation, lays bare the brutality and treachery inherent in the criminal underworld. The narrative is punctuated with anecdotes, personal reflections, and a palpable sense of remorse, providing readers with a multifaceted understanding of the choices made in the pursuit of power and wealth.

One of the book's notable strengths lies in its unflinching portrayal of the violence and ruthlessness of organized crime. Cullotta doesn't romanticize the mob lifestyle; instead, he underscores its grim reality. The visceral accounts of criminal exploits, orchestrated hits, and power struggles create a gritty and authentic atmosphere, immersing the reader in the high-stakes world of the Chicago Outfit.

The collaboration between Cullotta and Griffin seamlessly weaves together the broader historical context of organized crime in Chicago and Las Vegas with the personal narratives of Spilotro and Cullotta. This dual perspective enriches the narrative, offering a comprehensive understanding of the characters and the sociopolitical landscape that shaped their destinies.

Tony Spilotro emerges as a complex and enigmatic figure in the book. From his early days as a proficient enforcer to his pivotal role in overseeing the mob's operations in Las Vegas, the authors delve into the intricacies of his character. The narrative explores his relationships, alliances, and the factors that ultimately contributed to his downfall. Spilotro is portrayed not just as a ruthless criminal but as a man with strengths, weaknesses, and a magnetic charisma that left an indelible mark on those around him.

Cullotta's storytelling prowess is evident throughout the book. His first-hand accounts of criminal activities and the inner workings of the mob create an aura of authenticity. The narrative strikes a delicate balance, seamlessly alternating between action-packed sequences that propel the plot forward and reflective moments that humanize the characters, allowing readers to connect with their struggles and vulnerabilities.

While the book provides a gripping and immersive narrative, it also prompts ethical contemplation. By presenting the story without explicit moral judgments, the authors allow readers to form their own opinions about the characters and the consequences of their choices. This approach adds layers of complexity to the narrative, challenging readers to grapple with the ethical implications of the criminal lifestyle depicted.

In conclusion, "The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster" stands as a compelling and authentic exploration of Tony Spilotro's life and the intricacies of organized crime. Frank Cullotta's insider perspective, combined with Dennis N. Griffin's adept co-authorship, creates a narrative that is both informative and captivating. This book is a must-read for those fascinated by true crime and the historical landscape of organized crime in America, providing a nuanced portrayal of the individuals who shaped an era.

The Rise and Fall of a Casino Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story through a Hitmans's Eyes.


Friday, February 23, 2024

Inside by Scott Hoffman #TheChicagoOutfit #TheChicagoWay #Mafia

Inside, by Scott M. Hoffman is an intriguing work detailing the internal workings of the Outfit, an organized crime family, which originated on the South Side of Chicago during prohibition and rose to power in the 1920s. The Outfit has been involved in a wide variety of criminal activities including gambling, loan-sharking, prostitution, drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, labor racketeering, adult and child pornography, political corruption, and murder. The individuals and events in Inside are composites of real people and real events.

Inside, begins in 1956 with Jimmy Williams, a 47-year-old man with two families-his wife and two children and the Outfit. He's a good man, a good husband, and a good father, while, at the same time, he is a physically powerful man who is well respected as a consigliere in the Outfit. He keeps his two lives separated, to the point his wife is unaware of what he does.

The story is written from the perspective of Jimmy's son Bobby who, from the age of 8 begins to accompany his father on Outfit business. Jimmy wants him to know what "the life" is like in order for Bobby to decide if this is the future he wants for himself. Take this remarkable journey with Bobby. Will he follow in his father's footsteps or choose another path?

Inside by Scott Hoffman.

Inside by Scott M. Hoffman



Thursday, February 15, 2024

The Biden Crime Family: The Blueprint for Their Prosecution by Rudy Giuliani

The Biden Crime Family, is a short, engaging description of the evidence that supports the case that President Joe Biden and his family are deeply corrupt. They are so corrupt that when former New York mayor and US attorney Rudy Giuliani first stumbled across evidence of what they were doing in Ukraine, it reminded him of his experience prosecuting the five mafia families that used to run New York.

Joe Biden began to seek enormous bribes and payouts when he became vice president. In every situation where he was the point man for the Obama administration’s policy toward a country, he ended up making millions of dollars, and failing to obtain whatever the US policy goal was.

In these endeavors, Joe’s drug addicted younger son, Hunter, worked with him. Hunter was the “bagman.” You can question whether it was loving or even decent for a politician to use his dysfunctional son in this matter. But it happened. Joe’s brother James also served as a bagman, sometimes working with Hunter. Other family members participated as needed.

When Joe was made the point man for Ukraine—with the special mission of cleaning up Ukrainian corruption so deep that it had left the country almost bankrupt—he did nothing to help. Instead, he had Hunter placed on the board of Burisma, an energy and gas company at the center of some of Ukraine’s most corrupt government dealings. Hunter took home a million a year to do nothing. The rule was “ten percent for the big guy.” Hunter has complained about how half his income went to dad.

The same and worse happened with Joe in China and Iraq. The Biden Crime Family, displays the evidence clearly—and makes the kind of case that should get a conviction on Biden family corruption.

The Biden Crime Family: The Blueprint for Their Prosecution.

Monday, October 02, 2023

We Do What We Must: Blood, Wine, and the Birth of the American Mafia in New Orleans #NOLA

An immigrant Sicilian family triumphs over The Mafia in turn of the century New Orleans, just not in the way they'd planned.
We Do What We Must
Blood, Wine, and the Birth of the American Mafia
 in New Orleans



WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Fall 2022 - Best Historical Fiction - We Do What We Must: Blood, Wine, and the Birth of the American Mafia in New Orleans.

This fictionalized tale recounts the story of the true life Giacona family, who emigrated from Sicily to New Orleans in the 1890s. They came to the US to escape the influence of The Mafia, only to be confronted by the same challenges in the New World.

Pietro Giancona and Corrado Giacona, father and son, do what they must to defend their family and business from the dreaded Black Hand, as well as powerful organized crime families. They proceed the only way they know how, through bravery, guile, and tough choices. Although committed to living as 'Honest Italians, ' their choices lead them down a perilous path.

EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS a fascinating glimpse of an important part of Americana, blending slices of true history with fiction, in a compelling story of organized crime in New Orleans.


Tuesday, August 01, 2023

Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels

NARCAS: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels
NARCAS:
The Secret Rise of Women
in Latin America's Cartels

You’ve heard of Pablo Escobar, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and Rafael Caro Quintero. Their names conjure ghoulish images of bloody streets, white powder, bundles of weed, and a particular flavor of machismo unique to ruthless druglords. But what of the drugladies, las narcas? For the first time, investigative reporter Deborah Bonello takes you behind the curtain to introduce the women at the helm of organized crime south of the US-Mexico border. These women are the powerhouses behind violent cartels; masterminds of extortion rackets; right-hand ladies to El Chapo’s cocaine flow to the US; and matriarchs of major drug trafficking families. In these pages, you will meet women like Doña Digna, the leader of the Valle cartel, and Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, one of “El Chapo” Guzman’s closest confidants.

Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels, for the first time, gives voice to the women of notorious drug-trafficking monarchies, meticulously documenting the variety of roles they play. Bonello chronicles the complexity of their actions and their desires, the grey chasm between victims and victimizers, co-option and agency, and right and wrong. She examines why women’s experiences are under-reported, emphasizing the importance of understanding women as fully capable beings who are often as ambitious, innovative, ruthless, and violent as their male counterparts.

With careful detail, comprehensive research, and groundbreaking storytelling, Narcas paints a vivid picture of the women behind some of the most notorious drug cartels. You will not see Sebastiana Cottón or Marixa Lemus in the stereotypical portrayals of beautiful narco wives or girlfriends, or in the faces of trafficking survivors or drug mules. Rather, you’ll encounter—at staggering rates—the female cartel killers, money launderers, logistical heads, and transporters of Latin America’s infamous crime syndicates

VICE journalist Deborah Bonello reports from the trenches in this first-ever in-depth exploration of the hidden power women wield in Latin American drug cartels.


Wednesday, April 26, 2023

The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin'

In The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin', author Bill Zehme presents a masterful assembly of the most personal details and gorgeous minutiae of Frank Sinatra's way of livingmatters of the heart and heartbreak, friendship and leadership, drinking and cavorting, brawling and wooing, tuxedos and snap-brimsall crafted from rare interviews with Sinatra himself as well as many other intimates, including Tony Bennett, Don Rickles, Angie Dickinson, Tony Curtis, and Robert Wagner, in addition to daughters Nancy and Tina Sinatra.


Capturing the timeless romance and classic style of the fifties and the loose sixties, The Way You Wear Your Hat is a stunning exploration of the Sinatra mystique.

Frank Sinatra is that rare American icon whose lifestyle has walked hand-in-hand with his art, the one impossible without the other. Like Elvis, he has seemed intent on living out the dreams his songs inspire, capturing the American public's imagination along the way.

Sinatra's irresistibly romantic sensibility is the subject of this effusive book by Zehme, coauthor of memoirs by Jay Leno and Regis Philbin. Sinatra, who is famous for his hatred of the press, allowed Zehme to ask him a number of questions about his philosophy of life, such as ""How stiff should a stiff drink be?"" and ""What is the most important thing to look for in a woman?"" Zehme sprinkles the questions and Sinatra's frank answers throughout chapters with titles like ""Broads,"" ""Pallies"" and ""Ring-a-Ding-Ding."" The result is a charming, entertaining look at Sinatra's life (which only incidentally involves music here) in the guise of a straight man's guide to living well.

The book begins in a rush, with a Sinatra epigram (""Let's start the action!""); the final chapters deal with family, heartbreak and aging. Zehme does here what other, music-centered biographies of Sinatra do not do: he suggests the pattern behind something as seemingly unpredictable as the events of a man's life. Zehme seems to say that, no matter what has befallen him, Sinatra has acted and reacted his way.


Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan

As gripping as it is prescient, Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan, is the first-ever history of the battle waged by one rookie District Attorney, Philip Van Cise, against the KKK, organized crime, and government corruption at the highest levels throughout the 1920s. One century later, in the face of contemporary society’s divisiveness and fearmongering politics, the personal courage of this maverick’s battle against underworld figures and a mainstream white supremacist movement is more relevant and inspiring than ever.

At the height of the roaring 1920s, the ex-frontier town of Denver, Colorado, emerged from the postwar boom as the future of the American city. But the slick façade of progress and opportunity masked a murky stew of organized crime, elaborate swindles, and widespread government corruption. One man risked everything to alter the course of history.

Rookie district attorney Philip Van Cise was already making national headlines for a new brand of law enforcement. Employing military intelligence tools he’d developed during the Great War—wiretapping, undercover operatives, communication intercepts—Van Cise crippled the criminal empire of Lou Blonger, an ex-lawman who had risen from petty scam artist to master of the Big Con. But Van Cise had even darker, more malevolent forces on his radar.

The Ku Klux Klan had emerged as a shockingly mainstream middle-class movement, employing anti-immigration scare tactics, encouraging vigilantism, and instigating culture wars, all while claiming to protect true American values. Van Cise saw the toxic ideology for what it was: a new version of the Big Con sold as populism. Utilizing his pioneering surveillance techniques, Van Cise was determined to expose the Invisible Empire from within.

Gripping and exhaustively researched, this prescient chronicle of Philip Van Cise’s spectacular career as a feared gangbuster taking on organized crime, the KKK, and corruption at the highest levels of government is a cautionary tale that mirrors our tumultuous times


Monday, November 07, 2022

The Year of Fear: Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt That Changed the Nation

It's 1933 and Prohibition has given rise to the American gangster--now infamous names like Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Bank robberies at gunpoint are commonplace and kidnapping for ransom is the scourge of a lawless nation. With local cops unauthorized to cross state lines in pursuit and no national police force, safety for kidnappers is just a short trip on back roads they know well from their bootlegging days.

Gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, are some of the most celebrated criminals of the Great Depression. With gin-running operations facing extinction and bank vaults with dwindling stores of cash, Kelly sets his sights on the easy-money racket of kidnapping. His target: rich oilman, Charles Urschel.

Enter J. Edgar Hoover, a desperate Justice Department bureaucrat who badly needs a successful prosecution to impress the new administration and save his job. Hoover's agents are given the sole authority to chase kidnappers across state lines and when Kelly bungles the snatch job, Hoover senses his big opportunity. What follows is a thrilling 20,000 mile chase over the back roads of Depression-era America, crossing 16 state lines, and generating headlines across America along the way--a historical mystery/thriller for the ages.

Joe Urschel's The Year of Fear is a thrilling true crime story of gangsters and lawmen and how an obscure federal bureaucrat used this now legendary kidnapping case to launch the FBI.


Tuesday, October 04, 2022

American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper

Boston had its Strangler. California had the Zodiac Killer. And in the depths of the Great Depression, Cleveland had the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.

On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake Erie: the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, twelve more bodies would be scattered across the city. The bodies were dismembered with surgical precision and drained of blood. Some were beheaded while still alive.

Terror gripped the city. Amid the growing uproar, Cleveland’s besieged mayor turned to his newly-appointed director of public safety: Eliot Ness. Ness had come to Cleveland fresh from his headline-grabbing exploits in Chicago, where he and his band of “Untouchables” led the frontline assault on Al Capone’s bootlegging empire. Now he would confront a case that would redefine his storied career.

Award-winning author Daniel Stashower shines a fresh light on one of the most notorious puzzles in the annals of crime, and uncovers the gripping story of Ness’s hunt for a sadistic killer who was as brilliant as he was cool and composed, a mastermind who was able to hide in plain sight. American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper, reconstructs this ultimate battle of wits between a hero and a madman.


Tuesday, August 02, 2022

DEADLY ASSOCIATES: A True Story of Murder, Survival, and Bringing Down the Chicago Mob

The book behind the 'DEADLY ASSOCIATES' docu-series on REELZChannel™!

Step into Chicago during the 1960s and ‘70s, where mobsters influence everyone from strip-club owners to Teamsters, aldermen, judges, and local police. It is a world where good men are corrupted by the irresistible lure of money and power, and families are shattered by lies, violence, and tragedy.

Danny Seifert, a street-smart and ambitious young man, follows his father’s example in his efforts to provide a good, comfortable life for his wife and children. Soon, however, his path leads him toward the dark heart of the Mob. His career choices eventually bring him to a point where he must choose between loyalty to the Mob and probable prison time, or coming clean to the FBI, testifying against Mob leaders and risking retaliation to himself and his family. He chooses the latter, which ultimately leads to his murder and decades of living in fear for his widow, Emma, and their children.

As they grow into men, Danny’s sons, Joe and Nick, take it upon themselves to find the man responsible for their father’s death and make him pay. In seeking retribution for Danny, will they also succumb to lives of crime, or will they follow the high road of law and justice all the way to the Family Secrets trial in 2007, one of the largest Mob trials in history?

Find out in DEADLY ASSOCIATES: A True Story of Murder, Survival, and Bringing Down the Chicago Mob, a meticulously researched and poignantly personal story of one family’s life inside and outside the Chicago Mob.


Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island #LongIsland #Books

Nicknamed "Liquor Island," Long Island was rumrunner's paradise during Prohibition.

Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island.

With its proximity to major markets and coastal communities for easy transit, Suffolk County was awash in illegal hooch. Smugglers bringing cases of booze from offshore often secretly hid product temporarily in local garages and sheds, leaving a bottle as a thank-you.

Coded communication crisscrossed the county on shortwave radios arranging sales and logistics. Violence from criminal outfits disrupted previously quiet towns, as locals too often were swept up in dangerous unintentional engagements with bootleggers.

Pour one out and join author Amy Kasuga Folk as she recounts stories from Suffolk County's Prohibition era


Thursday, July 07, 2022

Organized Crime: A Cultural Introduction by Antonio Nicaso @AntonioNicaso and Marcel Danesi #OrganizedCrime

This book aims to describe and demystify what makes criminal gangs so culturally powerful. It examines their codes of conduct, initiation rites, secret communications methods, origin myths, symbols, and the like that imbue the gangsters with the pride and nonchalance that goes hand in hand with their criminal activities. Mobsters are everywhere in the movies, on television, and on websites. Contemporary societies are clearly fascinated by them. Why is this so? What feature and constituents of organized criminal gangs make them so emotionally powerful―to themselves and others? These are the questions that have guided the writing of this textbook, which is intended as an introduction to organized crime from the angle of cultural analysis. Key topics include:

  • An historic overview of organized crime, including the social, economic, and cultural conditions that favour its development;
  • A review of the type of people who make up organized gangs and the activities in which they engage;
  • The symbols, rituals, codes and languages that characterize criminal institutions;
  • The relationship between organized crime and cybercrime;
  • The role of women in organized crime;
  • Drugs and narco-terrorism;
  • Media portrayals of organized crime.
Organized Crime: A Cultural Introduction, includes case studies and offers an accessible, interdisciplinary approach to the subject of organized crime. It is essential reading for students engaged with organized crime across criminology, sociology, anthropology and psychology.


Thursday, June 02, 2022

Criminology on Trump (Crimes of the Powerful) by @GreggBarak is Trending #1 in Government New Releases

Criminology on Trump, is a criminological investigation of the world's most successful outlaw, Donald J. Trump. Over the course of five decades, Donald Trump has been accused of sexual assault, tax evasion, money laundering, non-payment of employees, and the defrauding of tenants, customers, contractors, investors, bankers, and charities. Yet, he has continued to amass wealth and power. In this book, criminologist and social historian Gregg Barak asks why and how?

This book examines how the United States precariously maintains stability through conflict in which groups with competing interests and opposing visions struggle for power, negotiate rule breaking, and establish criminal justice. While primarily focused on Trump's developing character over three quarters of a century, it is also an inquiry into the changing cultural character and social structure of American society. It explores the ways in which both crime and crime control are socially constructed in relation to a changing political economy.

An accessible and compelling read, this book is essential for all those who seek a criminological understanding of Donald Trump's rise to power.


Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Lennon, the Mobster & the Lawyer: The Untold Story #TheBeatles #OrganizedCrime #NewReleases

Before John Lennon retreated peacefully into private life in 1975, he fought a major legal battle that went under the public radar.

Just as his Rock 'n' Roll oldies album hit the market, Morris Levy, the Mob-connected owner of Roulette Records, released Roots, an unauthorized version of the same record. Levy had used rough mixes of John's unfinished Rock 'n' Roll recordings-and claimed the former Beatle had verbally agreed to the arrangement. The clash led to a lawsuit and countersuit between Levy and Lennon.

Attorney Jay Bergen, a partner in a prestigious New York City law firm, represented John in this epic battle over the rights to his own recordings. Millions of dollars were at stake.

Jay tells the intimate story of how he worked closely with John to rebut Levy's outrageous claims. He also recounts how John explained his recording process in poetic, exacting terms before a judge who knew little about the Beatles and John's solo career.

Lennon, the Mobster & the Lawyer: The Untold Story, catches the high drama of the courtroom skirmishes in this previously untold story. It also paints a detailed personal picture of John and his world in 1975-76, when he was soon to have a new son and went into happy seclusion to be a husband and father.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath #Russia

Following his explosive New York Times bestseller Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice, Bill Browder returns with another gripping thriller chronicling how he became Vladimir Putin’s number one enemy by exposing Putin’s campaign to steal and launder hundreds of billions of dollars and kill anyone who stands in his way.


When Bill Browder’s young Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was beaten to death in a Moscow jail, Browder made it his life’s mission to go after his killers and make sure they faced justice. The first step of that mission was to uncover who was behind the $230 million tax refund scheme that Magnitsky was killed over. As Browder and his team tracked the money as it flowed out of Russia through the Baltics and Cyprus and on to Western Europe and the Americas, they were shocked to discover that Vladimir Putin himself was a beneficiary of the crime.

As law enforcement agencies began freezing the money, Putin retaliated. He and his cronies set up honey traps, hired process servers to chase Browder through cities, murdered more of his Russian allies, and enlisted some of the top lawyers and politicians in America to bring him down. Putin will stop at nothing to protect his money. As Freezing Order reveals, it was Browder’s campaign to expose Putin’s corruption that prompted Russia’s intervention in the 2016 US presidential election.

At once a financial caper, an international adventure, and a passionate plea for justice, Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath, is a stirring morality tale about how one man can take on one of the most ruthless villains in the world—and win.

Wednesday, March 02, 2022

The Annotated Godfather (50th Anniversary Edition): The Complete Screenplay, Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts

The Annotated Godfather (50th Anniversary Edition): The Complete Screenplay, Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts. Hardcover – Special Edition.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Godfather, this authorized, annotated and illustrated edition of the complete, unedited screenplay includes all the little-known facts, behind-the-scenes intrigue, and first-person reflections from cast and crew members on the making of this landmark film.

From its ingenious cinematic innovations and memorable, oft-quoted script to its iconic cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, The Godfather is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made. And yet, the history of its making is so colorful, so chaotic, that one cannot help but marvel at the seemingly insurmountable odds it overcame to become a true cinematic masterpiece, and a film that continues to captivate its audience decades after its release.

In this annotated and illustrated edition of the complete original screenplay, nearly every scene is examined and dissected, including:
  • Fascinating commentary on technical details about the filming and shooting locations
  • Tales from the set, including arguments, accidents, and anecdotes
  • Profiles of the actors and stories of how they were cast
  • Deleted scenes that never made the final cut, and the goofs and gaffes that did
  • And much more

Interviews with former Paramount executives, cast and crew members, and and all-new foreword by Francis Ford Coppola, round out the commentary and shed new light on everything you thought you knew about this most influential film. With more than 200 photographs, this a truly unique, collectable keepsake for every Godfather fan.


Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Choices: You Make 'em You Own 'em: The Jerry Tillinghast Story

In a remarkably personal and intimate account, Jerry Tillinghast, one of the most popular characters from the first season of Crimetown, talks about his life and the choices he made in Choices: You Make 'em You Own 'em: The Jerry Tillinghast Story.

Battling alongside his brothers on the streets of Providence. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps,fighting in Vietnam, and becoming a victim of the politics of that war. Returning to Providence an angry young man and his choice to hang with the wiseguys.

The cost of his reputation as a "feared mob enforcer" and the effect on his family. Meeting Raymond L.S. Patriarca, the notorious head of the New England Organized Crime Family and how he came to embrace him as a father figure.

He revals the indisde story of his brushes with the law and the two most infamous cases in Rhode Island history that he is forever linked to: Bonded Vault and the George Basmajian Homicide.

Jerry was found not guilty after the Bonded Vault trial, but his luck ran out with the Benjamin murder. Convicted with Jerry was his brother, Harold Tillinghast. Since the moment of their arrest, Jerry has said just one thing. Harold was not in the car.

Jerry Tillinghast, a featured character of the Crimetown podcast, one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world, tells his life story with honesty and emotion. Setting the record straight after 40 years of silence.

Silent no more...


Monday, February 14, 2022

Tales of a Texas Game Warden by Benny Richards - Former Game Warden with @TexasGameWarden on @LoneStarLawAP #LoneStarLaw

Most Texas game wardens work alone much of the time in very rural out of the way and unnamed places.

It is not uncommon for wardens to find themselves in situations where they are enforcing the law on uncooperative subjects who are armed. They are alone with no other officers in sight for miles. And, at a hidden hunting camp on some secluded ranch at midnight, no one could find them even if backup was available. This is when training, skill, experience, and luck come in. The skills and knowledge they possess, the conditions that they sometimes work under, and the uniqueness of the state they serve makes Texas State Game Wardens an elite group of law enforcement officers. For a quarter century the author, Benny Richards, was proud to be one of those game wardens. These are his stories.

TALES OF A TEXAS GAME WARDEN is an opportunity for a reader to climb aboard and go on patrol with one of Texas' most experienced and well-known game wardens. In the woods and over the water, through daylight and darkness, sometimes deadly serious, sometimes just humorous, this thrilling collection of tales reveals what it is really like to wear the blue badge of a Texas Game Warden.


Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer #BTKConfession

Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer.

In 1974, Dennis Rader stalked and murdered a family of four in Wichita, Kansas. Since adolescence, he had read about serial killers and imagined becoming one. Soon after killing the family, he murdered a young woman and then another, until he had ten victims. He named himself “B.T.K.” (bind, torture, kill) and wrote notes that terrorized the city. He remained on the loose for thirty years. No one who knew him guessed his dark secret. He nearly got away with his crimes, but in 2004, he began to play risky games with the police. He made a mistake.

When he was arrested, Rader’s family, friends, and coworkers were shocked to discover that B.T.K. had been among them, going to work, raising his children, and acting normal. This case stands out both for the brutal treatment of victims and for the ordinary public face that Rader, a church council president, had shown to the outside world. Through jailhouse visits, telephone calls, and written correspondence, Katherine Ramsland worked with Rader himself to analyze the layers of his psyche. Using his drawings, letters, interviews, and Rader’s unique codes, she presents in meticulous detail the childhood roots and development of one man’s motivation to stalk, torture, and kill. She reveals aspects of the dark motivations of this most famous of living serial killers that have never before been revealed. In this book Katherine Ramsland presents an intelligent, original, and rare glimpse into the making of a serial killer and the potential darkness that lives next door.

Wednesday, January 05, 2022

Coming to #Hulu - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Chicago World's Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson @exlarson #Chicago

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death.

“Relentlessly fuses history and entertainment to give this nonfiction book the dramatic effect of a novel .... It doesn’t hurt that this truth is stranger than fiction.” —The New York Times


Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium.

Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, draws the reader into the enchantment of the Guilded Age, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.


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