'The Writers of Wrongs' blog

If you are a reader of crime history, you are certain to find interesting items on The Writers of Wrongs blog. 

Launched in the fall of 2016, the blog now has four steady contributors, with more on the way. Sixty-four posts have been written to date by these true crime authors:

- Christian Cipollini, author of Lucky Luciano: Mysterious Tales of a Gangland Legend; Murder Inc.: Mysteries of the Mob's Most Deadly Hit Squad; Diary of a Motor City Hit Man.

- Ellen Poulsen, author of  Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang; The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial.

- Patrick Downey, author of On the Spot: Gangland Murders in Prohibition New York City; Hollywood on the Spot: Crimes Against the Early Movie Stars; Legs Diamond: Gangster; Bad Seeds in the Big Apple; Gangster City.

- Thomas Hunt, author of Wrongly Executed?; coauthor of Deep Water, DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime; contributor to Mafia: The Necessary Reference to Organized Crime; editor of Informer.

Visit the blog at www.writersofwrongs.com

October 2015 Issue of Informer

October 2015 Issue Contents
Editorial

Smothered by law enforcement surveillance and infiltration in their home territory and wary of reprisals by deposed boss Stefano Magaddino, a rebel group of Buffalo, New York, Mafiosi in 1969 explored racket opportunities in what they thought were greener pastures in Florida. 
The move quickly caught the attention of the FBI. Rather than provide security for the breakaway organized crime faction, the lost time and resources in Florida led to the collapse of the Pieri-DiCarlo regime in the Buffalo underworld. In this issue, Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona tell the story of Buffalo’s attempts to establish a rackets colony in Florida (Preview).

Plenty has been written over the years about Lucky Luciano. Some accounts have been factual, some fictional, at least one fictional pretending to be factual. In C. Joseph Greaves’ latest novel, we find a fictional account built on a foundation of historical research. Greaves tells readers about his book, his approach and the cache of previously overlooked documents that provided him a fresh window into the subject (Preview).

What is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency? The little known postal inspection service, formed under Benjamin Franklin in the Colonial Era, has a claim to that designation. Author and retired postal inspector H.K. Petschel provides a brief history of “the Silent Service” (Preview).

Also in this issue:

• The U.S. Postal Service delivery of the Hope Diamond.
• Patrick Downey runs through the underworld’s greatest “hits” of the month of October (Preview).
• Richard N. Warner reviews two recently released books, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and The Two Mafias (Preview).

Fifty-four pages, including covers and eight pages of advertisements.

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Downey: October's Greatest 'Hits'

October 2015 Issue Contents
Columns

Dead Guys in Suits:

October’s biggest ‘hits’

By Patrick Downey

"October is my favorite month for many reasons. The weather is generally very comfortable, the autumn colors are a feast for the eyes, there’s cider and donuts and my favorite holiday, Halloween. October also happens to be a very interesting month in terms of 'Dead Guys in Suits.' A number of big gangland hits took place in the tenth month of our calendar..."

Two pages.

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October 2015 issue preview

Here's a look at the cover of the next issue of Informer (release date is Oct. 23).

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Book Review: Legs Diamond

July 2012 Contents
Book Review

Legs Diamond bio well-served

by Downey wit, eye for detail

By Ellen Poulsen

"In this targeted biography, Downey perfects his unique style of prose, which points out the ironies of cops, gunmen, molls and the jailhouse through witty one-liners. His writing harkens back to a time when crime books had personality..."

Two and a half pages.

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April 2012 Issue of Informer

April 2012 Contents
Editorial

The average Mafia aficionado likely feels that he or she already knows a great deal about New York gangland chieftain Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. Just about everyone knows, for example, that Luciano survived being taken "for a ride" by his rivals, that he was nicknamed "Lucky" as a result of that episode and that he single-handledly revolutionized organized crime in the United States. Just about everyone knows those things; unfortunately none are true. The problem is that much of what is generally believed about the 1930s-era crime boss can be traced to fictional works and a single, terribly suspect Luciano biography.

In this issue, Informer takes a close look at Salvatore Lucania, a.k.a. Charlie Luciano, intending to separate fact from fiction and to establish the real-world details of his life and criminal career. A great deal of the material written about Luciano and his associates since the mid-1970s rests upon an insecure foundation: The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano by Martin Gosch and Richard Hammer.

Though often criticized by historians as the product of Gosch's imagination, The Last Testament has been widely (and inexplicably) accepted as a near-autobiographical telling of Luciano's life story. Quotes from the work have appeared in books about Luciano and his ally Meyer Lansky. Even some who have been vocally critical of Last Testament's contents and Gosch's methods have found it impossible to resist borrowing tales from the book for their own works.

In our featured article, historian Richard Warner explores The Last Testament and the claims of its authors. He compares its contents to the historical record in order to deliver what should be "The Last Word on The Last Testament" (preview).

Thomas Hunt follows up with a Luciano lifetime chronology. While the Gosch-Hammer controversy is noted, "Year-by-year: Charlie Lucky's life" is devoid of Last Testament influence (preview).

Also in this issue, we present the second installment of “Gunmen of the Castellammarese War,” as historians Lennert van ‘t Riet, David Critchley and Steve Turner tell the story of Steve Rannelli (preview); Edmond Valin identifies underworld informants from the Philly Mob (preview); Bill Feather provides an extensive membership chart for the post-Luciano Genovese Crime Family of New York (preview); Richard Warner recommends books on Al Capone (preview); and Patrick Downey discusses gangsters who were sent to watery graves (preview).

One hundred pages. Published April 20, 2012.

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DGIS: Watery Gangland Graves

April 2012 Contents
Column

Dead Guys in Suits:

Some Gangland Victims

Subjected to Soggy Sendoffs

By Patrick Downey

"In the previous Dead Guys in Suits offering, we discussed those unfortunate gangsters who were sent off with a Fahrenheit-451 salute. In this issue, we will take a look at some who were disposed of by use of one of the other elements, water..."

Two and a half pages.

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Ad: Legs Diamond - Gangster

Brains, cunning and daring helped Legs Diamond become one of the top gangsters in the East. Treachery, stubbornness, and poor decisions cost him everything: his friends, his money and, finally, his life.

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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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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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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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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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Vol. 2, No. 3: July 2009

Vol. 2, Issue 3, July 2009 Contents

July 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of a still unsolved murder in the City of Danbury, Connecticut. While the killers of Giovanni Zarcone remain unknown, history has linked them to the New York Mafia organization of Giuseppe Morello. In this issue, we examine the known details of the Zarcone murder and follow the links between the victim and other organized criminals of the era.

What did Mafia boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano look like? If you believe you know, author David Critchley says you’re mistaken. According to Critchley, a photograph often presented as a likeness of Maranzano is actually someone else’s mug shot. Read more about it and take a look at some actual images of Maranzano—plus Informer’s own approximation of a Maranzano mug shot.

Also in this issue: Researcher Bill Feather provides us with background data on scores of Pittsburgh-area Mafiosi and Informer tackles a question about the “Teflon Don,” John J. Gotti, late boss of the Gambino Crime Family.

Books coverage includes an excerpt from King of the Sunset Strip: Hangin’ with Mickey Cohen and the Hollywood Mob by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood; an interview with Patrick Downey, author of Gangster City and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple; in addition to reviews of Mike Dash’s The First Family and Sandra Harmon’s Mafia Son.

1909 Mafia murder in Danbury, Connecticut, by Thomas Hunt. After a fruit farmer is shotgunned to death at his home, authorities connect him to the infamous Barrel Murder six years earlier. Eighteen pages. (Preview)

Maranzano Muddle by David Critchley, Ph.D. You may think you know what Salvatore Maranzano looked like, but a widely disseminated photo isn't Maranzano at all. Two pages. (Preview)

My First Dinner with Mickey by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood. A young Hollywood actor finds himself palling around with California racketeer Mickey Cohen. Four and a half pages.(Preview)

Pittsburgh Mafia Membership Chart, 1900-2000, by Bill Feather. Four pages. (Preview)

Interview: Patrick Downey. Two and a half pages.

Book Review of The First Family by Mike Dash. One and a half pages.

Book Review of Mafia Son by Sandra Harmon. One and a half pages.

Books: New Releases: One half page.

Ask the Informer: The Teflon Don's conviction. One page. (Preview)

A Look Back: 100 years, 75 years, 50 years. One half page. (Preview)

Current Events: DiNunzio reaches plea deal, 11 indicted as Bonanno crew in Florida, deputy U.S. marshal leaked witness info, Nicholas Corozzo sentenced for murder. (Preview)

Deaths: Alfonso Tornabene, Donato Angiulo.

48 pages including cover and advertisements
Published July 15, 2009.

July's print edition available now

The print edition of Informer's July issue (Vol. 2, No. 3) is available for purchase through the MagCloud service. See: informer.magcloud.com

The lead feature looks back one hundred years to the murder of an Italian fruit farmer in Danbury, Connecticut, who was linked to powerful Mafiosi in New York City. Also in the issue, we speculate on what boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano looked like, we sit down to dinner with Mickey Cohen, we look over the known and suspected membership of the Pittsburgh Mafia, we interview author Patrick Downey, and we review Mike Dash's The First Family and Sandra Harmon's Mafia Son.


The electronic edition of the journal will be available soon.

Vol. 2, No. 3: July 2009

In the July issue (Vol. 2, No. 3) of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History, we look back 100 years to an unsolved Mafia-related murder in western Connecticut. The murder victim had been among the suspects in the New York Barrel Murder of 1903 and had blood ties to underworld characters across the United States.

What did Mafia boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano look like? If you believe you know, author David Critchley says you’re mistaken. According to Critchley's article in Informer's July issue, a photograph often presented as a likeness of Maranzano is actually someone else’s mug shot. Read more about it and take a look at actual images of Maranzano —plus an Informer approximation of a Maranzano mug shot

Also in the July issue: Researcher Bill Feather provides us with background data on scores of Pittsburgh-area Mafiosi and Informer tackles a question about the “Teflon Don,” John J. Gotti,
late boss of the Gambino Crime Family.

Books coverage includes an excerpt from King of the Sunset Strip: Hangin’ with Mickey Cohen and the Hollywood Mob by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood; an interview with Patrick
Downey, author of Gangster City and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple; in addition to reviews of Mike Dash’s The First Family and Sandra Harmon’s Mafia Son.

Plus... A Look Back, Book Notes, and Current Events.

The July issue of Informer will be available for sale by July 27.