January 2014 Issue of Informer

January 2014 Issue Contents
Editorial

This periodical began back in September of 2008 as a sort of experiment. Readers and researchers appeared to have an appetite for solid, factual information on crime history, and writers of that history appeared to need a reliable means of getting their work to the public. But no one really knew if there was enough reader-appetite or writer-material to keep a quarterly journal going. 

The last five-plus years have been a pleasant surprise. Informer has benefited from a large and loyal readership and from a steady flow of quality article contributions. We are proud to note that we have helped disseminate numerous finds of historic importance, that we have established a reputation for excellent research and fine writing and that we have never missed a scheduled deadline (in fact, issues of Informer have always been released before their due dates). With the exception of a single scheduled break last January, Informer has churned out a new issue every quarter-year.

Maintaining the production pace for Informer hasn’t been easy. The publication has but one “employee” (whose time and energies are divided among a number of projects). After twenty-one issues, the moment has arrived to adjust that pace. In the future, the release of Informer issues will not be dictated by the calendar but by the quantity and quality of submitted materials. As articles become available, special issues of Informer will be scheduled, with announcements made through the Informer website and through Facebook and Twitter accounts. To describe this new publication policy, we borrow from the Latin terminology of the pharmacy profession: Informer will be published pro re nata (p.r.n.), as the need arises.

We understand that some readers and writers may not find this an ideal situation, but we hope they will understand that it allows Informer to continue to fulfill its purposes while permitting its sole employee to pursue some different challenges.

In this issue of Informer:

• Thomas Hunt pushes aside popular "Miracle of Brooklyn" legends to look at what really happened to the twice-stolen, twice-returned Regina Pacis crowns (PREVIEW).
• Lennert van`t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner examine the ascent of powerful Mafia boss Vito Genovese (PREVIEW).
• Bill Feather provides data on more than 100 known and suspected Detroit Mafia members active in the 1930s-50s (PREVIEW).
• Informer ventures back fifty years to explain a problem encountered by the Warren Commission that gave rise to multiple JFK conspiracy theories (PREVIEW).

116 pages including cover and advertisements.

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"Miracle of Brooklyn"?

January 2014 Issue Contents
Feature Article

A Brooklyn parish sacrifices for peace

but experiences pain and bloodshed

The Regina Pacis crowns

By Thomas Hunt

"Holy items dedicated to lasting world peace played an ironic role in tumult and violence within a Roman Catholic parish in Brooklyn. The items were a pair of precious jeweled crowns, blessed by the Pope, and fastened to a mural at the Regina Pacis Votive Shrine of St. Rosalia’s Parish. The crowns were twice stolen from the shrine and twice returned. The thefts caused widespread anguish, resulted in several arrests, and were linked to at least one gangland murder and the start of a long and bloody rebellion inside a Brooklyn-based crime family..."

Forty-two pages including seven and a half pages of notes and twenty-three photographs.

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The Ascent of Genovese

January 2014 Issue Contents
Feature Article

The ascent of Vito Genovese

By Lennert van`t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner

Vito Genovese

"Much has been written about Vito Genovese, widely regarded as the single most powerful figure in the American Mafia during the 1940s and 1950s. Genovese was the subject of two published biographies and figured prominently in the well-publicized recollections of Joseph Valachi, the benchmark Mafia informer who exposed the workings of Cosa Nostra. Valachi portrayed Genovese as a ruthless individual, who murdered his way to the top of his secret criminal society. That description is generally accepted. However, the precise route by which Genovese became such a commanding figure in the underworld has been unclear..."

Forty-four and a half pages including eight pages of notes and eighteen photographs.

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Detroit Mafia Chart

January 2014 Issue Contents
Mafia Membership Chart

Detroit Mafia Chart, 1930s-50s.

By Bill Feather

Birth, death, immigration, relationships and other data on more than 100 known and suspected members of the Detroit Mafia active in the 1930s-50s.

Five and a half pages.

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Obituary: Vito Rizzuto

January 2014 Issue Contents
Obituary

Vito Rizzuto obituary

Vito Rizzuto

"Vito Rizzuto, reputed leader of the Montreal Mafia, died December 23, 2013, at age sixty-seven, according to published reports. Rizzuto died at Sacré-Coeur Hospital after being admitted with pneumonia symptoms reportedly related to lung cancer, the Montreal Gazette reported..."

Half page.

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Fifty Years Ago: Warren Commission

January 2014 Issue Contents
Feature Article

Oswald and the FBI

Lee Harvey Oswald

"Late in January of 1964, the President’s Commission on the Assassi-nation of President Kennedy (the Warren Commission) wrestled in executive session with a particularly troubling issue. There had been reports that the late Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of President John F. Kennedy, had been on the payroll of the Federal Bureau of Investigation..."

Fifteen pages including two pages of notes.

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