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Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime
When Lynda Lustig met Louie Milito, she was a sixteen-year-old high-school dropout with a taste for adventure and an agonizing childhood. When they were married two years later, he was not yet a "made man" in the powerful Gambino crime family. Louie was a hairdresser who dabbled in petty thievery. But Lynda was so happy to be out of her domineering mother's loveless house. And over the years, she was willing to forgive her husband for anything: his violent rages, his frequent absences, his shady associates, and the blood on his hands. For twenty-four years Lynda Milito remained loyal to this charming and dangerous criminal -- her children's father and close friend of crime boss John Gotti and underboss Sammy "the Bull" Gravano. But in 1988, Louie Milito disappeared, murdered by the very people he had always trusted to protect him. A crime story, a family story, a love story, "Mafia Wife" is the shockingly intimate, brutally honest tale of a survivor -- and of the life she lived in the dark bosom of the underworld.
My friend Sue and I had spent so much time together we felt like sisters. We had made so many plans for our future, as young girls do. We would graduate from school, get married, have a career, children and we would be lifelong friends sharing those moments together. Part of that dream had already come true. Sue was a year older than myself. I went to her graduation and was so proud of her. She had just got an apartment with her boyfriend. I was halfway through my senior year. We went Christmas shopping at the mall. But by January 16, 1980, my friend Sue went missing. When I graduated Sue wasn't there. Then I got my first apartment, still no Sue. I would hear nothing about what happened to Sue for 15 years. Now I will try to fill in the blanks that I have learned over the years. And the surprising shocker after 33 years. Because of the sensitive nature of this book I will be using the pen name Crystal Clary. Since most of the information that I'm sharing with you was unknown to me at the time I decided to write this book in Omniscient: so you as the reader will be able to see all and know all.
The riveting New York Times bestseller by award-winning columnist Howie Carr--now with a stunning new afterword detailing Whitey Bulger's capture. For years their familiar story was of two siblings who took different paths out of South Boston: William "Billy" Bulger, former president of the Massachusetts State Senate; and his brother James "Whitey" Bulger, a vicious criminal who became the FBI's second most-wanted man after Osama Bin Laden. While Billy cavorted with the state's blue bloods to become a powerful political force, Whitey blazed a murderous trail to the top rung of organized crime. Now, in this compelling narrative, Carr uncovers a sinister world of FBI turncoats, alliances between various branches of organized crime, St. Patrick's Day shenanigans, political infighting, and the complex relationship between two brothers who were at one time kings. As the film Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger, hits theaters, take a deeper dive into the story of the Bulgers, and their fifty-year reign over Boston with Howie Carr's The Brother's Bulger.
First published in 1977 in the US and Britain to universal critical acclaim, Hitler's Children quickly became a world-wide best seller, translated into many other languages, including Japanese. It tells the story of the West German terrorists who emerged out of the 'New Left' student protest movement of the late 1960s. With bombs and bullets they started killing in the name of 'peace'. Almost all of them came from prosperous, educated families. They were 'Hitler's children' not only in that they had been born in or immediately after the Nazi period - some of their parents having been members of the Nazi party - but also because they were as fiercely against individual freedom as the Nazis were. Their declared ideology was Communism. They were beneficiaries of both American aid and the West German economic miracle. Despising their immeasurable gifts of prosperity and freedom, they 'identified' themselves with Third World victims of wars, poverty and oppression, whose plight they blamed on 'Western imperialism'. In reality, their terrorist activity was for no better cause than self-expression. Their dreams of leading a revolution were ended when one after another of them died in shoot-outs with the police, or was blown up with his own bomb, or was arrested, tried, and condemned to long terms of imprisonment. All four leaders of the Red Army Faction (dubbed 'the Baader-Meinhof gang' by journalists) committed suicide in prison.
How does a privileged, eighteen year old end up in prison, convicted of one of the rarest of crimes--matricide? The literary nonfiction Stranger to the Truth explores the fatal intersection in the lives of Noura Jackson, her circle of dissolute Memphis friends, and the death of Noura's mother, Jennifer, on the eve of a popular outdoor festival. The brutal attack seemed to reflect personal and exponential rage. Tragedy stalked Noura. Her father was fatally shot when she was seventeen. A mystery never solved. A year later an auto accident claimed her best friend. Both mother and daughter were reeling from shock, grief, and confusion. The tension between them escalated until Noura's difficult teenage years yielded to something much darker. More than a whodunit, this fact-based account tells a spellbinding tale of impetuous youth and a single parent who too late assumes the role of disciplinarian, saying no to the demands of her daughter who will not listen. Weaving multiple points of view, back stories, and extensive research, Stranger to the Truth corrals a timely, complex story in an absorbing narrative. Praise for Stranger to the Truth "In Stranger to the Truth, Ms. Hickman has taken a local tragedy and, with eloquence and empathy, given it universal application. The reader will find not only a gripping story, but also a moving exploration of the shadows that dwell within us all." --Howard Bahr, author of The Black Flower, The Year of Jubilo, and The Judas Field
No reader of this book will be more surprised than was the public by the truly bizarre beliefs and benthic depths of the evil (the Supreme Court s repeated word, evil) encountered in this longest murder investigation in Pennsylvania s history thirteen years. Over fifty state troopers, eighteen FBI agents, and numerous local police departments were involved as this longest investigation began when the naked body of Susan Reinert was found, obviously sexually abused, a strap-on sexual device lying near her corpse. Her body was found stuffed in the tire well of her Plymouth Horizon and left with the liftgate open. A midthirties female, just five feet tall, round hips that resembled a glistening white soccer ball, according to witnesses that passed by the open liftgate, not knowing it was a corpse. Susan Reinert was a teacher in the English department in the elite, upper-middle class, Upper Merion Senior High School, located fifteen miles north of Philadelphia. In that same English department was William Bradfield Jr. a six-foot-three, former Haverford College wrestler from a Main Line family; his father, was the vice president of Western Electric. As the head of the teachers union, Bradfield wielded power that he was not afraid to use to protect his fellow teachers and to sexually exploit those that appealed to him. He developed a small cult of three other teachers in the English department, and an eighteen-year-old beauty, prom-queen type, high school student from one his classes. The cult was called the VAMPZ, Valaitis and Pappas, males, the other three females all three servicing Bradfield every which way a female could. Bradfield was a close friend of the famous poet Ezra Pound from whom he absorbed a weird psychological viewpoint developed by a famous Frenchman, named Remy de Gourmant. After studying corpses, de Gourmont deduced that the brain fluid was related to the semen. Ejaculation of semen produced stimulation of the brain fluid, which produced increased creativity according to de Gourmont Suffice it to say Bradfield, driven to be creative, became very promiscuous, and, with his position as teachers union president, helped many single women and men. Yes, men too, a strap-on works on both sexes. Bradfield, a strapping hunk, was able to and strapped all he could from eighteen to eighty. If they had trouble walking, he d carry them. Susan Reinert tried to stop Bradfield s promiscuity with her required marriage plan plus an inheritance of close to a million dollars, a nice bundle along with her body. He decided to do away with the body and keep Susan Reinert s inheritance, blaming the high school principal, Jay Smith, for Reinert s murder and the murder of her two children. Enter the justice people, Pennsylvania s Attorney General and Pennsylvania State Police detectives. After Susan Reinert s body was found, they also found Bradfield s sexual involvement with Susan Reinert that he tried to deny and to cover up. With all the publicity that surrounded the murders of Reinert and her two children, including New York and California, plus the sex angle and strange sex philosophy, famous cop-books author, Joseph Wambaugh, got interested and came to the King of Prussia-Valley Forge area to write the story called the Main Line Sex Murders by some, the Valley Forge Murders by others. Wambaugh met secretly with the investigators and promised them money, $50,000 plus hero parts, provided they arrested Principal Jay Smith as well as Bradfield for the murders. Without Jay Smith, there would be no story. No book. No movie. No moola. The detectives framed Smith so they could get the money and so the book would be written. The frame-up of Principal Jay Smith was hidden for twelve years. Also hidden was the secret Wambaugh Agreement involving the investigators. At a sensational hearing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the details were thrashed out between Smith s attorney and the attorneys
Their crimes span the globe but one thing unites them: they are sixteen of the twentieth century's most notorious serial killers. In this well-researched volume, find out their motives and what made them tick. Walk the path of investigators who broke cases and listen to the words spoken from the killers mouth. All of them made their communities tremble in fear. They include: ● Johann Otto Hoch, who moved to America from Germany in the 1890s and married a string of women. Instead of being the man of their dreams, he became their worst nightmare. ● Fritz Haarmann, "The Vampire of Hanover," killed dozens of young male vagrants and prostitutes from 1919 to 1924 in Germany. ● Bla Kiss, a Hungarian serial killer, killed young women and tried pickling them in giant metal drums. ● Robert Hansen, who began killing prostitutes in Alaska around 1980. He'd let them flee in the wilderness before hunting them down with a knife and rifle. Learn about these and other serial killers. Find out what motivated them to lead such horrible lives and how they were finally brought to justice in "Depravity: A Narrative of 16 Serial Killers." AUTHOR BIO:
This is a journey into one, who is a gifted son of light. He was born unto life and became man. Saint John and Ian take us on their journey into the pits of Hell. After befriending and earning the love of the Devil, the hierarchy's of Hell delve upon them while Ian deals in and out of the methamphetamine trade. Earning the respect of all the Princes and Dukes of Hell, after beating their King Satan at his own game, Ian becomes the Saint of the Streets. After seeing himself in a trance, Ian earned a new name as Saint John the Immaculate, and takes on a new role, as a possible clandestine agent for the CIA. After filling out an application for a field analyst's position in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he receives a callback, in the spirit. From then on, it's a fight to the End, as all of Hells Army comes against them and America. Ian later finds their defense network and internet forum which may have been dubbed, Operation Myspace. When Ian finds a small weapon of mass destruction in the flesh, he begins to lose his mind as to what he saw and what he experienced. Was it all a possible apocalypse? Or was it a reindeer game that intelligence officials play with one another? There is a lot more to the story at hand, and will come to light in future works. What Ian experienced was very real to him, as he heard and seen it both in the spirit and in the flesh. After growing up on the mean streets of Albuquerque and Southern California, Ian was chosen not only by One, but by many others. From gangsters and syndicates, to devils and Christians. Even the Intelligence community sought after him. For everyone observed what happened in the spirit and now this story must be told. This is the story of Ian and the Triune of Saint John the Immaculate.
'If deaths are not investigated, then the authorities cannot be held to account and democracy is threatened. And if deaths are not investigated, we are not a society that values human life' Inspired from a young age to help the marginalised and voiceless, Leslie Thomas KC has dedicated his career to fighting for the underdog and holding the State to account. This intimate and personal record of some of the most significant, controversial and disturbing legal cases of the last fifty years lays bare the very heart of the law enforcement and judicial process. It's an unforgettable account of an idealistic and outspoken lawyer's coming of age as a Black man in London, and a powerful portrait of the lives of those he has fought for. From the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to the deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd by carbon monoxide poisoning, the Birmingham Pub Bombings and the police shooting of Mark Duggan, Do Right and Fear No One present a blistering argument for a level playing field in the pursuit of justice.
A riveting, decades-in-the-writing memoir from the determined young prosecutor who, in two of America's most celebrated trials, managed to convict famed mob boss John Gotti-and subsequently took down the Mafia altogether. John Gotti was without a doubt the flashiest and most feared Mafioso in American history. He became the boss of the Gambino Crime Family in spectacular fashion-with the brazen and very public murder of Paul Castellano in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan in 1985. Not one to stay below law enforcement's radar, Gotti instead became the first celebrity crime boss. His penchant for eye-catching apparel earned him the nickname "The Dapper Don;" his ability to beat criminal charges led to another: "The Teflon Don." This is the captivating story of Gotti's meteoric rise to power and his equally dramatic downfall. Every step of the way, Gotti's legal adversary-John Gleeson, an Assistant US Attorney in Brooklyn-was watching. When Gotti finally faced two federal racketeering prosecutions, Gleeson prosecuted both. As the junior lawyer in the first case-a bitter seven-month battle that ended in Gotti's acquittal-Gleeson found himself in Gotti's crosshairs, falsely accused of serious crimes by a defense witness Gotti intimidated into committing perjury. Five years later, Gleeson was in charge of the second racketeering investigation and trial. Armed with the FBI's secret recordings of Gotti's conversations with his underboss and consigliere in the apartment above Gotti's Little Italy hangout, Gleeson indicted all three. He "flipped" underboss Sammy the Bull Gravano, killer of nineteen men, who became history's highest-ranking mob turncoat-resulting in Gotti's murder conviction. Gleeson ended not just Gotti's reign, but eventually that of the entire mob. An epic, page-turning courtroom drama, The Gotti Wars is a brilliantly told crime story that illuminates a time in our nation's history when lawyers and mobsters dominated the news, but it's also the story of a tenacious young man, in the glare of the media spotlight, who mastered the art of becoming a great attorney.
Perhaps no other television show captures our innate fascination with crime and criminals better than the original Forensic Files. Examining true crime cases from murders to insurance fraud, hit-and-runs to kidnappings, every case featured on the show is solved in large part with the help of forensic science like DNA evidence. While the original Forensic Files stopped production in 2011 with over 400 original episodes, re-runs now air in 142 countries, not to mention on streaming services, making the show perfect for binge watchers, daunting for new-comers, and as much a mainstay as any program in the history of television. But, most of all, the cases always leave viewers wanting to know more. In Forensic Files Now, author Rebecca Reisner shares her own gripping retellings of 40 favorite cases profiled on the show along with fascinating updates adapted from her popular blog, ForensicFilesNow.com. From classic cases like the Harvard-educated architect who opted for arsenic instead of divorce, to the Texas lovebirds who robbed a grave in an insurance fraud plot that made international headlines, the Ohio doctor who attempted a fresh start by burying his wife in the basement of their house, and some cases that are so captivating that they have sparked spinoff mini-series of their own, readers will be enthralled by these vivid recaps and detailed updates. Also featuring an in-depth interview with Forensic Files creator Paul Dowling and a profile on the show's beloved narrator, Peter Thomas, Forensic Files Now is a must-read for diehard Forensic Files fans and a welcome find for true crime readers who are always looking for more riveting and well-told stories.
'Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go' - Emilia Fox 'With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of Criminology Professor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK's youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath. Some of these men became David's friends; others would still love to kill him. My Life with Murderers tells the story of David's journey from idealistic prison governor to expert criminologist and professor. With experience unlike any other, David's story is a fascinating and compelling study of human nature.
What goes through the mind of a killer when they commit murder? Based on the massively successful Netflix documentary series of the same name, this book features ten of the most compelling cases from the first two series and is full of exclusive never-seen-before material. The authors, Ned Parker and Danny Tipping secured exceptional access to high-security prisons across America. The majority of the killers will die in prison - either by serving their sentence of life without parole or they are on Death Row, waiting to be executed. In each of the cases the inmate speaks openly about themselves and reflects on their life and their crimes. To gain a complete picture of the impact of the murders the authors spoke to both the families of both the perpetrators and the victims, and those in law enforcement who were involved in the case, leaving it up to the reader to make up their own mind about the killers and their crimes. The book draws on handwritten letters from the inmates and full transcripts of the interviews to tell each story, and features exclusive material including personal pictures, crime scene images, and original police and court documents, this is a fascinating and detailed look at some of America's most gripping murder cases. |
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