The true story of Louisiana serial killer Ronald Dominique's ten-year murder spree, the men he slayed, and the detectives who hunted him down. In 1997, the bodies of young African American men began turning up in the cane fields of the quiet suburbs of New Orleans. The victims-many of them transient street hustlers-had been brutally raped and strangled, but police had no leads on the killer's identity. The murders continued, leaving southeast Louisiana's gay community rattled and authorities desperate for a break in the case. Then, Detectives Dennis Thornton and Dawn Bergeron came together as task force partners, indefatigable in their decade-long effort to track down the killer. In 2006, DNA evidence finally linked the murders to a suspect: the unassuming Ronald Joseph Dominique, who had lived under the radar for years, working as a pizza deliveryman and meter reader. But who was Ronald Dominique and what led him to commit such heinous crimes? With direct access to the investigation, Dominique's confession, and all of the killer's body dump sites in throughout the state, author Fred Rosen enters the warped mind of a murderer and captures a troubled, disturbing, and broken life. As with the many other serial killers he has covered, including Jeffrey Dahmer (the Milwaukee Cannibal) and Dennis Rader (the BTK Killer), Rosen provides a horrifying and fascinating account of the lengths to which a bloodthirsty monster will go to lure and brutalize his victims.

In 1980 in Toledo, Ohio--on one of the holiest days of the church calendar--the body of a nun was discovered in the sacristy of a hospital chapel. Seventy-one-year-old Sister Margaret Ann had been strangled and stabbed, her corpse arranged in a shameful and stomach-churning pose. But the police's most likely suspect was inexplicably released and the investigation was quietly buried. Despite damning evidence, Father Gerald Robinson went free.

Twenty-three years later the priest's name resurfaced in connection with a bizarre case of satanic ritual and abuse. It prompted investigators to exhume the remains of the slain nun in search of the proof left behind that would indelibly mark Father Robinson as Sister Margaret Ann's killer: the sign of the Devil.

When Satan Wore a Cross is a shocking true story of official cover-ups, madness, murder and lies--and of an unholy human monster who disguised himself in holy garb.

A Michigan couple’s affair leads to two grisly murders by heroin injection in this true crime account from the acclaimed author of Lobster Boy. When Carol Giles’s friend Nancy Billiter was found dead—she had been bound, sexually violated, and injected with a lethal dose of battery acid and heroin—detectives in Michigan traced Billiter’s death back to Giles and her boyfriend, Tim Collier. Police also learned that the diabolical duo shared another secret: They had murdered Giles’s husband, Jessie.   Jessie, who had died months before Billiter, was disinterred, and an autopsy proved he’d been given a lethal shot of heroin instead of his prescribed insulin. Homebound and diabetic, Jessie was a heroin dealer. Police determined that Giles—who was fed up with taking care of her husband and children—along with her lover, Collier, had stolen the fatal dose from Jessie’s own drug supply. The cops surmised that Billiter’s death might have been due to her knowledge of the couple’s plot. In their dramatic trial, Giles and Collier turned against each other, but both were eventually convicted of murder.

Since the early nineteenth century, the United States has repeatedly intervened in the affairs of Latin American nations to pursue its own interests and to "protect" those countries from other imperial powers or from internal "threats." The resentment and opposition generated by the encroachment of U.S. power has been evident in the recurrent attempts of Latin American nations to pull away from U.S. dominance and in the frequent appearance of popular discontent and unrest directed against imperialist U.S. policies. In "Empire and Dissent," senior Latin Americanists explore the interplay between various dimensions of imperial power and the resulting dissent and resistance.

Several essays provide historical perspective on contemporary U.S.-hemispheric relations. These include an analysis of the nature and dynamics of imperial domination, an assessment of financial relations between the United States and Latin America since the end of World War II, an account of Native American resistance to colonialism, and a consideration of the British government's decision to abolish slavery in its colonies. Other essays focus on present-day conflicts in the Americas, highlighting various modes of domination and dissent, resistance and accommodation. Examining southern Mexico's Zapatista movement, one contributor discusses dissent in the era of globalization. Other contributors investigate the surprisingly conventional economic policies of Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; Argentina's recovery from its massive 2001 debt default; the role of coca markets in the election of Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales; and the possibilities for extensive social change in Venezuela. A readers' guide offers a timeline of key events from 1823 through 2007, along with a list of important individuals, institutions, and places.

"Contributors" Daniel A. Cieza, Gregory Evans Dowd, Steve Ellner, Neil Harvey, Alan Knight, Carlos Marichal, John Richard Oldfield, Silvia Rivera, Fred Rosen, Jeffrey W. Rubin

Since the early nineteenth century, the United States has repeatedly intervened in the affairs of Latin American nations to pursue its own interests and to "protect" those countries from other imperial powers or from internal "threats." The resentment and opposition generated by the encroachment of U.S. power has been evident in the recurrent attempts of Latin American nations to pull away from U.S. dominance and in the frequent appearance of popular discontent and unrest directed against imperialist U.S. policies. In "Empire and Dissent," senior Latin Americanists explore the interplay between various dimensions of imperial power and the resulting dissent and resistance.

Several essays provide historical perspective on contemporary U.S.-hemispheric relations. These include an analysis of the nature and dynamics of imperial domination, an assessment of financial relations between the United States and Latin America since the end of World War II, an account of Native American resistance to colonialism, and a consideration of the British government's decision to abolish slavery in its colonies. Other essays focus on present-day conflicts in the Americas, highlighting various modes of domination and dissent, resistance and accommodation. Examining southern Mexico's Zapatista movement, one contributor discusses dissent in the era of globalization. Other contributors investigate the surprisingly conventional economic policies of Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; Argentina's recovery from its massive 2001 debt default; the role of coca markets in the election of Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales; and the possibilities for extensive social change in Venezuela. A readers' guide offers a timeline of key events from 1823 through 2007, along with a list of important individuals, institutions, and places.

"Contributors" Daniel A. Cieza, Gregory Evans Dowd, Steve Ellner, Neil Harvey, Alan Knight, Carlos Marichal, John Richard Oldfield, Silvia Rivera, Fred Rosen, Jeffrey W. Rubin

Frankie Saggio reminisces about the era of true wise guys like his Uncle Philly --a contemporary of Al Capone. After all, it was Frankie's uncle who "taught him the value of a dollar and how to steal it from someone else." Uncle Philly was from a day when being in a mafia family meant being bound by blood and honor, not like modern day families whose only concern is money. For Frankie, the only way to avoid the modern mob treachery is to avoid getting involved with any single mob family, working "freelance" for all five. Frankie can do this because he is one of the biggest earners in the business, pulling down millions and kicking a share upstairs to the bosses. Though he fights the decision, Frankie is tied by blood to the Bonanno family, Uncle Philly's family, and current home to Philly's murderer. Soon after joining the Bonannos, Frankie narrowly escapes an assassination attempt and is busted for a major scam. With little choice, and even less loyalty to the Bonannos, Frankie turns himself over to the Feds on the one condition that he will tell the feds everything, but will not squeal on his own relatives.

Canada remains one of the most successful countries in attracting handicapped travelers. Rosen introduces physically challenged travelers to the beauties of his homeland, recommending a variety of activities (e.g., traveling through the national parks of western Canada) geared to meet the needs of visually and/or hearing-impaired persons. Special attention is given to such issues as diet and trouble-free transportation.

More than 43 million Americans suffer from some form of disability that often makes traveling a challenge rather than a pleasure. Whether describing travel by rail. air, or ship, Rosen recommends working with a reliable travel agent and lists several web sites that disabled travelers can turn to while considering their travel options.

Baptist deacon, family man, pillar of his Florida community . . . and serial killer of prostitutes: chilling true crime from the author of Lobster Boy. By day, Sam Smithers was the deacon of his Baptist church in Plant City, Florida, a respected neighbor to many, and a devoted husband and father. But after the sun set, he became something else: a violent attacker-and killer-of prostitutes. Smithers's twisted double life came to light when a local woman who had hired him to take care of her property found him in her garage, cleaning an ax-and then discovered a puddle of blood. Through exclusive interviews with Smithers's wife, who described her spouse as nothing but a doting husband and father, author Fred Rosen learned why this man of God, raised in an intensely religious Tennessee home, was the last person anyone would suspect of committing these savage crimes. Rosen reveals the details behind the deaths of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach after Smithers picked them up in Tampa-and the fate of a man who seemed holier than thou, but was actually guilty as sin.

Nine of the most controversial violent crimes in America’s history are reexamined in these compelling stories of true crime   Dr. Samuel Mudd set John Wilkes Booth’s broken ankle, but was he actually part of the larger conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln? Did Lizzie Borden brutally murder her own parents in Massachusetts? Was admitted jihadist Zacarias Moussaoui really involved in the terrorist plot to destroy the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001? In a series of provocative and eye-opening true crime investigations, author Fred Rosen revisits some of the most shocking and notorious crimes in America over the past two centuries to determine once and for all . . . did they really do it?   Applying logic and techniques of modern criminology while reexamining the crime scenes, official police records, and the original courtroom testimonies of witnesses and the accused, Rosen explores nine infamous crimes that rocked the nation and the verdicts that were ultimately handed down. From Ethel and Julius Rosenberg’s execution for treason to the kidnapping and killing of the Lindbergh baby to the Ku Klux Klan slayings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi to 9/11, the alleged perpetrators get another day in court as Rosen calls into question the circumstantial evidence and cultural context that may have determined guilt or innocence in each case.

The acclaimed true crime author of Lobster Boy chronicles the brutal acts and eventual capture of two cannibalistic killers on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Jeremiah Rodgers and Jonathan Lawrence met in a Florida hospital for the criminally insane, where both had been serving time for petty crimes. Upon their release, they traveled to Lawrence’s hometown of Milton, Florida, where they murdered Justin Livingston, Lawrence’s mentally challenged cousin. Their deadly spree continued when they viciously raped and shot 18-year-old Jennifer Robinson and then cannibalized her body.   Author Fred Rosen reports on how Detective Todd Hand solved the case and brought justice to the victims’ families. Hand had his work cut out for him as there was no clear motive behind these heinous crimes, but during questioning he caught the 2 killers in a lie about Justin Livingston’s whereabouts, which led to their arrests. Rodgers and Lawrence now reside on Florida’s death row.

The author of the true crime “masterpiece� Lobster Boy traces a brutal killer’s history across two decades of slipping past the legal system (The Guardian). When police in Tampa, Florida, arrested Larry Singleton in 1997 for brutally murdering prostitute Roxanne Hayes, they soon realized it wasn’t the man’s first violent attack. Back in 1978 he had gained notoriety as “the Mad Chopper� for raping and cutting off the arms of 15-year-old Mary Vincent on a patch of desolate, sun-scorched land 5 miles off the highway near Modesto, California.   When Singleton was let out of prison on supervised parole after serving only 8 years for his crimes, no community in California would accept him. He eventually moved back to his home in Florida, where he killed Hayes nearly 20 years after his original crime. But his first victim, Vincent, had survived, walking nearly a mile to get help after the assault, and testified against him at his trial for murdering Hayes.

The inside story of an upstate New York serial killer who abducted, raped, and murdered women and hid their bodies in his home. In the late 1990s in Poughkeepsie, New York, prostitutes began to go missing off the streets of the old Hudson River town. Due to the women’s nomadic lifestyles, which many people condemned, few in the town noticed they were gone besides their families and Lieutenant Bill Siegrist, who suspected that a serial killer was behind the disappearances. Local prostitutes described a strange man lurking around, leading Siegrist to Kendall Francois, an overweight, slovenly middle school hall monitor nicknamed Stinky. Police brought in Francois for a lie detector test, which he passed, and they were forced to release him. Area women continued to disappear.   In a shocking twist of fate, Francois was finally arrested when a woman he had raped managed to escape from his house and ran into a roadblock set up by Siegrist. She led the police back to Francois’s home, and the hall monitor soon gave a full confession and cut a deal with the prosecution. By then, cops in Tyvek suits had already found eight bodies concealed in the attic and crawl space of Francois’s house of horrors. To this day, one victim is still missing. From the author of numerous true crime books, including Lobster Boy and Deacon of Death, this is the frightening story of a brutal murderer whose neighbors never suspected what was going on behind his front door.  

Two brothers turn from Jehovah’s Witnesses in Allentown, PA, to neo-Nazi murderers in this true crime investigation from the author of Lobster Boy. Raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses and frustrated with their parents’ repressive rules, Bryan and David Freeman rebelled as teenagers. Encouraged by an acquaintance he met while institutionalized at a reform school, Bryan became a neo-Nazi. Bryan then indoctrinated David, and their flare for defiance took a dark turn. After callously murdering their father, mother, and younger brother, the skinhead brothers took flight across America, with police from three states in hot pursuit. They were eventually captured in Michigan and returned to Pennsylvania for trial.   During the trial, author Fred Rosen uncovered evidence that one of the brothers might not have been as culpable as authorities claimed, and divulged the history of a family torn apart by stringent religious beliefs.

The shocking true story of Mary Thompson, a Eugene, Oregon, anti-gang activist who secretly ran her own murderous mob of teenagers—including her own son. Aaron Iturra was just eighteen years old when he was found dead in the bedroom of the Eugene, Oregon, home he shared with his mother and sister. Investigating the crime, Detective Jim Michaud found evidence pointing to an unlikely suspect: Mary Louise Thompson, also known as Gang Mom. Once a biker chick and police informer, she had become a locally famous anti-gang activist.   Michaud soon learned Thompson was a modern-day Fagin who was running her own gang of juveniles—including her own son, Beau—which preyed on the unsuspecting city, dealing dope and burglarizing homes. When Thompson had found out Iturra planned to testify against Beau in a felony case, she put out a hit on him.

The shocking expose of a carny's murder arranged by his wife-and the daughter who threatened the author to keep the truth from getting out. In his account of the sensational life and murder of Grady Stiles Jr., also known as the legendary carnival "freak" Lobster Boy, author Fred Rosen explains how Stiles's death was engineered by his wife, Mary Teresa, the carny known as the Electrified Girl. Rosen describes how Mary Teresa arranged for her husband's murder after years of physical and emotional abuse. The narrative is full of appearances from the couple's colorful acquaintances, including the World's Only Living Half Girl, Midget Man, and the Human Blockhead. During Mary Teresa's dramatic trial, Rosen becomes a character in his own book. When both he and the prosecution are threatened by Mary Teresa's daughter, who Rosen believes was a co-conspirator although she was never indicted, the writer risks his life in pursuit of the truth and the evidence that leads to Mary Teresa's conviction.