“All Against The Law”
Subjects
This book tells the remarkable true stories of America’s most infamous Public-Enemy-Number-1 gangsters. Based on exhaustive documented research, Bill Friedman chronicles the true history of illegal gambling, rumrunning, organized crime, and the politics of law enforcement during the Prohibition era.
Based on crime-scene eyewitness accounts, state’s witnesses harborers’ accounts, and historical records, Friedman paints exciting portraits of John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson and other luminaries of the underworld—and documents how surprisingly different that world was from the way Hollywood portrays it. Like great literary characters, history’s gangsters and bank robbers were complex and fraught with contradiction.
Captivating tales of criminal daring are balanced with shocking political exposés revealing how complicity and incompetence hindered the effectiveness of law enforcement. Written in fast-moving prose that’s sure to entertain, "All Against The Law" is a must-read for anyone who loves classic American ‘cops and robbers’ stories. Friedman’s historical accounts are as exciting and dramatic as any genre fiction, while ringing with the power of truth and authenticity.
As explained in the following Synopsis page, a number of closely related subjects are also presented. To stop these vicious bank-robbing killers, J. Edgar Hoover was appointed the FBI Director. A librarian with no background in law enforcement, his early attempts to catch these Public Enemies Number 1 are a far cry from the professionalism of today’s highly-trained agents.
This photo shows John Dillinger’s wanted poster, and the scene in front of Chicago’s Biograph Theater shortly after the FBI shot the unarmed Dillinger in the back of the head without warning.
The careers of the first five Kansas City Mafia leaders are presented in order to finally solve who was behind the most shocking crime of that era, the Kansas City Massacre, in which four lawmen were slaughtered. It was the Kansas City Mafia that would later arrange the financing for several Las Vegas Strip resorts. This book concludes with the bitter infighting by President Truman in the White House with the Kansas City Mafia Chief, who led a large Democratic voting district.
© Bill Friedman, 2015
