In 1819, a young man outwitted death at the hands of John and Lavinia Fisher and sparked the hunt for Charleston's most notorious serial killers. Former homicide investigator Bruce Orr follows the story of the Fishers, from the initial police raid on their Six Mile Inn with its reportedly grisly cellar to the murderous couple's incarceration and execution at the squalid Old City Jail. Yet there still may be more sinister deeds left unpunished an overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials and documents only recently come to light all suggest that there is more to the tale. Orr uncovers the mysteries and debunks the myths behind the infamous legend of the nation's first convicted female serial killer.

A three-year-old boy dies, having apparently fallen while trying to reach a bag of sugar on a high shelf. His grandmother stands accused of second-degree murder. Psychologist Susan Nordin Vinocour agrees to evaluate the defendant, to determine whether the impoverished and mentally ill woman is competent to stand trial. Vinocour soon finds herself pulled headlong into a series of difficult questions, beginning with: was the defendant legally insane on the night in question? As she wades deeper into the story, Vinocour traces the legal definition of insanity back nearly two hundred years, when our understanding of the human mind was in its infancy. "Competency" and "insanity", she explains, are creatures of legal definition, not psychiatric reality, and in criminal law, "insanity" has become a luxury of the rich and white. With passion, clarity, and heart, Vinocour examines the troubling intersection of mental health issues and the law.

Bruce McNall became obsessed with coin collecting at the age of 10. At 16, his collection was worth $60,000. During college, he traveled the world buying coins stolen from ancient sites and tombs. McNall's first major sale was to Sy Weintraub, the head of Panavision, who bought $500,000 worth of coins in one sitting. Soon, McNall branched out into horse racing, movie making (The Fabulous Baker Boys), and owning the L.A. Kings hockey team.

AS FAR AS FITTING THE STEREOTYPES bestowed to infamous chain-link murderers that exist outside African American culture, there was a time when black serial killers were recognized, to some extent, implausible by purported experts who probably cared not to explore the primary nature of the slayers' transgressions. Nevertheless, the obscured story of handyman Morris Solomon Jr. has to be one of the most interesting tales untold as it is one of the most horrific yarns in the annals of American crime. The handyman's misdeeds, when briefly brought to the public's attention, virtually reminded society that killers continuously come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Solomon was convicted of killing six young women, ages 16 to 29, in the Sacramento, California, neighborhood of Oak Park between 1986 and 1987. The handyman's grisly method of murder left detectives and medical examiners mystified. The identification process of his victims' remains was distinctly a laborious assignment, too. The victims -drug addicts, prostitutes, and devout mothers - were stuffed in closets, hidden under debris, and arguably, one court judge strongly considers, buried alive. In retrospect, the handyman was first accused of murder in the mid-1970s; and authorities suspect him to be linked to four more homicides in Sacramento. Solomon - once declared as a "Mentally Disordered Sex Offender"- is now on death row in Northern California's San Quentin State Prison awaiting execution. The unassuming handyman's 18-year reign of terror includes a record of sexual assaults, attempted kidnappings, and separate despicable sex acts performed strictly for humiliation. In The Homicidal Handyman of Oak Park: Morris Solomon Jr., author and journalist Tony Ray Harvey recounts the black serial killer's dysfunctional upbringing, atrocious crimes, and hardly noticeable court trial. Harvey's book also provides explicit crime scene photos, the history of the death penalty system in the state of California, the city of Sacramento's drug culture in the mid-1980s, and exclusive prison interviews of the mild-mannered handyman.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY A brilliant police officer and a brilliant killer are at odds as the bodies pile up in Vanderburgh, and Posey County in Indiana, and also in Kentucky's HendersonCounty. You can get in the minds of both men and feel the frustration as they play cat and mouse throughout the Christmas season of 1954 and into April of 1955. Watch the killer as he is caught, tried, sentenced to die, and escapes from an escape proof jail. He runs to California and the FBI gets involvedand joins the chase. It's a chase to be remembered. Endorsements"I have truly enjoyed reading this book Being from Evansville Indianaand presently living and working in Posey County Indiana, I am familiarwith the locations, victims, and their families that were involved in thistragic story. I highly recommend this book It is accurate in its details, and interesting in its content. "Chief Deputy Sheriff Mike Alexander, Posey County, Indiana"Research has clearly been done on this work. It is a very interesting read, and will hold your attention throughout. I am certain you will appreciate the unique presentation as did I." Larry A. Dever, Sheriff, Cochise County Arizona"This book is a great read I really enjoyed it Ithought it read like a movie script, and should bemade into a movie." Judge David Morales, Cochise County, Arizona.

Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually positively identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken - but Jennifer's positive identification was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars.

After eleven years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released, after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed. Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face to face - and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives.

In their own words, Jennifer and Ronald unfold the harrowing details of their tragedy, and challenge our ideas of memory and judgment while demonstrating the profound nature of human grace and the healing power of forgiveness.

Henriques of "The New York Times" has written the definitive book on Madoff and his scheme, drawing on unprecedented access and more than 100 interviews, including Madoff's first interviews for publication since his arrest.

"Since as early as the 1700s, New Orleans has been a city filled with sin and vice. Those first pioneering citizens of the Big Easy were thieves, vagabonds and criminals of all kinds. By the time Louisiana fell under American control, New Orleans had become a city of debauchery and corruption camouflaged by decadence. It was also considered one of the country's most dangerious cities, with a reputation of crime and loose morals. Rampant gambling and prostitution were the norm in nineteenth-century New Orleans, and over one-third of today's French Quarter was considered a hotbed of sin. Tales in this volume of streets of the Crescent City in the early 1900s and Kate Townsend, a prositute who was murdered by her own lover, a man who later wass awarde her inheritance. Troy Taylor takes a look back at New Orleans's early wicked days and historic crimes" --Back cover.

Everyone knows stories about the American Mafia and its varied forms of crime, from racketeering to stock manipulation to murder. "American Mafia: Chicago" explores the Windy City, strolling through its neighborhoods and imagining scenes from the past--telling the stories of the men, women, and families and revealing the events behind the legends and the history of the families' beginnings and founding members. Featuring the most fascinating stories from the early days, when loosely-organized, incredibly secretive gangs terrorized neighborhoods with names like Little Hell, through the mob's headiest years, when Al Capone and his men pretty well controlled the city, "American Mafia: Chicago "offers tantalizing glimpses into the era when Chicago was ruled by gangs with their ever-twisting allegiances and tangled webs of relationships.Most of the buildings are gone now.But the stories are still there, if you know where to look.

Shows the reality behind the movie The Gangs of New York In the decades before the Civil War, the miserable living conditions of New York City's lower east side nurtured the gangs of New York. This book tells the story of the Bowery Boys, one gang that emerged as part urban legend and part street fighters for the city's legions of young workers. Poverty and despair led to a gang culture that was easily politicized, especially under the leadership of Mike Walsh who led a distinct faction of the Bowery Boys that engaged in the violent, almost anarchic, politics of the city during the 1840s and 1850s. Amid the toppled ballot boxes and battles for supremacy on the streets, many New Yorkers feared Walsh's gang was at the frontline of a European-style revolution. A radical and immensely popular voice in antebellum New York, Walsh spoke in the unvarnished language of class conflict. Walsh was an original, wildly unstable character who directed his aptly named Spartan Band against the economic and political elite of New York City and New England. As a labour organizer, state legislator, and even U.S. the right to strike, free land for settlers on the American frontier, against child labour, and to restore dignity to the city's growing number of industrial workers. * Brings to life a colourful era in American history and politics * Shows the reality behind the movie The Gangs of New York * Provides an insight into class and labour history

The true identity of the psychotic ZODIAC killer has been known by the Mandamus Seven (group of retired law enforcement officers, federal agents, a minister, and a District Attorney) since March 15, 1971. This true story is now being told for the very first time. Official corruption and political intervention forced the investigation into a top-secret, covert status, giving the insane ZODIAC killer immunity and a license to kill. Of the over 2,500 suspects cleared by the local authorities and the Department of Justice, this man is the only suspect who had the uncontrollable and powerful motive adultery Mind and body ravaged by years of severe alcoholism, his blood-lusting revenge turned him into the most shocking and vicious killer in our 20th century. Through his tauntings of the police, his codes, ciphers, and letters, he was on a mission to redeem his shattered ego, to prove that he is better, smarter, and more clever than all the judges and police put together. With lordly arrogance and jealousy, and with the assistance of the police, he continued his killing spree until he claimed a total of 37 victims. Lips sealed by secret oaths and federal obstructions of justice, the investigation was further impeded by personal associations with the suspect and his tenacious, intrepid wife, placing family members in imminent danger. The evidence is overwhelming and given the totality of the facts, it is the author 's opinion that there is no jury in the world that would not find the suspect guilty of being the criminal genius, ZODIAC. Author 's Bio: Lyndon E. Lafferty is an passionate outdoorsman who hiked to the top of Mt. Lassen three times and once to the top of Mt. Fujiyama, Japan during the Korean War. He also made two attempts each to climb Mt. Shasta and Mt. Whitney. Lyndon holds a U.S. patent and two patents pending. He loves to write and is currently working on two more novels. Lyndon has an excellent record with the California Highway Patrol with many commendations devoting 27 years to law enforcement. He is best known for crushing the hood and top of a patrol car as he and fellow officers used it as a platform to rescue 38 injured and trapped passengers on a commercial bus in November 1976. Inheriting the Zodiac investigation has been both a blessing and a curse. Bound by oaths of secrecy to a highly respected homicide detective, his lips were sealed until the death of the detective in 1977.

It was a crime that shocked the nation: the brutal murder in Chicago in 1924 of a child by two wealthy college students who killed solely for the thrill of the experience. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were intellectuals--too smart, they believed, for the police to catch them. When they were apprehended, state's attorney Robert Crowe was certain that no defense could save the ruthless killers from the gallows. But the families of the confessed murderers hired Clarence Darrow, entrusting the lives of their sons to the most famous lawyer in America in what would be one of the most sensational criminal trials in the history of American justice.

Set against the backdrop of the 1920s--a time of prosperity, self-indulgence, and hedonistic excess in a lawless city on the brink of anarchy--For the Thrill of It draws the reader into a world of speakeasies and flappers, of gangsters and gin parties, with a spellbinding narrative of Jazz Age murder and mystery.

Paul Alexander had it all. He was a war hero in Israel, a man with a $100 million dollar fortune with operations in Brasil, the US and Monte Carlo. He collected $1 million a year from the CIA. All of that money was not enough! He helped to smuggle over $9 billion worth of cocaine into the USA and Australia. He almost became a billionaire before he was 35. His greed destroyed him.

The Federal Trade Commission's yearly report for 2007 stated that over 30 million people in the United States were victimized by some type of fraudulent crime. Over 9 million people saw their personal identities stolen and used by a fraud perpetrator. Millions of others---including businesses---saw their financial accounts compromised by a fraud perpetrator. Strictly speaking, fraud is big business. Are you one of its customers?

Everyone is vulnerable to some type of fraudulent crime, but you can take the steps necessary to avoid becoming a victim. Based on actual events, cases, and investigations, "Stealing You Blind," describes numerous fraudulent criminal activities taking place today in the United States and throughout the rest of the world, and offers you important tips and advice on how to reduce your susceptibility to such crimes.

Drawing upon years of experience as a fraud detective, K.A. Farner reveals some key components of many fraud schemes. The crimes discussed include: Identity theft Internet loan scams Credit card theft Internet auction scams Check fraud And much more Remember: knowledge is power Arm yourself with the facts and minimize your chances of falling for one of these crimes with "Stealing You Blind."

AUTHOR BIO
Detective K.A. Farner is a retired Atlanta Police Department fraud detective and a former member of the United States Secret Service Organized Fraud Task Force. He has participated in joint investigations with the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigations, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Postal Inspections, and the United States Secret Service.

A TIME TO BETRAY
This exhilarating, award-winning memoir of a secret double life reveals the heart-wrenching story of a man who spied for the American government in the ranks of the notorious Revolutionary Guards of Iran, risking everything by betraying his homeland in order to save it.
Reza Kahlili grew up in Tehran surrounded by his close-knit family and friends. But the enlightened Iran of his youth vanished forever, as Reza discovered upon returning home from studying computer science in the United States, when the revolution of 1979 ushered in Ayatollah Khomeini's dark age of religious fundamentalism. Clinging to the hope of a Persian Renaissance, Reza joined the Ayatollah's elite Revolutionary Guards. As Khomeini's tyrannies unfolded, as fellow countrymen turned on each other, and after the deeply personal horrors he witnessed firsthand inside Evin Prison, a shattered and disillusioned Reza returned to America to dangerously become "Wally," a spy for the CIA.
In "A Time to Betray," Reza not only relates his razor's-edge, undercover existence from moment to heart-pounding moment as he supplies vital information from the Iran-Iraq War, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the Iran-Contra affair, and more; he also documents a chain of incredible events that culminates in a nation's fight for freedom that continues to this very day, making this a timely and vital perspective on the future of Iran and the fate of the world.