Product Description
This companion volume to 'The Most Evil books' series contains in-depth profiles of 15 infamous gangsters including Al Capone and John Gotti. The book provides insights into some of the most cold-blooded, murderous acts of all time, as well as providing a study of 'the Mob'.
From the Publisher
Profiles include: Al Capone, John Gotti, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Joseph Bannano, Vito Genovese, 'Lucky' Luciano, Frank Costello, Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, Sam 'Momo' Giancana, Dean O'Banion, Dutch Schultz, Meyer 'Little Man' Lansky, George Moran and Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano.
From the Inside Flap
During the 1920s and 1930s, US cities such as New York and Chicago were at the mercy of bands of mobsters - violent criminlas affiliated to organized-crime rings who made illegal fortunes from gambling, prostitution, contract killings, abortions, labour union kickbacks, protection rackets, bribery, corruption and, during the Prohibition era, bootlegging. While the Italian Mafia was the largest and the most powerful, other ethnic groups had similar organiaztions, most notably the Jews and the Irish. Mobsters belonged to a hierachical structure organized like a corporation, hence the name 'syndicate'. The Chicago syndicate was the country's largest and most powerful organized-crime operation, although no one city was ever run by just one group and the different gangs often clashed violently in viscious territorial 'turf wars'. While the business interests and tactics have changed over the years, many of the organizations established in the gangsters' heyday prior to the Second World War still live on today under other names.
From the Back Cover
A fascinating study of fifteen of America's 'most wanted' mobsters.
Al Capone - the man who boasted, 'I own the police'
John Gotti - the 'Teflon Don'
Carlo Gambino - traditional Mafia Family boss
Paul Castellano - the 'respectable' businessman trading in murder
Joseph Bonanno - feared and respected throughout the underworld
Vito Genovese - the narcotics king
Lucky Luciano - founder of the American national crime syndicate
Frank Costello - the man with politicians in his pocket
Bugsy Siegel - a one-man crime wave
Sam Giancana - the most ruthless boss in organized crime
Dean O'Banion - Al Capone's toughest competitor
Dutch Schultz - the Bronx 'Beer Baron'
Meyer Lansky - proclaimed the Syndicate 'bigger than US Steel'
George Moran - the murderous joker
Sammy Gravano - hitman turned supergrass
About the Author
Lauren Carter is a freelance editor, journalist and author. She has had a number of books published and carries out her writing and research from her home in Cornwall, England.
