The Silent Syndicate

From Prohibition rum-running on the Great Lakes to casino-style gambling in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky, and finally to shimmering Las Vegas, the Cleveland Syndicate evolved from an outright criminal organization into a "respectable" enterprise. In this first volume of his Syndicate books, Hank Messick details the origins and rise of organized crime in America, with particular emphasis on the Cleveland Four: Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Louis Rothkopf, and Samuel Tucker. Along the way he introduces readers to Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, "Trigger" Mike Coppola, and other notable gangsters, lawmen, financiers, and murderers.

About the Author
Messick, Hank: - Hank Messick (1922-1999) was born in Happy Valley, NC, and educated at the University of North Carolina and the University of Iowa. He began his investigative journalism career in western North Carolina and in 1956 began working at the Louisville Courier-Journal, Kentucky's largest newspaper. For the next several years Hank investigated and reported on the Newport, Kentucky, vice industry. He later worked for the Miami Herald and the Boston Traveler, also investigating organized crime and corruption in those communities. After 1967 he wrote full time, authoring 19 books, mostly about organized crime and its influences in American life.