The first edition of my new series "Public Enemies - Gangster Stories from the Roaring Twenties" is available now on Amazon Kindle here
Public Enemies – True Crime Gangster Stories from the Roaring Twenties
From the era of gangsters, molls and prohibition, almost (but not
quite), lost in the mists of time, these tales romp along with plenty of
action and recreate the atmosphere of this exciting and dangerous era
using the vernacular of the times.
You’ll have heard of most of these notorious criminals, but possibly
not so much about one or two of them. All of them were real, ruthless
hoodlums, and all had their "15 minutes of fame", leaving trails of
death and mayhem behind them. Most did not live to an old age, and
those that did were probably in jail.
Their escapades were daring and reckless and many paid the ultimate price in the end.
• Lucky Luciano –From Streetwise Kid to the Father of Organized Crime
Leaving poverty ravaged Sicily for New York with his family at the
age of 10; Lucky was running his own protection racket and making a name
for himself whilst still in his teens. Inevitably, he moved on to
become the undisputed boss of organized crime in the USA, but it was his
own ‘family’s’ involvement in prostitution which landed him a jail
sentence of 30 to 50 years. It didn’t end there however as he continued
to run the family affairs from prison where Lady Luck visited him with
an offer he couldn’t refuse.
• Bugsy Siegel and “The Flamingo Hotel”
Through his gambling and bootlegging operations, plus numerous
ruthless contract murders, Bugsy Siegel established himself as a key
member of “The Syndicate” in New York. Relocating to Las Vegas with the
blessing of Lucky Luciano in 1945 to expand the organizations
activities, he built the famous Flamingo Club and Casino in the desert
of Las Vegas using money provided by the East Coast mobsters. The
hopelessly mismanaged project went way over budget, implicating Bugsy in
the ‘misappropriation’ of funds and enraging his bosses – Bugsy’s day
were numbered.
• Dutch Schultz – Beer Baron and Vicious Killer
From the slums of New York, Dutch Schultz rose through the ranks of
crime to be named “the nation’s top gangster” by the FBI. Claiming to
be a good guy simply supplying people with the beer they wanted,
(illegally of course), he was also responsible for killing at least two
of his own men he suspected of ‘skimming’ more of the proceeds than was
due to them.
• Hymies Weiss - The Man Al Capone Feared
Earl Wojciechowski was born on Jan 25th 1898 in Chicago, but over
time became known as Hymie Weiss, eventually teaming up with Dean
O'Banion the leader of the North Side Gang who he succeeded after his
murder in 1924. Hymie swore to avenge his friends death and waged wore
on the Torrio-Capone criminal empire, even attempting to assassinate
Capone himself. Violent gun battles on the streets of Chicago were
regular occurrences during this period as the gangs fought for control
of the lucrative bootlegging and other rackets - things had to come to a
head sooner or later.
• Wilbur Underhill – The Tri-State Terror
It took a 24 man task force to bring down Mad Dog Wilbur Underhill
in the end. During 12 years of rampaging through the Southwest he was
sentenced to life for a murder in Oklahoma, and received another life
sentence in Kansas after escaping jail in a ten man breakout and
murdering a policeman. Suspected of involvement in the famous Kansas
City Massacre, Wilbur began his life of crime as a burglar, and quickly
moved on to armed robbery and murder.
