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.

A vain man of good looks, small means, and no family links to the mob, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano steadily worked his way up to acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, becoming its leader when official boss Joseph Massino went to the clink in 2003. But at a time when the Mob was crawling with secret operatives and informants caving to government pressure to flip, Basciano obeyed the code of La Cosa Nostra. "I got faith in one guy," he told a group of mobsters during a secretly taped meeting. That man was Joseph Massino, head of the Bonanno borgata. But for all his loyalty, Basciano was still a hot-headed, cold-blooded killer, which led to his arrest. Then, in a remarkable betrayal that shook the Five Families to their foundation, Massino secretly cooperated with the FBI--the first official boss""ever to roll over. As a result, Basciano faced the death penalty, but a federal jury, disturbed by the prosecution's use of criminal informants, reached a surprising verdict. Veteran crime author Anthony M. DeStefano tells the riveting story of the last true believer in the Mob's cult of brotherhood and how he was betrayed by the only man he ever trusted.

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.

The dead talk. To the right listener, they tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died - and who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help justice to be done using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene or the faintest of human traces. Forensics draws on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research and Val McDermid's own experience to lay bare the secrets of this fascinating science. And, along the way, she wonders at how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine time of death, how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist uncovered the victims of a genocide. In her novels, McDermid has been solving complex crimes and confronting unimaginable evil for years. Now, she's looking at the people who do it for real. It's a journey that will take her to war zones, fire scenes and autopsy suites, and bring her into contact with extraordinary bravery and wickedness, as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.

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.

Jamaican dons see themselves as leaders, protectors, and nearly God-like figures. They see themselves as bigger than even the Prime Minister; with the resources they have, they are not afraid of anyone. In "The Making of a Jamaican Don," author Clifton Cameron tells the story of these Jamaican dons-their history, and the role they play in the governing of the Caribbean country.

This story is told through the eyes of Spanner and Trinity, two youths from rural Jamaica who leave their homes in Kitson Town and travel to Kingston for a better life. But here, their lives change in ways they could not have imagined. They find themselves embroiled in politics and the world of donship, eventually spending time in Jamaica's notorious General Penitentiary Prison.

A true account of tragedy and death, "The Making of a Jamaican Don" highlights the links between dons, guns, drugs, police, politicians, public officials, and corruption.

After barely making it through Rutgers Law School, George Baxter practiced law from his 1975 Oldsmobile, bouncing from court to court taking per diem work from any lawyer who would give it to him. Then he met Bill Snyder who desperately needed a lawyer because he'd been infected with AIDS from a transfusion he received during heart surgery. Racing against time and poorly financed, George began a six-year legal battle against the billion-dollar-a-year blood industry that infected his client- as well as 29,000 other people - with AIDS. EVERY LAST DROP is written in the first person as the plaintiff's lawyer in the landmark trial Snyder v. American Association of Blood Banks. The trial exposed how the United States blood industry disseminated false information, hyjacked the FDA, and conspired to delay AIDS testing to save money, which resulted in the most devastating public health disaster in U.S. history. George's personal struggle surfaces throughout this narrative, alongside the stories of patients who suffered from AIDS but fought to stay alive for their exhausting trials. The case fueled a congressional investigation into dangerous blood industry practices and Federal Food And Drug Administration conflicts of interest that allowed this to happen. EVERY LAST DROP has a David and Goliath paradigm that centers on the universal themes of persistence, friendship, and the importance of trust over money, especially in the wake of a disaster. Dr. Donald P. Francis, formerly with the Centers for Disease Control AIDS Task Force and Dr. Marcus Conant, two of the country's leading Public health and AIDS experts, have written the introductions.

Bestselling true-crime author M. William Phelps, star of the new investigative television series "Dark Minds," takes readers to his own backyard in these eight bloodcurdling murder cases. Think New England is all bucolic landscapes and Robert Frost poems? Think again. In Murder, New England, Phelps explores different motives, themes, and community reactions to horrific crimes: ** Murder by Blood: The Strange Death of Rebecca Cornwell (1673, Narragansset Bay, RI). A 73-year-old widow burned to death in front of her bedroom fireplace...** William Beadle: Husband, Father, Murderer (1782, Wethersfield, CT). A man murders his wife and kids before taking his own life... ** The Angry Man: Murder in Manchester (1821, Manchester, NH). A poor widow killed in her home by a "ruffian" looking for food and drink...** Better Off in Heaven: John Kemmler Kills His Three Children (1879, Holyoke, MA). After losing his mill job, a man kills his daughters because he fears they will become prostitutes... ** Birth of the "Big Seven": Gaspare Messina's Mafioso (1917, Boston). An ol' fashioned Mafia murder tale...** Electronic Kill Machine: "Forensic Files" Murder (2001, Somerville, MA). Teenage slackers, the show "Forensic Files," and the murder of a grandmother blamed on TV, youth, drugs, sex, money, and rock-n-roll...** Sings of Life (2006, Lanesborough, MA). A woman employs the help of her cocaine-snorting daughter and Goth son to help her get rid of their step-father.** Sesame Street Murder: Death on Big Bird's Estate (2008, Woodstock, CT). A young woman out for a jog murdered by the groundskeeper of an estate owned by the puppeteer who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. [Page Two of spread] A chilling scene unfolds on the Woodstock, Connecticut, estate of the Sesame Street puppeteer who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch: Near the end of the access road was a picnic area with a large pagoda-like structure topped by an A-framed roof. Two paddle boats were stored under the ceiling of the open-air building. The pagoda had that sacred, spiritual look one would expect of a place to relax and meditate. Here was a haven separated from the main living space where one could retreat and disconnect from the world. What upset the serenity of the scene was the trail of blood. It lead from the roadway directly to the pagoda-and yet stopped in the center of the ground under the ceiling. The paddle boats, investigators noticed, had blood spatter and smudge marks on them. But what did it mean that the trail of blood just stopped? As they continued to search, troopers looked above them and spied a set of pull-down stairs. There was a storage area or attic within the pagoda's A-frame. The blood trail had stopped directly beneath the pull-down stairs.

Amidst the turbulence and gaiety existing in American society during the last decade of the 20th century, the paths of two young men and a young woman merge. Each is inexorably drawn to a midnight rendezvous on a lonely road in northern Kentucky, and ghastly and fatal consequences result.

In November of 1982, Katherine Ann Longo's life changed forever. Her daughter disappeared. It was a mother's worst nightmare. When the authorities failed to solve the case, Kathy didn't take "we don't know" for an answer. She began her own investigation. In her opinion, she gathered strong supporting evidence that pointed to a viable suspect for the police. But even with what Kathy considered to be proof, the authorities refused to cooperate. The person she deemed responsible for her daughter's disappearance went unquestioned. Even after she supplied them with photographic evidence, she couldn't get anyone to listen to her. What she was forced to endure in the course of her own personal investigation is chilling. Kathy was jailed, fired, and threatened. She was faced with sexual blackmail by those in authority, just for trying to get them to do their jobs. Hers was a terrifying descent into a world of deceit, pornography, child trafficking, and suicide. And for her efforts, she received a trip negotiated by the FBI into a state penitentiary. Her family was threatened, her friends were harassed, and a newscaster actually lost his job for airing her story on TV. Police officials didn't appreciate the bad publicity they received and actively tried to discredit Kathy. But throughout this entire nightmarish event, the residents of Tampa, Florida, assisted Kathy in every possible way imaginable. This book is her thank-you to those people who didn't give up on her-or Jennifer.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COP AND KEVIN MAHER? KEVIN DOESN'T HAVE A BADGE. AND HE DOESN'T PLAY BY THE RULES.
"Cop Without a Badge" tracks confidential informant Kevin Maher as he helps the NYPD, the FBI, and many other law enforcement agencies solve cases that range from robbery to extortion to homicide. In the process, Kevin becomes the highest paid CI the DEA ever had.
But Kevin's motives are more complicated than simply money. Having been arrested for Grand Theft Auto at the age of sixteen, his felony conviction prevents him from being what he always wanted to be: a police officer. So now he's out to prove to himself he truly is what he could've been. A cop. Even without a badge.