When author Kevin LaChapelle begins his career as a police officer in El Cajon, California, he fulfills a lifelong dream. But the dream soon turns into a nightmare when he discovers corruption within the ranks of the El Cajon Police Department. Please God, Don't Let My Badge Tarnish is the story of LaChapelle's struggle to work in the department after his shocking discovery. Rather than turn his back on the scandal and save his career, LaChapelle begins a courageous fight to expose the corruption. At the same time, he earns awards for his work in helping young people turn away from gangs and violence. In 1994, at the urging of his fellow citizens, LaChapelle runs for the local school board. Soon he is engaged in a new battle after he uncovers major financial problems in the district and discovers that greedy officials are siphoning money intended to fund school programs. In the wake of these two major battles, LaChapelle founds the Special Investigations Agency, which is dedicated to helping communities nationwide fight corruption in their local government officials and uncover scams against citizens, particularly the elderly and disadvantaged minorities.

When he retired as the chief security officer of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Barelli had spent the better part of forty years responsible not only for one of the richest treasure troves on the planet, but the museum's staff, the millions of visitors, as well as American presidents, royalty, and heads of state from around the world. For the first time, John Barelli shares his experiences of the crimes that occurred on his watch; the investigations that captured thieves and recovered artwork; the lessons he learned and shared with law enforcement professionals in the United States and abroad; the accidents and near misses; and a few mysteries that were sadly never solved. He takes readers behind the scenes at the Met, introduces curators and administrators, walks the empty corridors after hours, and shares what it's like to get the call that an ancient masterpiece has gone missing. The Metropolitan Museum covers twelve acres in the heart of Manhattan and is filled with five thousand years of work by history's great artists known and unknown: Goya, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Warhol, Pollack, Egyptian mummies, Babylonian treasures, Colonial crafts, and Greek vases. John and a small staff of security professionals housed within the Museum were responsible for all of it. Over the years, John helped make the museum the state-of-the-art facility it is today and created a legacy in art security for decades to come. Focusing on six thefts but filled with countless stories that span the late 1970s through the 21st Century, John opens the files on thefts, shows how museum personnel along with local and sometimes Federal Agents opened investigations and more often than not caught the thief. But of ultimate importance was the recovery of the artwork, including Celtic and Egyptian gold, French tapestries, Greek sculpture, and more. At the heart of this book there will always be art-those who love it and those who take it, two groups of people that are far from mutually exclusive.

Hollywood Confidential is the first truly in-depth look at the sexy, humorous, violent, and tragic history of the mob in Hollywood from the 1920s, when Joe Kennedy decided to buy a motion picture company, to the 1980s when the last vestiges of mob influence were revealed through investigations of former Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan and his union backers. The revelations continue into the 1980s when the major studios were no longer important, the independents were on the rise, and it was no longer possible to buy, bribe, or blackmail in a meaningful way. There were deals and bad guys, but the mob as it existed was finished in Hollywood.

Over the last few decades, drug trafficking organizations in Latin America became infamous for their shocking public crimes, from narcoterrorist assaults on the Colombian political system in the 1980s to the more recent wave of beheadings in Mexico. However, while these highly visible forms of public violence dominate headlines, they are neither the most common form of drug violence nor simply the result of brutality. Rather, they stem from structural conditions that vary from country to country and from era to era. In The Politics of Drug Violence, Angelica Duran-Martinez shows how variation in drug violence results from the complex relationship between state power and criminal competition. Drawing on remarkably extensive fieldwork, this book compares five cities that have been home to major trafficking organizations for the past four decades: Cali and Medellin in Colombia, and Ciudad Juarez, Culiacan, and Tijuana in Mexico. She shows that violence escalates when trafficking organizations compete and the state security apparatus is fragmented. However, when the criminal market is monopolized and the state security apparatus cohesive, violence tends to be more hidden and less frequent. The size of drug profits does not determine violence levels, and neither does the degree of state weakness. Rather, the forms and scale of violent crime derive primarily from the interplay between marketplace competition and state cohesiveness. An unprecedentedly rich empirical account of one of the worst problems of our era, the book will reshape our understanding of the forces driving organized criminal violence in Latin America and elsewhere.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENICIO DEL TORO, PRODUCED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIO Cuba, 1961. A failed invasion at The Bay of Pigs results in Fidel Castro tightening his hold over Cuba. Jose Miguel Battle Sr., a former cop and member of the counter-revolutionary group intent on overthrowing him, is captured. Miami, 1962. Jose Miguel Battle Sr. travels to the USA, chased from the island by revolution, and is renamed The Godfather. A 2,500 strong Cuban-American criminal alliance is established. Known on both sides of the law as 'The Corporation', its powerful members were fellow outcasts and enemies of Castro. A hero to many Cuban-Americans, The Godfather created a unit of trusted men who fought alongside him to reclaim their nation from the Marxist dictator. Gaining money, power and inluence by running gambling rackets, money- laundering, drug trafficking and murder, The Corporation never gave up the dream of killing Castro and reclaiming their homeland. This explosive biography reveals how an entire generation of political exiles, refugees, racketeers, corrupt cops, hitmen (and their wives and girlfriends) became caught up in this violent desire, and built a criminal empire surviving over 40 years. An epic tale of gangsters, drugs and violence, learn how The Corporation grew into one of the USA's most sordid and deadly organisations.

In this cold case murder investigation from "a powerful, confident voice in the new true crime memoir genre" (James Renner, author of True Crime Addict), one of America's most notorious sprees is cracked open. With a foreword by Catherine Broad, sister of victim Timothy King, this is a deftly crafted true story set amid the decaying sprawl of Detroit.Four children were abducted and murdered outside of Detroit during the winters of 1976 and 1977, their bodies eventually dumped in snow banks around the city. J. Reuben Appelman was only six years old when the murders began and even evaded an abduction attempt during that same period, fueling a lifelong obsession with what became known as the Oakland County Child Killings. Autopsies showed that the victims had been fed while in captivity, reportedly held with care. And yet, with equal care, their bodies had allegedly been groomed post-mortem, scrubbed-free of evidence that might link to a killer. There were few credible leads, and equally few credible suspects. That's what the cops had passed down to the press, and that's what the city of Detroit, and Appelman, had come to believe. When the abductions mysteriously stopped, a task force operating on one of the largest manhunt budgets in history shut down without an arrest. Although no more murders occurred, Detroit remained haunted. Eerily overlaid upon the author's own decades-old history with violence, The Kill Jar tells the gripping story of Appelman's ten-year investigation into buried leads, apparent police cover-ups, con men, child pornography rings, and high-level corruption saturating Detroit's most notorious serial killer case. "Always deft, often sublime, Appelman uses his investigation to draw us into his personal journey through darkness, to light and life" (Chip Johannessen, producer of Dexter).

In this vivid account, Ron Chepesiuk tells the story of the organised crime in Harlem through in-depth profiles of the major gangs and motley gangsters whose exploits made them legends.

Generally naive about their world, children are thought to be nearly incapable of serious wrongdoing and are rarely suspects in violent crimes. Yet, from the 1960s to the mid-90s, the U.S. saw several waves of juvenile murders that caused widespread public concern. The phenomenon created longstanding debates about the sources or causes of a child killer's mindset. Some blame external triggers like video games, rock music or pornography, while others argue the causes are deeper issues, such as an underdeveloped brain experiencing abuse and neglect. The quest to uncover the causes of these crimes is ongoing, and how the American justice system should handle these young killers remains a controversy. This book assesses ten murder cases in modern American criminal history, examining the minds of the children who perpetrated them. Chapters compile decades of research on the psychology of child murderers in hopes of creating a more coherent understanding of why kids kill.

In the mid-1970s, there were a series of gangland murders, committed by unknown killers, often wielding .22-caliber revolvers. At first these murders seemed unconnected, but law enforcement started noticing links to organized crime and by 1978, federal authorities were involved in the investigations. The FBI compiled a list of 25 gangland figures killed, from potential witnesses and low-level associates, to made men. All shot with a .22 between 1975 and 1978, all from the same batch of guns purchased in Florida, some even the same weapon. The main suspects were members of the East Harlem Purple Gang. Starting on the fringes they quickly became a violent offshoot syndicate of the Mafia, some even became high-ranking members of the Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families. Often serving as freelance hitmen, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, their exploits quickly crossed into mythology. The Purple Gang became an almost obsession with the media. Accounts of the Gang's activities popped up in the newspapers across the country in the late 1970s. They were the shadow army of the underworld and every law enforcement agency's favorite suspect. They were accused of being behind all the major mob hits through the early 1980s and became the ultimate boogeyman in the era of mob upheaval and a flailing New York City mired in crime and financial woes. Digging through the mystery and mythos, Scott Deitche brings the gritty City of the late 1970s and early 1980s back to life in this in-depth account of the Purple Gang, the real members, their operations, and where some of the major players are today.

Everyone is affected by credit card fraud, if they are aware of it or not. Every day there are a variety of ways that scams and fraudsters can get your card and personal information. Today so much business occurs over the Internet or via the phone where no card is present. What can start as a seemingly legitimate purchase can easily turn into fraudulent charges - or worse, sometimes a physical confrontation, when a criminal steals a credit card from a consumer who meets to pick up a product or receive a service. In Preventing Credit Card Fraud, Jen Grondahl Lee and Gini Graham Scott provide a helpful guide to protecting yourself against the threat of credit card fraud. While it may not be possible to protect yourself against all fraudsters, who have turned scamming Internet businesses into an art, these tips and techniques will help you avoid many frauds. As a growing concern in today's world, there is a need to be better informed of what you can do to keep your personal information secure and avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud. Preventing Credit Card Fraud is an important resource for both merchants and consumers engaged in online purchases and sales to defend themselves against fraud.

During the 1990's Boston was a world leader in arts, culture, higher education, and medicine. It was also a world leader in organized crime. In this exciting account, former FBI supervisory special agent David Nadolski tells the story of an unlikely alliance between two diametrically opposed people-the con and the FBI agent. While investigating a break-in at the Stone Library in Quincy, MA that houses the personal book collection of John Quincy Adams, the FBI gets a call from prison inmate, Anthony (Tony) Romano, requesting to meet with the case agent on the burglary. Romano provides a helpful tip that leads to the apprehension of the thief and the recovery of four priceless, historically significant books. Recognizing Tony's potential as an informant, Nadolski begins to cultivate a relationship in hopes of recruiting Romano as a criminal informant. Nadolski recruits Romano to play a very dangerous game-infiltrate the Merlino gang, controlled by Carmello Merlino, a career criminal who specialized in bank robberies, armored car robberies, and home invasions. The Merlino gang also became suspects in the largest art theft in history which took place at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston and remains unsolved to this day. Romano, a former armed robber, agrees. With sights set on the Loomis Fargo Armored Car Company money vault, located south of Boston, the Merlino gang gets to work. Little did they know, Romano, at great personal risk, was a wearing a wire and recording their planning sessions. After two years of being joined at the hip and learning to trust each other unconditionally, special agent Nadolski and Romano run a successful criminal investigation and undercover sting operation to catch four dangerous criminals poised to launch one of the biggest armed robberies of the twentieth century.

This first installment in the New York Times bestselling Crime Files series is a chilling collection of shocking crimes and the ensuing struggles to bring the perpetrators to justice-from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me. Soon to be a Lifetime original movie. The "country's premier true crime author" (Library Journal) brings her clear-eyed, compassionate writing and investigative skills to this unputdownable anthology. Distinguished by the former Seattle police officer's razor-sharp eye for detail and her penetrating analysis of the criminal mind, the featured case in this collection is the twisted story of Randy Roth-a man who married, and murdered, for profit. Following are compelling tales of bloody vengeance, estranged relationships that turn deadly, and fateful encounters. With her trademark "unwavering voice" (Publishers Weekly), Ann Rule exposes the darkness that lurks among us.

When news of Sir Harry Oakes' murder in the Bahamas broke to the world on the morning of July 8,1943, one man was more concerned than most. He was the Duke of Windsor, then Governor of the British colony, whose job it was to ensure that the killer was caught and brought to justice. However, the Duke's actions in the aftermath of the 20th. century's greatest murder mystery raised more questions than answers, and cast doubt on his own intentions in calling in two Miami investigators of dubious worth. Was the Duke a conspirator in a gigantic cover-up? Did he try to excecute an innocent man in an attempt to protect himself and his friends? In this compelling tale, John Marquis presents an alternative view to the one generally accepted in the Bahamas, which is that the Duke was a bungler who mishandled the case. He believes the evidence strongly suggests that the Duke was a plotter with something to hide, and a cruel mission to condemn an innocent man. More than 60 years later, the story retains the power to mesmerise all those with a taste for intrigue in high places at a time when the western world faced its greatest peril. It is an electrifying tale of high society chicanery in a tropical paradise during wartime, with the hangman's noose providing a grusome backdrop. As a murder mystery, Blood and Fire has everything...

Detectives and CSI crews may work for weeks, months, sometimes years searching and piecing together forensic evidence to find the vital clues in solving a crime. With the use of planetary positions, houses, fixed stars and Arabic parts, forensic astrology gives investigators a head-start in discovering valuable information that can hasten crime solving.

In "Forensics by the Stars," author B. D. Salerno, an astrologer for more than twenty years, provides insight into the fascinating world of solving crimes and understanding both natural and manmade disasters by applying astrological science to interpreting event charts and revealing the clues they contain.

Providing interesting insights, "Forensics by the Stars" analyzes the murder of Marilyn Monroe, the Lindbergh kidnapping, several missing persons cases, and a number of natural and manmade disasters. Salerno explains how to interpret the event horoscopes and astrologic charts to help understand the outcome of certain events. Like threads of carpeting, blood spatter, or fingerprints, forensic astrology can reveal an astonishing amount of detail about an event.

When Maximilian Potter went to Burgundy to report for Vanity Fair on a crime that could have destroyed the Domaine de la Romanee Conti-the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive, exquisite wines in the world-he soon found a story that was much larger, and more thrilling, than he had originally imagined. In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the DRC, received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his priceless vines by poison-a crime that in the world of high-end wine is akin to murder-unless he paid a one million euro ransom. Villaine believed it to be a sick joke, but that proved a fatal miscalculation; the crime was committed and shocked this fabled region of France. The sinister story that Potter uncovered would lead to a sting operation by top Paris detectives, the primary suspect's suicide, and a dramatic trial. This botanical crime threatened to destroy the fiercely traditional culture surrounding the world's greatest wine. Like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, SHADOW IN THE VINEYARD takes us deep into a captivating world full of fascinating characters, small town French politics, an unforgettable narrative, and a local culture defined by the twinned veins of excess and vitality and the deep reverent attention to the land that run through it.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, Carl Chinn The Peaky Blinders as we know them, thanks to the hit TV series, are infused with drama and dread. Fashionably dressed, the charismatic but deeply flawed Shelby family have become cult anti-heroes. Well-known social historian, broadcaster and author, Carl Chinn, revealed the true story of the notorious gang in his bestselling Peaky Blinders: The Real Story and now in this follow-up book, he explores the legacy they created in Birmingham and beyond. What happened to them and their gangland rivals? In Peaky Blinders: The Legacy we revisit the world of Billy Kimber's Peaky Blinders, exploring their legacy throughout the 1920s and 30s, and how their burgeoning empires spread across the UK. Delve into the street wars across the country, the impact of the declaration of War on Gangs by the Home Secretary after The Racecourse War in 1921, and how the blackmailing of bookmakers gave way to new and daring opportunities for the likes of Sabini, Alfie Solomon and some new faces in the murky gangland underworld. Drawing on Carl's inimitable research, interviews and original sources, find out just what happened to this incredible cast of characters, revealing the true legacy of the Peaky Blinders.

"A riveting account of what it was like to defend one of the most notorious serial killers in history"-Seattle Post Intelligencer "Sam, could you do me a favor?" Thus begins a story that has now become part of America's true crime hall of fame. It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga-the story of a young lawyer fresh from the Public Defender's Office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation's history. Sam Amirante had just opened his first law practice when he got a phone call from his friend John Wayne Gacy, a well-known and well-liked community figure. Gacy was upset about what he called "police harassment" and asked Amirante for help. With the police following his every move in connection with the disappearance of a local teenager, Gacy eventually gave a drunken, dramatic, early morning confession-to his new lawyer. Gacy was eventually charged with murder and Amirante suddenly became the defense attorney for one of American's most disturbing serial killers. It was his first case. This new edition of John Wayne Gacy, which contains updated material about the case that has come to light since the book's original publication, recounts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.

From an author praised by the Wall Street Journal for his "eye for a good story" comes an account of the Herbert Fuller tragedy of 1896, a tragedy that occurred on the high seas and involved the senseless slaughter of three of the twelve souls on board. Stunned by this act of random violence, and in sure knowledge that one or more of their own was the murderer, the living turn the vessel to shore, 750 miles distant. In the nightmarish days and nights of suspense that follow, first one and then another of the remaining nine is seized by others as the culprit. Upon reaching port, however, all are under suspicion--until the man most likely to have committed the act is, for reasons having to do with race, exonerated and the man most likely to be innocent, prosecuted. At the center of this gripping and gruesome story is the first mate, Thomas Bram, whose subsequent murder trials became as widely followed by the press and public as was the famous trial of Lizzie Borden just a few years before. Unlike the Borden case, remembered today in books, movies, and children's rhymes, the Bram case was almost lost to the collective memory. Fortunately, C. Michael Hiam, in the manner of Erik Larson, now brings it to life.

During his 20-year career as a federal prosecutor, the author worked hundreds of criminal cases, from a botched attempted bank robbery to high profile death penalty cases. In this collection of stories, the author recounts tales of trauma, drama and criminal minds. While many prosecutors might share their reflections on the details and operations of legal proceedings, the author instead focuses this collection on the human aspects of the criminals and their trials. The book ruminates on human nature, contemplating the motivations of the featured criminals and assessing the impact their crimes had on victims, family members and others. Some of the stories are light-hearted and humorous, while others are heartbreaking, but all provide unique and compelling insight into the all too human world of federal crime.