October 2011 Issue of Informer

October 2011 Contents

Though Gaspare Messina was one of a very small number of American Mafiosi ever to occupy the position of boss of bosses, few remember his name today. There are a number of reasons—including timing, background and overshadowing by more dynamic and tragic figures—that even true crime aficionados have found Messina forgettable.

In the lead feature in this issue, Richard Warner helps make Messina memorable by exploring his origin, his reign in New England, his brief tenure as supreme arbiter of the American Mafia and his quiet retirement in a Boston suburb (preview).

Acquaintances reportedly believed Tommy Carroll was always destined for a violent end. A gangster and bank robber, Carroll lived life on the edge, as he partnered with better known outlaws like “Baby Face” Nelson and John Dillinger. Carroll is the focus of Jeffery S. King’s feature article in this issue (preview).

Informer returns to the New England Mafia for its third feature, the initial article in Thomas Hunt’s series on Providence-based crime boss Raymond “the Man” Patriarca (preview). Also in this issue: Bill Feather provides a membership chart for the early Profaci/Colombo Crime Family (preview). Ed Valin takes another look at the FBI informants in the Chicago Outfit (preview). Patrick Downey deals with gangster combustion (preview). Richard Warner follows up on his July column by addressing additional J. Edgar Hoover rumors (preview). Thom L. Jones tells readers how an interest in sea otters sparked many years of research into the Mafia (preview). Informer reviews Al Capone and His American Boys by William Helmer (preview).

Seventy-six pages. Published October 13, 2011.

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Gaspare Messina and the Boston Mafia

October 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Richard N. Warner

Part Two of a History of the New England Mafia

Gaspare Messina and the Rise

of the Mafia in Boston

By Richard N. Warner

"Only a very small number of American Mafiosi ever rose to the exalted position of capo dei capi – boss of bosses. The short list of those who have served as supreme leader of the Sicilian criminal society in the United States includes illustrious names: Giuseppe Morello, Salvatore 'Toto' D’Aquila, Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Though this list of underworld czars is by no means unwieldy, one name is almost always omitted from it.
"Perhaps because he differed in a number of important ways from the other occupants of the high office, Gaspare Messina’s short but important term as Mafia capo dei capi is generally neglected..."

Fifteen and a half pages including two pages of notes and twelve images.

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Crimes of Tommy Carroll

October 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Jeffery S. King

‘He was spotted for a bullet

the day he was born, although he

never believed that he himself would get it.’

The crimes of

Tommy Carroll

By Jeffery S. King

"A friend of Thomas Leonard Carroll once said, 'Tommy told his friends when he was driving a cab that someday he would be called ‘Terrible Tommy.’ He was spotted for a bullet the day he was born, although he never believed that he himself would get it. He had one great failing, and that was love for the spotlight and the desire to show off…'"

Fourteen pages including one page of notes and eleven images.

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Patriarca Becomes 'The Man'

October 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Thomas Hunt

A native of Massachusetts and longtime resident

of Rhode Island, Raymond Patriarca rose to

command the Mafia in New England

The Man

By Thomas Hunt

(Part 1) "Though often in trouble with the law and constantly plagued by turncoats, surveillance and underworld factional quarrels, Raymond Patriarca was the longest tenured and arguably the most successful ruler of the New England Mafia. A native of Massachusetts and a longtime resident of Providence, Rhode Island, Patriarca’s reign as underworld boss continued through parts of four decades.
“'The Man' presided over a golden age of the Providence-based criminal organization and brought it a level of clout on the national scene that it had never before experienced. Unwittingly, he also provided authorities with much of the information that would lead to the decimation of the crime family leadership and a long period of instability and decline."

Sixteen and a half pages including three and a half pages of notes and ten images.

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Profaci Mafia Chart

October 2011 Contents
Membership Chart
By Bill Feather

The October issue includes a chart of early Profaci Crime Family membership compiled by Bill Feather. The three and a half page chart lists more than 70 documented and suspected Mafiosi along with birth, death, immigration, relationship, rank and other information.

Three and a half pages.

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Identifying Underworld Informants

October 2011 Contents
Column
By Edmond Valin

Post-Giancana Outfit was
fertile soil for FBI informants

"A careful examination of declassified documents shows the penetration of the Chicago Outfit by the FBI in the 1960s was greater than is commonly recognized. Taking advantage of the turmoil within the Outfit during boss Sam Giancana’s imprisonment and subsequent departure from Chicago, the FBI appears to have persuaded more than ten made members to share confidential information."

Five pages including a half page of notes and three photographs.

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Dead Guys in Suits: Flaming finales

October 2011 Contents
Column
By Patrick Downey

"What to do with a guy after you kill him? Over the course of the last few issues, we have discussed guys being shot and left on the spot and guys being stuffed in sacks. I could say that there were no other ways for gangsters to dispose of each other but, well, you know that it would be untrue. In fact, you know that I would be a liar, if I was to say to you, gangsters were never lit on fire."

Three pages.

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Warner Files: More Hoover myths... or maybe not

October 2011 Contents
Column
By Richard N. Warner

"In the last issue we dealt with some false claims made by Anthony Summers in his book Official and Confidential. Summers also suggested that Hoover may have had black ancestry and was a secret part-African American who “passed” to advance in the white world."

Two and a half pages.

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Mob Corner: Sea otters and Mafia research

October 2011 Contents
Column
By Thom L. Jones

"I found out about the Mafia from reading about sea-otters. I don’t expect anyone to figure out the link, but like most convoluted scenarios, the explanation is really quite simple."

Two pages.

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Book review: Al Capone and His American Boys

October 2011 Contents
Book Review

"The latest book about the Capone organization is really not new. Well, not entirely new. Much of Al Capone and his American Boys is drawn from a manuscript written in the 1930s by Georgette Winkeler, wife of Capone-affiliated gangster Gus Winkeler. Nearly released back then, the publisher decided it was “too hot” to publish and buried it. A copy of the manuscript turned up six decades later in FBI files. Gangland historian William J. Helmer prepared the manuscript for publication and added a substantial amount of clarification and supporting documentation. The result is a detailed insider's history of Capone’s special assignment American Boys gang..."

One page.

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Ad: Uncle Al Capone

Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story from Inside His Family by Deirdre Marie Capone is an intimate biography of the Windy City's most notorious gang boss.

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Ad: Legs Diamond - Gangster

Coming soon to your favorite bookseller, Legs Diamond: Gangster by Patrick Downey, "the most comprehensive biography yet written on New York's most famous Prohibition Era gangster."

Patrick Downey is the author of Gangster City and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple.

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Ad: Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd

Jeffery S. King's books - The Rise and Fall of the Dillinger Gang and The Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd - are available through your favorite booksellers.

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Ad discounts for true crime authors

To commemorate the beginning of the journal's fourth year of publication (yeah, we can hardly believe it ourselves), Informer is offering a special advertising discount to true-crime authors promoting their own books. The discount offer is available only for a limited time and ONLY TO TRUE-CRIME AUTHORS.

Any full-page book advertisement ordered and paid for by Sept. 23, 2011, will cost just $40 (US) - an enormous savings off the usual Informer price for full-page ads.

You may use this discounted price to place ads in any or all of the four Informer issues to be published in the coming year - beginning with the October 2011 "holiday season" issue - providing your order, your ad copy* and your payment are all received by the Sept. 23, 2011, deadline (earlier, if you need an ad designed for you). This discount will not be extended and may not be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

The Informer publication schedule is shown below:

OCT 2011 Issue
(Holiday season)
Release Date – Oct 24.

JAN 2012 Issue
Release Date – Jan 23, 2012.

APR 2012 Issue
Release Date - Apr 23, 2012.

JUL 2012 Issue
Release Date - Jul 23, 2012.

* The details:
Full-page ad dimensions are 7.5 inches wide and 10.5 inches tall.
If you have an ad already prepared in those dimensions (or easily scaled to those dimensions), you can send it with your emailed order to informerjournal@gmail.com as a high-resolution (no-compression / low-compression) JPG image.
If you need an advertisement designed for you, please email your ad "copy" (wording) along with JPG images of your book and yourself no later than Sept. 10. This earlier deadline will allow us time to create your ad and have it reviewed/approved by you before publication.
In either case, you will receive an emailed invoice for the advertisement through the PayPal service. That is payable online with credit card or cash transfer.

The discount is not available to publishing companies or publicity firms or writers of fiction. The Informer publisher alone will determine whether a discounted advertising order has been properly received from a true-crime author.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, email us at informerjournal@gmail.com.

July 2011 Issue of Informer

July 2011 Contents

Crime historians have puzzled for decades over FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s long denial of the existence of organized crime. Following the Apalachin Mafia convention of 1957 and Joe Valachi’s revelations in the early 1960s, Hoover and his Bureau joined the war on organized crime. Hoover, however, never explained his earlier reluctance , and various theories—some baseless and cruel—have emerged to fill the void in the historical record.

In this issue, author Alex Hortis shares with us a recently discovered handwritten Hoover memo from 1970 that serves as a window into the director’s earlier position (preview). Hortis and Informer columnist Richard Warner (preview) double-team many of the myths that have circulated about Hoover.

The New England Crime Family receives special attention in this issue. We begin with Part 1 of Richard Warner’s history of the Mafia in Boston (preview). A look at some of the better known underworld meeting places on Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island (preview), and Bill Feather’s New England Mafia Membership Chart (preview) follow.

In his first article for Informer, historian Ed Valin puts together historical clues to track down two of the FBI’s best confidential informants (preview).

Author Patrick Downey devotes his quarterly Dead Guys in Suits column to a discussion of siblings eliminated by their underworld rivals (preview). Then, in the issue’s final pages, Informer editor/publisher Thomas Hunt looks at an extremely early prediction of the Sicilian Mafia’s demise (preview).

Fifty-six pages. Published July 22, 2011.

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Hoover: 'Plagued Ever Since..."

July 2011 Contents
Feature Article

Nearing the end of a long career as the director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover

reflected upon his early denials of the

existence of the American Mafia.

'I have been plagued ever since...'

By Alex Hortis

Hoover

"One of the enduring mysteries about J. Edgar Hoover is why he resisted going after the American Mafia. For his first thirty-three years as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1924 to 1957, Hoover engaged in few sustained actions against organized crime.
"Absent any personal explanation from Hoover for his reluctance, others have filled the void with speculation. Their theories have ranged from plausible to wildly conspiratorial.
"A newly discovered handwritten note by the late FBI director provides fresh insight into this controversy..."

Fifteen and a half pages including nine photographs and two and a half pages of endnotes.

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Genesis of the Mafia in Boston

July 2011 Contents
Feature Article

Part One of a History of the New England Mafia

Genesis of the Mafia in Boston

By Richard N. Warner

G. Cocchiara

"The history of Boston’s Mafia goes back at least to the beginning of the Twentieth Century, yet it is a story barely touched by organized crime historians.
"Many are familiar with more recent Boston badmen – Irish-American gangsters, such as James 'Whitey' Bulger or Italian-American ones like Vincent 'the Rifleman' Flemmi. Raymond Patriarca may be the earliest Mafia boss known to most Bostonians. Some specialists may be aware of his predecessor, Philip Buccola. But the history of the New England outfit goes back much farther and is much richer than many realize..."

Ten pages including five photographs, one map and one page of endnotes.

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The 'Social Clubs' of Federal Hill

July 2011 Contents
Short Article
By The Wisconsin Kid

Luigi Manocchio

"Although many place the 'Golden Age' of American organized crime somewhere between 1890 and 1940, there happens to be a great deal of remarkable historical material related to much more recent mob activity. Considering the advanced age of most of those still involved much of today's activity may be merely an epilogue to events of days long past, but every story deserves an epilogue. Here is my attempt at providing one, utilizing research and recent personal observations of various business properties in the Federal Hill district of Providence, Rhode Island..."

Three pages including four photographs, one map and one half page of endnotes.

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Roemer's Men in the Outfit

July 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Edmond Valin

Butch Blasi

"In 1965, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson ordered the removal of all devices used by the FBI to listen in on organized crime figures. The order was particularly devastating in Chicago, where for years the FBI had monitored activities and recorded conversations at Outfit hangouts through secret listening devices... In response, the FBI instituted an informant development program, in the hope of nurturing a “double agent” within the Outfit..."

Five and a half pages including three photographs and one page of endnotes.

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Dead Guys in Suits: Sibling Murders

July 2011 Contents
Column
By Patrick Downey

Oh brother! Rivals
target gangland sibs
"You dirty rat, you killed my brother... and me, and, in some cases, even another brother.
"Though numerous Cagney impersonators have delivered some form of the above sentence over the years, any number of hoodlums from America's Golden Age of crime could have uttered it. There was no shortage of gangster siblings during the Twenties and Thirties, and brothers in arms were not limited to one ethnic group of geographic location..."

Two and a half pages.

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Warner Files: Hoover myths

July 2011 Contents
Column
By Richard N. Warner

Anger and greed lurk
behind Hoover myths
"Since Anthony Summers came out with his book Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, the lightly spoken claims made about Hoover suddenly gained a veneer of legitimacy. While the FBI under his directorship clearly engaged in a number of questionable activities, some of his detractors have made a number of claims about Hoover personally to explain his decisions..."

Three pages.

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Just One More Thing: Mafia's End in 1884

July 2011 Contents
Column
By Thomas Hunt

Mafia's death-knell
sounded in 1884
"I was poking around in online newspaper archives recently, when I happened to find what may be the earliest published prediction of the Mafia's demise. We are accustomed to such talk today. With every large-scale arrest and every successful prosecution of Mafiosi, journalists suggest that the criminal society is on the verge of extinction..."

Three pages.

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New England Mafia Chart

July 2011 Contents
Membership Charts
By Bill Feather and Thomas Hunt

The July issue includes a New England Mafia Membership Chart by Bill Feather and Thomas Hunt. The five-page chart includes more than 100 documented and suspected Mafiosi along with birth, death, immigration, relationship, rank and other information.

Five pages.

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We could tell you...

...but then we'd have to kill you. ;-)

The cover story of July's issue of Informer

must remain secret for two more weeks.

Knokaround discount for Informer readers

Knokaround Apparel has announced a 15 percent discount on any item ordered by a reader of Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement. To take advantage of this special offer, visit the website www.knockbacks.com , place a merchandise order and enter promo code INFORMER2011.
Knokaround creates underworld-themed threads designed for “individuals… with a Mob mentality.” Determined to offer an alternative to usual t-shirts and caps, Knokaround Apparel provides a clothing line featuring themes and scenes of a time when the ‘mob’ was something of a mystery, and always diabolically fascinating.  The clothing holds screen-printed images of classic mobsters, important underworld-linked locations and related news headlines.

April 2011 Issue of Informer

April 2011 Issue Contents
"The shadowy organization known as 'the Men of Montedoro' played an important role in the development of the American Mafia, serving as an adhesive force between the New York City and Buffalo Mafia clans, leading organized crime into the lucrative field of labor racketeering and blurring the boundary between underworld rackets and legitimate enterprises..."
(preview)

August 1870 daylight robbery of a Scranton, Pennsylvania, bank. Reprinted article.
(preview)

Miners led by Rev. Antonio Cerruti battle Black Hand racketeers in turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century northeastern Pennsylvania.
(preview)

Capone family travels from its home in Italy to the "Promised Land" of Brooklyn, New York. Book excerpt from Uncle Al Capone by Deirdre Marie Capone.
(preview)

Warner Files: A writer can only be as good as his sources. A column by Richard N. Warner.
(preview)

Dead Guys in Suits: It's in the bag. A column by Patrick Downey.
(preview)

Book Reviews: Young Al Capone by William and John Balsamo; Lucky Luciano: The Real and the Fake Gangster by Tim Newark.
(preview)

Northeastern Pennsylvania Mafia Chart by Bill Feather.
(preview)

Sixty-four pages. Published April 1, 2011.

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Men of Montedoro

April 2011 Issue ContentsFeature Article
By Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona

Near the turn of the Twentieth Century, Pennsylvania's northeastern coal fields became home to numerous immigrants from the Sicilian sulfur mining regions. Their trip across the Atlantic resulted in modest lifestyle improvements, but the new Americans still were plagued by perilous working conditions, abusive management and a ruthless Mafia organization.

Men of Montedoro

By Thomas Hunt

and Michael A. Tona

Rosario "Russell" Bufalino

"About one hundred and thirty miles west of New York City, an underworld organization took root in the early-1900s Italian coal-mining communities of northeastern Pennsylvania. The shadowy organization known as 'the Men of Montedoro' played an important role in the development of the American Mafia, serving as an adhesive force between the New York City and Buffalo Mafia clans, leading organized crime into the lucrative field of labor racketeering and blurring the boundary between underworld rackets and legitimate enterprises..."

Thirty-two pages, including a one-page sidebar, twenty-one images, three maps, a family tree and four and a half pages of notes.

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1870 Scranton Bank Robbery

April 2011 Contents
Short Article

Reprinted from the August 2, 1870, issue of the Scranton Republican: "One of the boldest, most adroitly panned and successfully managed burglaries occurred in this city yesterday forenoon at the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank..."

One page.

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Miners Battle Black Handers

April 2011 Issue Contents
Feature Article
By Thomas Hunt

Anti-Mafia crusader Rev.Cerruti

"Sicilian/Italian crime in the northeastern Pennsylvania region - the communities of Carbondale, Scranton, Pittston, Browntown, Old Forge, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton - was documented as early as 1888, when immigrants, including about one hundred and fifty Italians, toiled nearby on Lehigh Valley Railroad construction. On October 19 of that year, Paymaster 'Barney' McClure and Foreman Hugh Flannigan took a horse-drawn buggy from their work camp near Plains Township into Pittston to pick up the payroll for the Charles McFadden railroad construction company..."

Six and a half pages with five photographs and one page of notes.

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Capones Reach the Promised Land

April 2011 Issue Contents
Book excerpt
By Deirdre Marie Capone

An excerpt from Uncle Al Capone by Deirdre Marie Capone: "On the southwestern coast of Italy, just above the toe of the boot, lies the province of Salerno in the Campania region. Salerno is a busy port region, and it was there that they Allies landed in 1943. If you visit today, you will still find much of the ruins and destruction left by World War II. The little town of Angri, where the parents of Al Capone were born, is nestled in the heart of Salerno at the foot of the still-active volcano, Mount Vesuvius..."

Three and a half pages, one photograph.

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The Warner Files: Sources

April 2011 Contents
Column
By Richard N. Warner

A writer can only be as
good as his sources
Informer columnist Richard Warner examines some of the myths readers will encounter in popular underworld histories.
Two pages
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Dead Guys in Suits: Sack Murders

April 2011 Contents
Column
By Patrick Downey

It's In The Bag
In his first column for Informer, true crime author Patrick Downey addresses the "Sack Job" - the disposal of a murdered underworld colleague within a cloth bag left in plain view.
Two pages.

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Book Reviews: Capone, Luciano

April 2011 Contents
Book Reviews
By Ryan Artis and Thomas Hunt

Young Al Capone by the Balsamo brothers purports to chronicle the notorious Chicago gang boss's formative years, 1899 to 1925, in Brooklyn and Chicago. The book promises previously unrevealed facts and insights into Capone's rise and an as yet untold story of how he received his famous facial scars. The book ventures away from the standard formula of previous investigative biographies address the subject of Al Capone and other organized crime figures. It makes no reference to any of the sources used to compile the facts within its covers...

In Lucky Luciano: The Real and the Fake Gangster, author Tim Newark set out to dispel myths and "tell the true story of the legendary gangster..." It was an enormous undertaking, and the author deserves our appreciation for tackling a historical record so contaminated by decades of misinterpretations, exaggerations and outright lies. Unfortunately, Newark's book fell significantly short of its goal and may have provided additional support for some inaccurate underworld legends...

Book reviews: Five and a half pages.

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Northeast Pennsylvania Mafia Chart

April 2011 Contents
Membership Charts
By Bill Feather

The April issue includes a Northeastern Pennsylvania Mafia Membership Chart by Bill Feather. The three and a half-page chart includes more than 70 documented and suspected Mafiosi along with birth, death, immigration, relationship, rank and other information.
Three and a half pages.

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Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story from Inside His Family.
By Deirdre Marie Capone

An intimate biography of the Windy City's most notorious gang boss, as well as a frank, personal memoir of the difficulties of growing up as "a Capone."

Visit: www.unclealcapone.com
or Uncle Al Capone on Amazon.com

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Friend of ours, Knokaround Apparel, has begun offering underworld-themed threads designed for “individuals… with a Mob mentality.”

Determined to offer an alternative to usual t-shirts and caps, Knokaround Apparel provides a clothing line featuring themes and scenes of a time when the ‘mob’ was something of a mystery, and always diabolically fascinating.  The clothing holds screen-printed images of classic mobsters, important underworld-linked locations and related news headlines.

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Free electronic issue with print purchase

Thanks to our partnership with MagCloud, Informer is now able to provide a FREE electronic issue with every purchase of a print edition issue. This offer is good only for new, single copy, print edition purchases made through the MagCloud service ( informer.magcloud.com ). Place an order for the print edition of any journal issue, and the service will automatically provide you with access to the electronic version of that issue, so you can dive into its contents immediately.

MagCloud to provide electronic issues

Informer's print edition publisher, MagCloud.com, has announced that it is beginning to provide access to electronic documents. In the future, Informer's electronic edition will be available on that service.

MagCloud's electronic documents are viewable on PCs, Macs, Android devices and other devices capable of viewing PDF-format files.

It is hoped that MagCloud's new capabilities will provide electronic access to Informer readers outside of the United States. Current electronic issues, distributed by Scribd.com, can be purchased only within the U.S. MagCloud has been providing worldwide access to print edition issues and it is anticipated that it will provide a remedy to the Scribd distribution problem.

January 2011 issue of Informer

January 2011 Contents

Recently reorganized under the Commission system favored by Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, in 1932 the American Mafia reacted quickly to a bloody revival of old underworld rivalries. Luciano's underboss Vito Genovese called together an underworld convention in Brooklyn and ordered Pittsburgh Mafia boss John Bazzano to appear and answer for the recent murders of the Neapolitan Volpe Brothers.
(preview)

The notorious Brady Gang traveled to Bangor Maine in autumn of 1937. The FBI was waiting. Richard Shaw tells the tale of the Brady Gang's last days. (preview)

Much of what we believe we know about the Mafia's "Joe the Boss" Masseria turns out to be untrue. In his first column for Informer, underworld researcher Richard Warner sets the record straight. (preview)

Interviewed by Ellen Poulsen, true crime author William Helmer reflects on Dillinger, Nelson, Capone and a career at Playboy. (preview)

Bill Feather provides a membership chart for the Genovese Crime Family based in New York. (preview)

On October 27, 2010, the Mattix family of Iowa lost a beloved patriarch, the community of true crime writers lost a treasured friend and the Informer journal lost its editorial director. Rick Mattix's death was keenly felt by both of his families - the one related to him by blood and marriage and the other tied to him by professional appreciation and admiration. While we gave some consideration to closing Informer following the tragic news, it seemed a far better choice to use the journal as a means for his second family to assist his first family. (preview)

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1932 Murder of John Bazzano

January 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona

Recently reorganized under the Commission system,

in 1932 the American Mafia reacted quickly to a

bloody revival of old underworld rivalries

A Test of Resolve

By Thomas Hunt

and Michael A. Tona

   "As a member of the Mafia criminal network in the United States and a veteran of Prohibition Era gang wars, Pittsburgh underworld boss John Bazzano surely knew he was in jeopardy when he received a summons from higher-ups in mid-summer of 1932.
   "Vito Genovese wanted to see him in New York City. Second in command of Charlie 'Lucky' Luciano’s massive underworld empire, Genovese was one of the elite criminal leaders in the country, certainly the most powerful Neapolitan gangster.
   "An order to appear before a more senior gang boss did not come with an explanation. It did not need one. Mafiosi understood that attendance was mandatory. Though the call to such a meeting often preceded the harshest form of underworld discipline, refusal of the summons surely meant death."

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Thirty-nine and a half pages including eight pages of notes, thirty-eight images and three maps.

Last Days of the Brady Gang

January 2011 Contents
Feature Article
By Richard Shaw

The Last Days of the Brady Gang

By Richard Shaw

"Poppy Davis may wish she'd never gone to work that autumn morning sixty years ago. She could have relaxed at home, while others in downtown Bangor, Maine, experienced the terrifying rattle of gunfire. But there she was, standing in the window of the Paramount Cafe with a ringside seat to history. The date was Tuesday, October12, 1937."

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Twelve pages including six images.

The Warner Files: Giuseppe Masseria

January 2011 Contents
Column: Warner Files
By Richard N. Warner

On the Trail of Giuseppe

"Joe the Boss" Masseria

By Richard N. Warner

In his first Informer column, Richard N. Warner dispels myths related to Joe the Boss Masseria and establishes at last the Sicilian birthplace of the infamous crime boss.

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Three pages including a document excerpt.

Interview: William Helmer

January 2011 Contents
Interview
By Ellen Poulsen

Gangster-Era Historian

William J. Helmer

By Ellen Poulsen

"...The original account [of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre] has been virtually carved in stone and perpetuated by every writer and filmmaker since... The idea of the trap being laid by a shipment of Old Log Cabin was an elaboration on one talkative Prohibition official’s goofy hijack theory...The idiot Prohibition official got a bunch of these ideas into headlines that day and the next before he was transferred out of Chicago for implicating even the police, and then lost his job. But his speculations have gone down as history."

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Eight and a half pages including one image.

Genovese Mafia Chart

January 2011 Contents
Membership Charts
By Bill Feather

The January issue includes a 1930s-1970s Genovese Crime Family membership chart by Bill Feather. The Seven and a half-page chart includes more than 150 documented and suspected Mafiosi along with birth, death, immigration, relationship, rank and other information.

Seven and a half pages.

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Tribute to Rick Mattix

January 2011 Contents
Tribute

"I suppose it seems odd to some that the serious study of history's criminals draws in many fine people. But I have found it to be true. Rick Mattix, the dean of crime researchers, was among the very best."

"On October 27, 2010, the true crime community lost one of its greatest minds,strongest supporters, and best friends. I’m talking about Rick ‘Mad Dog’ Mattix."

"He was integral to this field. He will never be replaced and his contributions can never be measured because they will benefit research for generations to come."

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Four pages including one image.
Five advertisements.