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Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime
Howard Marks is the most famous drug smuggler of his age, and a
hero to a generation. On his release from one of America's toughest
prisons, Howard made a promise to himself to go straight. No more
drugs, no more smuggling, no more fake passports. He would retire
to a quiet life with his family in the Balearic Islands of Spain.
It didn't quite work out that way. This was the mid-nineties, the
height of the ecstasy and clubbing boom, and Ibiza was at the very
centre of the vortex for the 'E generation'. Pills had taken the
place of marijuana, Paul Oakenfold had replaced The Rolling Stones
as the music of the masses, but some people are just born for life
on the other side of the law. It wasn't long before Howard found
himself trying pure ecstasy and rubbing shoulders with some of the
king-pins of the pill trade. These included some of Britain's most
notorious gangsters, who were laundering millions of pounds of gold
stolen from the legendary Brink's-Mat bullion raid. As Britons
descended on Ibiza ahead of one of the greatest summers of the
nineties, Howard was preparing for his most outrageous operation
yet. Incredibly funny, moving and scabrous, Howard Marks' Mr Smiley
follows a journey to the heartland of the clubbing and British
crime scene. It is also a fitting last word from one of Britain's
best loved bad boys.
Meet the real Line of Duty (TM) undercover team in this previously
untold and gripping story of how a Northern Irish terrorist and
murderer and one of his followers, were caught in an audacious and
brilliantly executed undercover sting on the English mainland,
codenamed, Operation George. In 2006 at Belfast Crown Court,
William James Fulton, a principal in the outlawed Loyalist
Volunteer Force, was jailed for life and sentenced to a minimum of
28 years after the longest trial in Northern Ireland's legal
history. Fulton was an early suspect in the Rosemary Nelson
killing. Following the murder of the prominent human rights lawyer,
he fled to the United States and, with help from the FBI in
collusion with the British police, he was deported. On his arrival
at Heathrow, Fulton 'walked through an open door,' a Lewis
Carrol-like euphemism for an invitation created by the covert team,
only to disappear 'down the rabbit hole' on accepting the
invitation. That 'rabbit hole' led to an alternative world: an
environment created and controlled by the elite covert team and
only inhabited by the undercover officers and their targets. The
subterfuge encouraged the terrorist targets into believing Fulton
was working for a Plymouth-based 'criminal firm' over a period
spanning almost two years. In that time, over fifty thousand hours
of conversations between the 'firm' members were secretly recorded
and used to bring the killer to justice. This unique story is told
by former undercover officer Mark Dickens who was part of an elite
team of undercover detectives who took part in 'Operation George,'
one of the most remarkable covert policing operations the world has
ever known. You won't know him under that name nor the many aliases
he adopted as an undercover police officer infiltrating organised
crime gangs. Together in 'Operation George,' with pioneering
Operation Julie undercover officer and bestselling author, Stephen
Bentley, they have written a gripping account of a unique story
reminiscent of the premise of 'The Sting' film, and the
'Bloodlands' setting, combining a true-crime page-turner with a
fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing. The
publisher wishes to make clear by using the Line of Duty (TM),
there is no implied association with the Line of Duty series nor
World Productions Ltd and the trademark is attributed to World
Productions Ltd.
Meet the real Line of Duty (TM) undercover team in this previously
untold and gripping story of how a Northern Irish terrorist and
murderer and one of his followers, were caught in an audacious and
brilliantly executed undercover sting on the English mainland,
codenamed, Operation George. In 2006 at Belfast Crown Court,
William James Fulton, a principal in the outlawed Loyalist
Volunteer Force, was jailed for life and sentenced to a minimum of
28 years after the longest trial in Northern Ireland's legal
history. Fulton was an early suspect in the Rosemary Nelson
killing. Following the murder of the prominent human rights lawyer,
he fled to the United States and, with help from the FBI in
collusion with the British police, he was deported. On his arrival
at Heathrow, Fulton 'walked through an open door,' a Lewis
Carrol-like euphemism for an invitation created by the covert team,
only to disappear 'down the rabbit hole' on accepting the
invitation. That 'rabbit hole' led to an alternative world: an
environment created and controlled by the elite covert team and
only inhabited by the undercover officers and their targets. The
subterfuge encouraged the terrorist targets into believing Fulton
was working for a Plymouth-based 'criminal firm' over a period
spanning almost two years. In that time, over fifty thousand hours
of conversations between the 'firm' members were secretly recorded
and used to bring the killer to justice. This unique story is told
by former undercover officer Mark Dickens who was part of an elite
team of undercover detectives who took part in 'Operation George,'
one of the most remarkable covert policing operations the world has
ever known. You won't know him under that name nor the many aliases
he adopted as an undercover police officer infiltrating organised
crime gangs. Together in 'Operation George,' with pioneering
Operation Julie undercover officer and bestselling author, Stephen
Bentley, they have written a gripping account of a unique story
reminiscent of the premise of 'The Sting' film, and the
'Bloodlands' setting, combining a true-crime page-turner with a
fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing. The
publisher wishes to make clear by using the Line of Duty (TM),
there is no implied association with the Line of Duty series nor
World Productions Ltd and the trademark is attributed to World
Productions Ltd.
This is a story that is based on truth. Over forty years ago three
young lives were taken. They never had a chance for justice until
now. But what actually had happened is the wrong man has been
convicted of this heinous crime. The real murderer was never tried
or convicted. He walked through life with this lie and got away
with it. How do I know? He was my father. This is a journey inward
to find the disturbing truth about a man that was a mystery to all.
Just before Christmas 1908, Marion Gilchrist, a wealthy 82-year-old spinster, was found bludgeoned to death in her Glasgow home. A valuable diamond brooch was missing, and police soon fastened on a suspect - Oscar Slater, a Jewish immigrant who was rumoured to have a disreputable character. Slater had an alibi, but was nonetheless convicted and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment in the notorious Peterhead Prison.
Seventeen years later, a convict called William Gordon was released from Peterhead. Concealed in a false tooth was a message, addressed to the only man Slater thought could help him - Arthur Conan Doyle. Always a champion of the downtrodden, Conan Doyle turned his formidable talents to freeing Slater, deploying a forensic mind worthy of Sherlock Holmes.
Drawing from original sources including Oscar Slater's prison letters, this is Margalit Fox's vivid and compelling account of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in Scottish history.
Although they account for only ten percent of all murders, those
attributed to women seem especially likely to captivate the public.
This absorbing book examines why that is true and how some women,
literally, get away with murder. Combining compelling storytelling
with insightful observations, the book invites readers to take a
close look at ten high-profile killings committed by American
women. The work exposes the forces that underlie the public's
fascination with female killers and determine why these women so
often become instant celebrities. Cases are paired by motive-love,
money, revenge, self-defense, and psychopathology. Through them,
the authors examine the appeal of women who commit murders and show
how perceptions of their crimes are shaped. The book details both
the crimes and the criminals as it explores how pop culture treats
stereotypes of female murderers in film and print. True crime
aficionados will be fascinated by the minute descriptions of what
happened and why, while pop culture enthusiasts will appreciate the
lens of societal norms through which these cases are examined.
Even among the Mob, the Westies were feared. Out of a partnership
between two sadistic thugs - James Coonan and Mickey Featherstone -
the gang dominated the decaying slice of New York City's West Side
known as Hell's Kitchen in the 1970s and '80s. Excelling in
extortion, numbers running, loansharking and drug-peddling, they
became the most notorious gang in the history of organized crime.
The then prosecutor Rudolf Giuliani called them 'the most savage
organisation in the long history of New York street gangs'. Upping
the ante on brutality and depravity, their speciality when it came
to punishment and killings was dismemberment. Their reign lasted
almost twenty - their end would come as their own violent natures
got the best of them and precipitated a downfall as infamous as
their rise. This revised and updated edition, brings the story of
the Westies up to date with 'where are they now' snapshots of the
men - and women - of the Westies.
"America's best true-crime writer" (Kirkus Reviews) presents an
all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files
and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose
lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences. The inspiration behind
the upcoming Lifetime movie event Desperate Hours. Dr. Anthony
Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher
whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western
New York State suggested a highly successful career. But
appearances can be deceiving-and, for the doctor's wife, very
nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are
plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule. Along with other
shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have
you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional
could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and
self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen
for what it truly is: pure evil.
In February 1983, civil servant Dennis Nilsen was arrested after
body parts were found to be blocking drains at the house where he
lived. As the squad car drove him away, he confessed he had
strangled 15 young men. It wasn't just the crimes that stunned the
police, but the way Nilsen talked. He spoke as if he loved the
young men he killed. His words seemed bizarre. When newspapers
carried stories of how the 37-year-old lured men back to his flat
and why, the nation was shocked by his sheer evil. Yet some
psychiatrists considered him a man of rare, complex, and extreme
psychological problems. Moreover, they had never met a killer who
seemed so keen to understand his own psyche. Whilst on remand in
Brixton Prison, Nilsen filled 55 exercise books with thoughts.
During his subsequent thirty years in prison he has continued to
write, most notably on the first draft of a multi-volume
autobiography. The Home Office has now banned it, calling the work
pornographic and outrageous. Only one journalist has read the book.
Using exclusive access to Nilsen's writing and extensive
independent research, Russ Coffey explains what Nilsen says and how
much of it we can believe. This is a shocking glimpse into the mind
of a killer.
How a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace
of a peace-loving people and led to a new interpretation of the
federal hate crime law. On the night of September 6, 2011, terror
called at the Amish home of the Millers. Answering a late-night
knock from what appeared to be an Amish neighbor, Mrs. Miller
opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and
their spouses. It wasn't a friendly visit. Within moments, the men,
wearing headlamps, had pulled their frightened father out of bed,
pinned him into a chair, and-ignoring his tearful protests-sheared
his hair and beard, leaving him razor-burned and dripping with
blood. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap
from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long
hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the
darkness, taking their parents' hair as a trophy. Four similar
beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and
generating a tsunami of media coverage. While pundits and
late-night talk shows made light of the attacks and poked fun at
the Amish way of life, FBI investigators gathered evidence about
troubling activities in a maverick Amish community near Bergholz,
Ohio-and the volatile behavior of its leader, Bishop Samuel Mullet.
Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and
found guilty a year later of 87 felony charges involving
conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting
decision, all of the defendants, including Bishop Mullet and his
two ministers, were convicted of federal hate crimes. It was the
first time since the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James
Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act that assailants had been
found guilty for religiously motivated hate crimes within the same
faith community. Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the
full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation,
the trial, and the aftermath. In a riveting narrative reminiscent
of a true crime classic, scholar Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark
and troubling story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish
attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent
people, compelling some of them to install locks on their doors and
arm themselves with pepper spray. The country's foremost authority
on Amish society, Kraybill spent six months assisting federal
prosecutors with the case against the Bergholz defendants and
served as an expert witness during the trial. Informed by trial
transcripts and his interviews of ex-Bergholz Amish, relatives of
Bishop Mullet, victims of the attacks, Amish leaders, and the jury
foreman, Renegade Amish delves into the factors that transformed
the Bergholz Amish from a typical Amish community into one
embracing revenge and retaliation. Kraybill gives voice to the
terror and pain experienced by the victims, along with the deep
shame that accompanied their disfigurement-a factor that figured
prominently in the decision to apply the federal hate crime law.
Built on Kraybill's deep knowledge of Amish life and his contacts
within many Amish communities, Renegade Amish highlights one of the
strangest and most publicized sagas in contemporary Amish history.
Virginia (Roberts) Giuffre's all-American childhood came to an
abrupt end by sexual abuse at the age of 7. After her mother exiled
her to a school for troubled youth, she ran away to a life on the
streets. The FBI rescued her when she was 14 from a violent
pedophile and her life seemed to return to normal with a job as spa
attendant at Donald Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago in Florida. It was
there that the teenager was approached by the elegant jet-setter
Ghislaine Maxwell who said her millionaire partner Jeffrey Epstein
would like to sponsor her to become a professional masseuse... This
is the first book to tell Virginia's own extraordinary, tale as an
abused penniless high-school drop-out and how she was able to
outsmart her rich underage-sex predators and forced an end to their
crimes.
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