Details on Nine Alleged Members of Hobos Street Gang Indicted in RICO Conspiracy for Murders and Other Violent, Drug-Related Crimes

Nine defendants who allegedly directed or participated in a violent, drug trafficking street gang known as the Hobos were charged in a federal racketeering conspiracy (RICO) indictment with engaging in murders, attempted murders, robberies, and narcotics distribution. The five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges five murders, solicitation of a sixth murder, four attempted murders, three robberies, and the operation of “drug spots” and “drug lines” on the city’s south side among a pattern of criminal activity between 2004 and 2009.

Four of the defendants are charged with personally shooting to death five victims between 2006 and 2009, including one victim who was allegedly killed because he was cooperating with law enforcement.

The indictment charges that the Hobos Enterprise allegedly used violence to enrich its members and their associates; to promote and enhance the criminal enterprise; to preserve and protect its power, territory, operations, and proceeds; to keep victims and witnesses in fear; and to prevent law enforcement from detecting its crimes.

“The indictment portrays a gang with virtually no restraint on its ruthless use of violence to further its goals,” said Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The gang’s alleged murders, robberies, and drug dealing invited our employing the federal racketeering laws to prosecute the full scope of their crimes, some extending beyond the normal statute of limitations; and, if convicted, to bring the most severe federal sentences to bear for the terror that plagued the blocks and street corners they allegedly controlled.” The investigation is continuing, Mr. Shapiro added.

“This RICO indictment is the result of a long-term commitment we share with our law enforcement partners to address the dangerous threats facing our communities today. This investigation targeted an exceptionally violent group that used murder, threats, and intimidation to further their agenda. The charges demonstrate our focus and determination to strike at gang-related criminal enterprises and to eliminate the terror these groups inflict on our neighborhoods,” said Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Through the work of Chicago Police officers and our gang investigators, in close partnership with the FBI, IRS, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we are able to announce federal RICO charges against nine dangerous members of the Hobos gang,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy. “Today’s announcement should serve as a warning―we do not and we will not accept violence in our communities or in our neighborhoods. And we will do everything in our power to hold dangerous criminals accountable for the crimes they commit,” he added.

“Today’s indictment sends a loud message that we are committed to our law enforcement partners and the communities in which we live,” said James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. “Gang activity and criminal enterprises thrive on financial gain and perpetuate criminal violence on our streets. IRS-Criminal Investigation brings its financial expertise to an investigation, and we are privileged to be working with the Chicago Police Department and other federal law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe.”

The Illinois Department of Corrections also participated in the investigation. The Chicago Police Department initiated the investigation, which the federal agencies joined later under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High Intensity Drug Task Force (HIDTA). The case is part of a sustained, coordinated effort by federal law enforcement agencies, working together with the Chicago Police and other state and local departments, to disrupt Chicago’s sophisticated, often violent, drug trafficking organizations.

Law enforcement has identified the Hobos as a tight-knit, violent crew that originated in the former Robert Taylor Homes and banded together from factions of the much larger Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples street gangs. They allegedly targeted drug dealers and high-value targets to rob and relied upon each other to protect their drug territory, retaliate against rival gangs, and prevent witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.

All nine defendants were charged with racketeering conspiracy and are currently in state or federal custody. They, all of Chicago, are

•     Gregory Chester, also known as “Bowlegs,” “Big Homie,” “Pops,” and “Desjuar Anderson,” 36, of Richton Park, identified as the leader of the Hobos
•     Arnold Council, aka “Armstrong” and “Hobo,” 37
•     Paris Poe, aka “Poleroski,” 33
•     Gabriel Bush, aka “Louie,” 34
•     Stanley Vaughn, aka “Smiley,” 36
•     William Ford, aka “Joe Buck,” 33
•     Gary Chester, aka “Chee,” 35 (Gregory Chester’s cousin)
•     Byron Brown, aka “B-Rupt,” 28. Byron Brown’s deceased twin brother, Brandon Brown, is named as an unindicted co-conspirator.
•     Rodney Jones, aka “Milk,” 26

Poe, Council, Bush, and Byron Brown were each charged with one count of murder in aid of racketeering, and council was charged with brandishing a firearm during a clothing store robbery. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of an unspecified amount of illegal proceeds.

All nine defendants will be arraigned on later dates in U.S. District Court.

According to the indictment, the murders committed by members and associates of the Hobos Enterprise included

•     Wilbert Moore, who was killed because he was cooperating with law enforcement, by Council and Poe on January 19, 2006
•     Terrance Anderson by Bush and others on September 1, 2007
•     Eddie Moss by Byron Brown and others on December 14, 2007
•     Larry Tucker by Bush, the Brown brothers, and others on January 20, 2008
•     Kenneth Mosby by Byron Brown and others on May 12, 2008.

Gregory Chester allegedly solicited the murder of Antonio Bluitt, which occurred on September 2, 2007.

The attempted murders included

•     Victim 1 by Council and Poe on June 11, 2006
•     Victims 2 and 3 by Bush and Ford on June 5, 2007
•     Victim 4 by Bush and Vaughn on June 27, 2007
•     Victim 5 by Jones on November 5, 2007

The robberies included

•     Victim 1 by Council and Poe on June 11, 2006
•     the Collections Clothing Store by Council and others on November 8, 2008
•     Victims 6 and 7 by Poe, Gary Chester, and others on March 25, 2009

The RICO conspiracy count further alleges that the Hobos and their associates operated drug spots and drug lines where they distributed user quantities of narcotics, at times using nicknames to identify their products. These locations included

•     the building and area located at 4429 South Federal, within the former Robert Taylor Homes, which was controlled and managed by Gregory Chester and Council and drugs were sold under the nicknames “Green Monster” and “Pink Panther"
•     the area around 47th Street and Vincennes Avenue, which was controlled by Bush and Vaughn and operated by Ford
•     the area around 51st Street and Calumet Avenue, which was managed by the Brown brothers and Jones
•     the area around 51st Street and Martin Luther King Drive, which was controlled by Bush

As part of the racketeering conspiracy, the defendants allegedly

•     used gang-related terminology, symbols, and gestures, including the slogan “Hobo or Nothing” and a hand sign known as the “Hobo Horns”
•     shared the proceeds of robberies and the trafficking of narcotics
•     obtained, used, brandished, and discharged firearms in connection with the enterprise’s illegal activities
•     managed the procurement, transfer, use, concealment, and disposal of firearms and dangerous weapons within the enterprise to protect their interests and further their goals
•     monitored law enforcement radio frequencies and acquired radio equipment to detect and avoid law enforcement inquiry into their illegal activities
•     had nominees obtain rental vehicles to conceal their use while committing illegal activities
•     identified victims from whom they could obtain distribution quantities of controlled substances or large sums of money by robbing them
•     conducted surveillance of intended murder and robbery victims, a practice referred to as “lamping” and “doing homework"
•     restrained and murdered victims and witnesses to prevent their escapes and to prevent identification of themselves and their associates.

The RICO conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, or life for the four defendants charged with committing murders. Those four defendants―Poe, Council, Bush, and Byron Brown―also face a mandatory life sentence, or death, if convicted of murder in aid of racketeering. Only the Attorney General of the United States may decide later whether to seek the death penalty. The charge of brandishing a firearm against Council carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of seven years and a maximum of life in prison. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to impose under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Otlewski, Erika Csicsila, and Derek Owens.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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4 Arrested by @Chicago_Police in Gang-Related Mass Shooting

Four people have been charged in the gang-related Chicago shooting involving an assault-style rifle that injured 13 people in a city park, including a 3-year old boy, police announced today.

"As of right now we have four offenders charged in this shooting, including the man who fired that military grade weapon and the man who supplied that military grade weapon," police superintendent Garry McCarthy told a press conference.



Tabari Young, 22, Bryon Champ, 21, Brad Jett, 22, and Kewane Gatewood, 20, were all charged with three counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, McCarthy said.

Young, police said, was the main shooter in last Thursday's incident in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the city's South Side. Champ, who police said also fired a gun, is a documented gang member who was convicted of a felony - unlawful use of a weapon by a felon - last year, but was only sentenced to boot camp, according to police. Gatewood, authorities said, supplied the military grade weapon and Jett participated as a lookout, McCarthy said.

McCarthy said that Champ was the "main player" in the incident, citing that Champ suffered a graze wound to his leg in a shooting earlier in the day that led to the retaliatory shooting at the basketball court in the Back of the Yards.

"If Bryon Champ is not on the street - as he shouldn't have been - this incident likely does not occur," McCarthy said. "If Champ is not on the street, there's no retaliation because there's no incident," he added. "This individual was the victim of gun violence and then became the offender of it."

Among the wounded was 3-year old Deonta Howard, who suffered a gunshot wound to his ear. Howard has undergone plastic surgery and is expected to recover.

Thursday's incident was only the latest in a string of tragic shootings in the city. Earlier this year 15-year old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed only days after performing at President Obama's inauguration.

McCarthy today reiterated his calls for stricter gun laws to help crack down on the city's gun violence problems. "Illegal guns and weapons designed for war do not belong on the streets of Chicago," he said.

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Don't Miss it When @TheMobMuseum Hosts "JFK: An Inside Look at the Assassination of a President, 50 Years Later"

On Thursday, November 7, at 7 p.m., The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, will host “JFK: An Inside Look into the Assassination of a President 50 Years Later” in its historic courtroom. Part of the Museum’s ongoing programming series, the evening will provide a look back at this historic event through the differing perspectives of three panelists.

Authors Patrick Nolan (“CIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys,” due to be released on November 6), Gerald Posner (“Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK”) and G. Robert Blakey (“The Plot to Kill the President” and “Fatal Hour: The Assassination of President Kennedy by Organized Crime”) will address questions such as: Was Lee Harvey Oswald a lone shooter? What role, if any, did organized crime play in the assassination? Was government involved? Moderating the panel will be Tom Stone, senior lecturer in English at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, who has taught classes for the last 20 years on JFK’s assassination.




Patrick Nolan is a forensic historian who has dedicated his life to uncovering truths surrounding the JFK, MLK, and RFK assassinations of the 1960s. He’s been a journalist, a television news producer, and a professor at Hofstra University and St. John’s University. His groundbreaking book, “CIA Rogues and the Killing of the Kennedys:  How and Why US Agents Conspired to Assassinate JFK and RFK,” is based on world-famous forensic scientist Dr. Henry C. Lee’s conclusion that both Kennedy murders involved more than one gunman. Were the conspirators who assassinated the President the same perpetrators that killed his brother the Senator? In “CIA Rogues,” Nolan offers a fresh new look at the evidence and pieces together one of the most disturbing puzzles in American History. He claims an alliance involving a high-level CIA rogue element, led by Richard Helms and James Angleton, with mob support, had the motive, means and opportunity to carry out both assassinations and cover them up for nearly a half century.

At 23, Posner was one of the youngest attorneys ever hired by Cravath, Swaine & Moore. A Political Science major, Posner was a Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (1975), where he was also a national debating champion, winner of the Meiklejohn Award. At Hastings Law School (1978), he was an Honors Graduate and served as the Associate Executive Editor for the Law Review. Posner has worked as a freelance writer on investigative issues for several news magazines, and a regular contributor to NBC, the History Channel, CNN, FOX News, CBS, and MSNBC. He is the author of 11 books covering everything from Nazi war criminals to heroin trafficking to political assassinations to 9/11 and terrorism.  His 1993 book, “Case Closed,” was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer in History.  It received widespread critical acclaim. Typical was historian Robert Dallek in The Boston Globe, “Superb…The most convincing explanation of the assassination” and Jeffrey Toobin in the Chicago Tribune, “Utterly convincing…Fascinating and important…Case closed, indeed.”  In Case Closed, Posner concludes that Oswald alone killed JFK.

Blakey is a recognized expert on organized crime and an authority on the JFK assassination. In the late 1960s he campaigned for and helped write much of the anti-racketeering legislation (RICO Act) that had a major impact on fighting organized crime. As chief counsel to the 1977 House Select Committee on Assassinations, Blakey led the investigation into President Kennedy's assassination, reexamining the evidence with a new forensics panel. Blakey also worked as a Special Attorney at the Department of Justice in the Organized Crime & Racketeering Section from 1960 to 1964. Blakey is the co-author with Richard Billings of “The Plot to Kill the President” (1981). The book was reissued in paperback in 1993 as “Fatal Hour: The Assassination of President Kennedy by Organized Crime.”

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with a reception featuring light fare and a cash bar. The program will begin promptly at 7 p.m. in The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom. Following the moderator-led panel discussion, audience members will have a chance to ask questions and have their books signed by the authors. The evening will mark the first public signing of Nolan’s book. The program will conclude by 9 p.m.

Tickets for the November 7 event are $30 for non-members; Museum members will receive a 10 percent discount. To make reservations, please call (702) 229-2734 or visit http://themobmuseum.org/archives/category/events/.

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Top 15 Cities for Murders, #Chicago is #1 #MurderCapitalUSA

1. Chicago | 500
2. New York | 419
3. Detroit | 386
4. Philadelphia | 331
5. Los Angeles | 299
6. Baltimore | 219
7. Houston | 217
8. New Orleans | 193
9. Dallas | 154
10. Memphis | 133
11. Oakland | 126
12. Phoenix | 124
13. St. Louis | 113
14. Kansas City | 105
15. Indianapolis | 101

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List of 13 People Shot by Chicago Gang Members in Mass Shooting #MurderCapitalUSA

A 3-year-old boy, shot in the ear, in critical condition at Mount Sinai;
A 17-year-old girl, shot in the foot, condition stabilized at Holy Cross Hospital;
A 15-year-old boy shot in the arm, stabilized at Holy Cross;
A man, 27, shot in the leg and wrist, serious condition at Mount Sinai;
A man, 24, shot twice in the stomach, serious condition at Mount Sinia;
A man, 21, shot in the leg, serious condition at Mount Sinai;
A man, 41, shot in the buttocks, serious condition at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital;
A woman, 33, shot in the shoulder, condition stabilized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital;
A man, 31, shot in the buttocks, condition stabilized at Northwestern;
A woman, 23, shot in the foot, condition stabilized at St. Anthony Hospital;
A man, 37, shot in the leg, in good condition at Stroger;
A man, 25, shot in the knee, in good condition at Northwestern;
And a man, 33, who drove himself to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park with a gunshot wound to the leg and who was treated and released.

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13 People Shot in Mass Shooting in Chicago, Gang Banger Shooter Still At-Large #MurderCapitalUSA

A work week that began with a mass shooting in a Washington D.D. Navy Yard, that left 12 victims dead concludes with a mass shooting in Chicago in which 13 people, including a 3-year-old boy, were wounded.

It happened Thursday at about 10:15 p.m. local time in a working-class neighborhood called Back of the Yards in Chicago's South Side, NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

She adds that "one witness told the Sun-Times that men fired at him from a car before turning toward a park. That's where the victims — several adults, two teenagers and the 3-year-old, were shot on a basketball court."

As of dawn Friday, Cheryl says, "no one had been taken into custody. Police were interviewing victims to determine the circumstances but say the shooting appears to be gang-related."

According to the Chicago Tribue, the 3-year-old "suffered a gunshot wound to the head at an ear that exited through his mouth, and was in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. The oldest victim, according to the Tribune, was 41 years old.

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Chicago Ranked #1 in Murders #MurderCapitalofUS

While it is not a surprise, New York better move over, as the Windy City is now the murder capital of America.

According to new crime statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chicago had more homicides in 2012 than any other city in the country. There were 500 murders in Chicago last year, the FBI said, surpassing New York City, which had 419.

In 2011, there were 515 homicides in the Big Apple, compared with the 431 in Chicago. But as the Washington Post noted, residents of Chicago and New York were much less likely to be victims of a homicide than some Michigan residents. In Flint, for example, there were 63 killings — a staggering number when you consider Flint's population is 101,632 — "meaning 1 in every 1,613 city residents were homicide victims." In Detroit, where 386 killings occurred in 2012, 1 in 1,832 were homicide victims.

Guns were used in the vast majority of slayings in the United States last year. According to the FBI data, 69.3 percent involved a firearm.

Overall, violent crime — homicides and aggravated assaults — was up less than 1 percent in 2012, according to FBI data.

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Boardwalk Empire Volume 2: Music From The HBO Original Series - Paying Homage to Sounds from the Prohibition Era

This September, luminaries from across the music world are paying homage to the sounds of the Prohibition Era with the ABKCO Records release of 'Boardwalk Empire Volume 2: Music From The HBO® Original Series.' The soundtrack features all new recordings from a wide range of vocalists - from Elvis Costello and Patti Smith to St. Vincent and The National's Matt Berninger - singing timeless standards and forgotten gems from the 1920s. Season 4 of the hit HBO series premiered on September 8th.

Following up on their GRAMMY win for Volume 1, producer Stewart Lerman and Boardwalk Empire music supervisor Randall Poster bring together a swinging, sauntering collection of big-band classics, New Orleans rags, sultry ballads and torch songs. Album highlights include Costello crooning "It Had To Be You," Liza Minnelli belting out "You've Got To See Mama Ev'ry Night (Or You Can't See Mama At All)," Berninger lending his rugged baritone to "I'll See You In My Dreams," and Neko Case breathing new life into "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out." Featuring inimitable contributions from high-profile recording artists including Rufus Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III, St. Vincent and David Johansen, Poster has created an album that retains a remarkable cohesion with the series and with the music of the 1920s.

Poster, a frequent music supervisor for renowned directors including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Sam Mendes, stated, "Boardwalk Empire provides an incredible back drop for music. It's been a steady treat to mark the passing of time in song over the course of four seasons," said series music supervisor Randall Poster. "Terry Winters, Martin Scorsese and the entire Boardwalk Empire team inspire the sound of the episodes as we move from the streets and alleys of Atlantic City to the smoky rooms of Al Capone's Chicago and on down into the tropics of Florida. This compilation celebrates the mastery of all the artists involved."

With instrumentation recorded by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks - the NYC jazz ensemble and Boardwalk Empire house band - the album also includes performances by cast members Stephen DeRosa (as song-and-dance man Eddie Cantor) and Margot Bingham (as a new character to be introduced this fall) singing tracks that will be debuted throughout the new season.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE VOLUME 2 TRACK LIST

1. David Johansen - Strut Miss Lizzie
2. Stephen DeRosa - Old King Tut
3. Elvis Costello - It Had To Be You
4. Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks - Everybody Loves My Baby
5. Liza Minnelli - You've Got To See Mama Ev'ry Night (Or You Can't See Mama At All)
6. Leon Redbone - Baby Won't You Please Come Home
7. St. Vincent - Make Believe
8. Pokey LaFarge - Lovesick Blues
9. Neko Case - Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
10. Karen Elson - Who's Sorry Now
11. Stephan DeRosa - You'd Be Surprised
12. Margot Bingham - I'm Going South
13. Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks - Sugarfoot Stomp
14. Rufus Wainwright - Jimbo Jambo
15. Kathy Brier - There'll Be Some Changes Made
16. Margot Bingham - Somebody Loves Me
17. Chaim Tannenbaum - All Alone
18. Loudon Wainwright III - The Prisoner's Song
19. Patti Smith - I Ain't Got Nobody
20. Matt Berninger - I'll See You In My Dreams
*All tracks featuring Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks

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Gary Allen's "None Dare Call It Conspiracy" Has Been Updated in a Special Edition for 2013

In 1972, Gary Allen wrote with Larry Abraham None Dare Call It Conspiracy (prefaced by Congressmen John G. Schmitz), a best seller which achieved sales of over five million copies worldwide during the United States presidential election.[7]

In this book, Congressmen John G. Schmitz says in the Introduction, "The story you are about to read is true." Allen goes on to assert that the present political and economic systems in most developed nations are the result of a sweeping conspiracy by the Establishment's power elite, which started in the early 1900s. According to this theory, this has been a four-step process:

1. Establish an income tax system as a means of extorting money from the common man;
2. Establish a central bank, deceptively named so that people will think it is part of the government;
3. Have this bank be the holder of the national debt;
4. Run the national debt, and the interest thereon, sky high through wars (or any sort of deficit spending), starting with World War I.[8]

He quotes the Council on Foreign Relations as having stated, in its study no. 7 : ”The U.S. must strive to: A. BUILD A NEW INTERNATIONAL ORDER.” (Capitals in the original).[9]

This book is a primer for anyone who wishes to understand the basic workings of the global network of Insiders that is determined to wield power over all of mankind in the coming New World Order. The Special Edition is updated with illustrations and charts for 2013.

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Today is 9/11, What Good Deed Will You Do Today?

Dear Friends,

Today is the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Our hearts are with the victims' families, the survivors, first responders, recovery workers, and our military and their families.

Please join us in paying tribute to all of them by doing a special good deed today.

Consider making a donation perhaps, like purchasing needed school supplies for your child’s class, or scheduling time to give blood. Think about how you might volunteer your time and talents in your community. Bake cupcakes for a local fire or police station. Or look into adopting a pet from a local animal shelter. Reconnect with a relative you haven’t seen or spoken with in a while. Take your children to visit their grandparents. Or simply buy someone a cup of coffee.

It’s really up to you.

We hope you’ll visit our Facebook/911day page, read what others are doing, and share your own good deeds with us. Or post your plans on our website at 911day.org if you haven’t already done so.

We wish you all the best today, and we thank you for making 9/11 this nation’s largest annual day of charitable service.

God bless the victims and heroes of 9/11 and their families!

Your friends,

David Paine, Co-Founder & Jay Winuk, Co-Founder

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Graham Greene's #TheQuietAmerican Classic Novel about a CIA Agent Who Creates a Puppet Government

"I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused," Graham Greene's narrator Fowler remarks of Alden Pyle, the eponymous "Quiet American" of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission to Saigon, where the French Army struggles against the Vietminh guerrillas.

As young Pyle's well-intentioned policies blunder into bloodshed, Fowler, a seasoned and cynical British reporter, finds it impossible to stand safely aside as an observer. But Fowler's motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and himself, for Pyle has stolen Fowler's beautiful Vietnamese mistress.

Originally published in 1956 and twice adapted to film, The Quiet American remains a terrifiying and prescient portrait of innocence at large. This Graham Greene Centennial Edition includes a new introductory essay by Robert Stone.

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"The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Russell Bufalino, the Mob's Most Fearsome Kingpin" Investigates Former Gov. Ed Rendell's Involvement with Awarding Lucrative Casino Licenses in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania state police ran a top-secret investigation into whether then-Gov. Ed Rendell and his administration rigged the outcome of the casino licensing process to benefit favored applicants, including a wealthy and politically connected businessman suspected of having mob ties, a new book asserts. But the probe failed to lead to criminal charges against anyone in the administration or on the state gambling board, and prosecutors blamed the state Supreme Court for thwarting the investigation, according to "The Quiet Don," a forthcoming book by Matt Birkbeck that also serves as the first full-length biography of reclusive northeastern Pennsylvania mob boss Russell Bufalino.

Birkbeck covered the troubled beginnings of Pennsylvania's casino industry as a newspaper reporter, and here he pieces together the yearslong effort by state police and local prosecutors to probe whether corruption was involved in the awarding of the lucrative casino licenses.

The narrative emerges from interviews with dozens of participants, including now-retired Lt. Col. Ralph Periandi, the No. 2 official in the Pennsylvania State Police.

Periandi initiated the probe in 2005 because he suspected that "Rendell, members of his administration and others in state government might be trying to control the new gaming industry in Pennsylvania," Birkbeck writes.

Rendell did not return a call for comment. He has long denied any impropriety.

The book follows Periandi and his small, secret "Black Ops" team of covert investigators as they dig into the gambling board, the Rendell administration and Louis DeNaples, a powerful northeastern Pennsylvania businessman who'd been awarded a casino license despite questions about his suitability.

DeNaples was eventually charged with perjury in January 2008 for allegedly lying to state gambling regulators about whether he had connections to Bufalino - the titular "quiet don" - and other mob figures. Prosecutors later dropped the charges in an agreement that required DeNaples to turn over Mount Airy Casino Resort to his daughter. DeNaples has long denied any ties to the mob.

Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico agreed to the DeNaples deal because "the Supreme Court had interfered in his case twice already, and he feared that no matter what he did, the court would see to it that the DeNaples prosecution would never move forward," Birkbeck writes.

The author said investigators "basically stepped on a bee's nest" when they went after DeNaples.

Chief Justice Ronald Castille did not return a call placed to his office. He has rejected similar allegations about Supreme Court interference in the gambling industry as ludicrous, slanderous and irresponsible.

"The Quiet Don" traces Bufalino's ascent to mob boss, including his role in organizing the infamous 1957 meeting of Mafia leaders in Apalachin, N.Y., his control of the garment industry in New York and Philadelphia, and his control of the Teamsters union and its leader, Jimmy Hoffa.

The book asserts that it was Bufalino who ordered a hit on Hoffa, a claim also made in the 2004 Mafia memoir "I Heard You Paint Houses," in which confessed mob hitman Frank Sheeran said he killed Hoffa on Bufalino's say-so. Hoffa disappeared in 1975; his body has never been found.

What's new here is the reason: Birkbeck writes Bufalino was upset by a 1975 Time magazine article that linked him, for the first time, to the CIA's attempts to enlist the Mafia to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and he feared Hoffa would tell Senate investigators what he knew about the failed plot.

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"Prisoner of Dreams: Confessions of a Harlem Drug Dealer" Provides a Fascinating Look at the New York City Underworld During the Era of the French Connection and Superfly

Prisoner of Dreams: Confessions of a Harlem Drug Dealer is the  true story of Rick Talley, a black man who returned from Vietnam with a dream that he made a reality and who then had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Talley returned to New York City from the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, a time of turbulence and change. Race relations in America were changing, thanks to the Civil Right movement. Still, racism was very much alive in America.

Times were tough for a young black man in America, especially one who has fought in an unpopular war. Rick Talley took what he believed to be the only economic road open to him: drug dealing. In the late 1960s and early 70s, America was awash in drugs, and an entrepreneurial black man bent on a criminal lifestyle could make millions of dollars.

Prisoner of Dreams presents a large cast of characters, from small time street hustlers and pimps to Hollywood and Las Vegas celebrities to organized crime figures. It was a time of the French Connection and of Superfly and Black Caesar and Talley was there to interact and observe. In a poignant, eye-opening memoir, the author describes his life and the times, the good and the bad, in New York City and Harlem, during one of the most seminal periods in America history.

Prisoner of Dreams is more than just a story about the world of drugs. Once a prisoner of his own dreams Mr. Talley is no longer a prisoner of any kind but the master of his life and dreams. The hard times he once lived helped him rise above the problems and to understand their true meaning.

The author dares to speak out loud about real issues of which for years were only whispered about in dark rooms. He tells his story and not for a moment thought to hide from it, forget it, and this way he manages to turn what could have been a failure into a great success. He is one of the few who dares to dream and live his dreams.

“Intriguing, Prisoner of Dreams captures a moment in time and allows the reader to be there. Talley educates the reader about the secrets of a fascinating lifestyle.”
Reggie Wells, legendary DJ, Formerly of 98.7 Kiss FM Radio, New York City

“As a personal and long lasting associate and friend of Rick Talley, let me say that this book is the truth, as well as a serious accounting of an intriguing life style in one of the Big Apple’s most interesting eras.“
Jesse Gray, Harlem hustler and boss maker

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Rick Talley Discusses "Prisoner of Dreams: Confessions of a Harlem Drug Dealer" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On September 5th, Rick Talley, author of Prisoner of Dreams: Confessions of a Harlem Drug Dealer appears on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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