November release planned for Gangster Hunters

Gangster Hunters

How Hoover’s G-Men Vanquished
America’s Deadliest Public Enemies

by John Oller

John Oller’s meticulously researched account of the FBI’s early days is due to be released by Dutton (imprint of Penguin Publishing Group) on November 26, 2024.

John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd – these infamous Depression-era criminals have been immortalized as some of the most vicious felons in our history, but they share another commonality: every single one was brought down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation during a chaotic war on crime, which started in 1933 and thrust the FBI into the national spotlight for the first time. 

Surprisingly little has been written about field-level agents responsible for hunting down the most dangerous criminals and bringing them to justice... until now. In this new book, Gangster Hunters, critically acclaimed author John Oller (also author of the 2021 release Rogues Gallery) brings to light the true stories of FBI’s unsung heroes. He gives play-by-play accounts of the G-men’s blood-soaked shootouts and intrepid pursuits of fleeing desperadoes while also exploring their methodical detective work.

John Oller

It might come as a surprise that most young FBI agents in the 1930s weren’t prepared for the wild lifestyle their careers would require. The Bureau initially had no jurisdiction over violent crimes, such as murders, bank robberies and kidnappings, and its special agents had little reason to believe they would be involved in such matters. But with Hoover at its helm, FBI quickly gained power and the fresh-faced agents found themselves in high-speed car chases wrapped in bullet-proof vests. Some agents sacrificed everything in the pursuit of justice, some were unceremoniously blacklisted by Hoover, and others simply never received the attention they deserved.

Gangster Hunters is full of exciting new primary research and dozens of never-before-seen photos. Oller interviewed thirty descendants of the early FBI agents he profiles. Weaving together their accounts, his book is able to correct historical accounts and myths about gangsters and manhunts that have long been considered fact.

The print edition of the book contains about 500 pages, including index, endnotes and bibliography. Hardcover and Kindle ebook formats can be ordered now through Amazon.com.

Valachi's world

Issue 34 (November 2024) of Informer has been released and is widely available in magazine, book and electronic formats. The issue, titled The Treacherous World of Joseph Valachi, focuses on Mafia informant Valachi, his time and place, and many of the individuals who played roles in his life.

A rare primary source into Castellammarese War-era Mafia history, Joseph Valachi also described the early gangland of East Harlem, Manhattan and the Bronx, and provided a unique soldier-level view of New York-area organized crime from Prohibition to Apalachin. An early FBI informant, Valachi was the focus of a best-selling book and a popular movie, as well as televised Senate testimony and a lengthy autobiography. Yet, a great deal of the true Valachi story has remained untold.

Now, 60 years after Valachi put pen to paper to tell his story, a team of historians from around the globe is revealing long hidden aspects of his life and investigating the individuals who influenced him.

This Informer issue features articles on various phases of Valachi's existence in and out of "cosa nostra," bios of those who played important roles in his life and background of his time and place. The issue is illustrated with photos, documents and maps. 

Individual biographies are presented for Judge Matthew Thomas Abruzzo, Frank “Big Dick” Amato, Ludwig “Dutchman” Augustine, Brother Abel, Frank “Chic 99” Callace, Edward “Eddie Starr” Capobianco, Angelo Caruso, Stephen “Buck Jones” Casertano, Joseph “Muskie” Castaldo, Carmine “Dolly Dimples” Clementi, Ettore “Eddie” Coco, Vincent “Doc” D’Anna, John “Johnny Dee” DeBellis, Dominick “Dom the Sailor” DiQuarto, Michael DiBenedetto, Assoc. Warden Marion Jesse Elliott, Stephen Franse, Narcotics Agent George H. Gaffney, Eugene “Gene” Giannini, Peter “Thomas O’Neill” Heslin, Peter “Muggin” Leone, Frank “Cheech” Livorsi, Samuel “Sam Medal” Medaglia, Nick Paduano, Michael “Little Apples” Reggione, John “Bum” Rodgers, John “Curley” Russomano, “Sadie,” Fiore “Fury” Siano, Innocenzio “John the Bug” Stoppelli, Giuseppe “Diamond Joe Peppe” Viserti, Tony “Sharkey” Zaccaro. The life stories of many other individuals are explored within feature articles and sidebar articles.

Contributors to the issue: Thomas Hunt (U.S.), Steve Turner (U.K.), Fabien Rossat (France), Jon Black (U.K.), Thibaut Maïquès (France), J. Michael Niotta PhD (U.S.), Thom L. Jones (New Zealand), Patrick Downey (U.S.), Ellen Poulsen (U.S.), Justin Cascio (U.S.), Scott Deitche (U.S.).

In addition to Informer's traditional print and electronic magazine formats, this issue is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats.The magazine and e-magazine editions total about 260 pages, and the book editions are about 500 pages. The available formats are compared here:

Magazine layouts

• Print magazine, 8 1/4" x 10 3/4", 262 pg incl covers, color, sold through MagCloud service, list price $62.00.
• PDF magazine, color, sold through MagCloud, list price $20.00.

Book layouts

• Print Hardcover, 6" x 9", 500 pg, B&W, sold through Amazon, list price $32.95.
• Print Paperback, 6" x 9", 500 pg, B&W, sold through Amazon, list price $24.75.
• Kindle Ebook, B&W, sold through Amazon, list price $15.75.
• EPUB Ebook, B&W, sold through Google Play Books, list price $15.75.

William Flynn bio, 'Bulldog Detective'

The Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America's First War Against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists by Jeffrey D. Simon was released today (January 16, 2024). It is available in hardcover and ebook formats through popular booksellers Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, as well as through academic nonfiction publisher, Rowman & Littlefield.

Publisher's description: 

America in the early twentieth century was rife with threats. Organized crime groups like the Mafia, German spies embedded behind enemy lines ahead of World War I, package bombs sent throughout the country, and the 1920 Wall Street bombing dominated headlines. Yet the story of the one man tasked with combating these threats has yet to be told. The Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America’s First War Against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists is the first book to tell the story of Flynn, the first government official to bring down the powerful Mafia, uncover a sophisticated German spy ring in the United States, and launch a formal war on terrorism on his way to becoming one of the most respected and effective law enforcement officials in American history.

Author Jeffrey Simon

Long before Eliot Ness and the Untouchables went after Al Capone and the Italian mob in Chicago, Flynn dismantled the first Mafia family to exist in America. Next stop for the indefatigable crime fighter would be Chief of the Secret Service where he would set his crosshairs on the country’s most notorious currency counterfeiters. Coined “the Bulldog” for his tenacity, Flynn’s fame soared as he exposed Kaiser Germany’s sophisticated spy and sabotage ring on the cusp of America’s entry into World War I. As the Director of the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner of the FBI), the Bulldog would devise the first counterterrorist strategy in U.S. history. In this riveting biography, author Jeffrey D. Simon brings to life the forgotten saga of one of America’s greatest crime and terrorist fighters.

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Jeffrey Simon's other works include America's Forgotten Terrorists, The Alphabet Bomber and Lone Wolf Terrorism. 

'In Our Blood' by Justin Cascio

In Our Blood: The Mafia Families of Corleone by Justin Cascio is now available in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions.

While the Mafia criminal society is traditionally viewed as a hierarchical organization, author Justin Cascio argues in this book that Mafia networks are largely based on kinship ties. 

The publisher of the Mafia Genealogy website and a frequent contributor to Informer journal, Cascio has channeled years of research into his first book-length project. He notes that pivotal figures in Mafia history, including present-day mafiosi, have direct genealogical ties to one another and to the earliest recorded gangs in Corleone, Sicily. In addition to bloodline and marriage connections, some mafiosi also linked through the significant religious/family role of godparent. 

Cascio discusses dozens of gangland figures in the United States and Sicily as he analyzes family-based networks that include thousands of individuals. Along the way, he tackles some of the lingering questions about the Mafia: How old is the criminal society? Where was it formed? How did it spread from Sicily to the U.S.?

For the benefit of researchers, Cascio has provided references supporting his assertions. The hardcover and paperback editions of In Our Blood weigh in at 390 pages and can be ordered now through Amazon.com. The Kindle ebook, rated by Amazon at a print length of 532 pages, can be preordered now, with deliveries beginning November 12.