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Books > Fiction > True stories
During his first few days as a rookie New Jersey State Trooper,
Justin Hopson witnessed an unlawful arrest made by his training
officer. When he refused to testify in support the illegal arrest,
his life veered into a dangerous journey of hazing and harassment.
He uncovered evidence of a secret society within the State Police
known as the "Lords of Discipline," whose mission it was to keep
fellow troopers in line. Trooper Hopson blew the whistle on the
Lords of Discipline, which sparked the largest internal
investigation in State Police history.
This book is a story of fear, courage, and integrity, showing
how Justin Hopson persisted with his mission of exposing police
corruption. Through many unexpected twists of fate, Hopson tells
his story with a strong message that one committed individual can
make a successful stand against social forces of fear and
intimidation.
This is the first detailed study of how Bernard L. Madoff and his
accomplices perpetrated a Ponzi scheme of epic proportions-what has
been referred to as the "con of the century." In December 2008,
Bernard L. Madoff was arrested for perpetrating a protracted Ponzi
scheme of inconceivably huge proportions that defrauded clients of
his securities company of nearly $20 billion-and was consequently
sentenced to 150 years in jail. How did Madoff pull this off for
years, even returning some or all of clients' money when they
asked, while in actuality was financing the lavish lifestyles of
himself, his family, and his accomplices with the stolen funds? And
why didn't anyone in the highly regulated investment industry catch
on sooner? Bernard Madoff and His Accomplices: Anatomy of a Con
examines Bernard L. Madoff's unprecedented confidence game (con
game), drawing back the curtain on what actually went on at his
investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and
exposing the day-to-day activities of his accomplices that enabled
the elaborate con to succeed for as long as it did. Through the
examination of court testimony and other court documents, the
mechanics of the con game become clear, elucidating how Madoff's
friends and employees hustled money from investors; the methods by
which false records, monthly statements to investors, and other
documents were manufactured and mass-produced; and how a multitude
of felonies and the highest levels of fraud became everyday
practices. Presents the first study of Bernard L. Madoff Investment
Securities, the organization where the fraud began, was centered,
and flourished by duping investors for at least a decade Documents
how investors who depend on and trust investment professionals can
lose money, especially given that some investment companies do not
always act in their clients' best interests and that Wall Street
regulators are often ineffective Takes readers backstage to see the
intricate details of the "theatre production" of a con game-the
playacting, performances, pretending, utilization of props, and
false representations that are required to achieve a "standing
ovation" (i.e., the total fleecing of the marks)
Do I Look at You with Love? were the words uttered by Mark
Freeman's mother when she learned, once again, that he was her son.
This book explores the experience of dementia as it transpired
during the course of the final twelve years of her life, from the
time of her diagnosis until her death in 2016 at age 93. As a
longtime student of memory, identity, and narrative, as well as the
son of a woman with dementia, he had a remarkable opportunity to
try to understand and tell her story. Much of the story is tragic.
But there were other periods and other dimensions of relationship
that were beautiful and that could not have emerged without her
very affliction. In the midst of affliction there were gifts,
arriving unbidden, that served to alert Freeman and his family to
what is most precious and real. These are part of the story too.
Part narrative psychology, part memoir, part meditation on the
beauty and light that might be found amidst the ravages of time and
memory, Freeman's moving story is emblematic of nothing less than
the bittersweet reality of life itself.
A victim of violent abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Lenny
spent much of his teenage life in borstal as he began to follow a
life of crime. However, it was his ability as a fighter that was to
turn his life around. Lenny McLean inspired fear in many, but
respect from all, as he became a bare-knuckle fighting legend. His
fame became even greater in later life, appearing in Guy Ritchie's
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels just as his autobiography was
reaching the top of the bestsellers chart. Lenny's untimely death
from cancer in 1998 marked the beginning of the end of the old
Cockney way of life and interest in his story has only increased
since his passing, inspiring documentaries as well as a feature
film, My Name is Lenny. In these unedited conversations between
Lenny and his 'book man' Peter Gerrard, featuring many anecdotes
that did not appear in The Guv'nor, we get to see the man behind
the public image. As he looks back on his life, these transcripts
reveal Lenny's humour and charm as well as the volatility that made
him one of the most notorious figures ever to emerge from the East
End.
The tragic story of Susan Powell and her murdered boys, Charlie and
Braden, is the only case that rivals the John Benet Ramsey saga in
the annals of true crime. When a pretty, blonde Utah mother went
missing in December of 2009 the media was swept up in the story.
Susan's husband, Josh, said he had no idea what happened to his
young wife, and that he and the boys had been camping. Over the
next three years bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal
more shocking secrets, Josh's father, Steve, who was sexually
obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable
perversion. Josh's brother, Michael, would commit suicide. And in
the most stunning event of them all, Josh Powell would murder his
two little boys and kill himself with brutality beyond belief.
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