Outlaws and gangsters have always been the simplest creatures in the criminal class, the amoebas -- numerous, short-lived, and motivated by the oldest instincts. 
And yet some were magical with a handgun, able to growl incantations that made strangers hand over their possessions.
Today, many people are fascinated by the exploits of such men and women, particularly those from the early 20th century. The best way to enjoy their popcorn-flavored stories is by picking up a good encyclopedia, which, if well done, is a big bucket of crunchy kernels for the gangster aficionado.
Few crime encyclopedias pass my rigorous test -- to go beyond the well-known and well-worn stories and into the lesser-known but often just as absorbing tales of minor-league criminals, the development of crime labs, and the revolution in crime control. Two particularly well done encyclopedias in this vein have crossed my desk of late, and I share the titles with you because they distinguish themselves with impeccable research into the dusty corners of gangland.
The Complete Public Enemy Almanac (Cumberland House) impressively manages to break new ground in a well-tilled field by offering previously unpublished stories and photos from the gangster era, 1920-1940. The standards are all here, of course, in skillful prose -- Baby Face Nelson, the Purple Gang, Bonnie and Clyde, etc.
The authors, William J. Helmer (photographed above mugging it up in his Dillinger outfit) and Rick Mattix, both familiar and respected in our favorite genre, manage to come up with previously unpublished photos that nobody's seen in decades, such as a "new" photo of Scarface. And I was fascinated by their take on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, the murders that spelled the death knell for Prohibition. (The next time you find yourself in a pub, tip one back for the Moran Gang.) Most impressive is the book's 58-page annotated bibliography of gangster literature, the most comprehensive I have ever seen in the true crime genre.
To my delight, the authors also rammed the back roads collecting stories of dozens of forgotten gangsters, such as Rocco Perri -- Canada's Capone (for Canada went through its own booze-fueled crime wave). It's a dark story, sure, but I couldn't help but chuckle at an excerpt from his testimony before a commission investigating bootlegging, in which he manages to twist his questioner into knots:
Q. How much did you get a case?
A. A case for what?
Q. For the goods ordered over the phone.
A. I never ordered no stuff over the phone.
Q. How much were you paid?
A. All I pay or they pay me?
Q. They pay you?
A. Who?
Q. Penn.
A. Penn pay me?
Q. Yes.
A. What for?
Meanwhile, in Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld, 1900-1935, gangsterologist Patrick Downey [who contributed to the Public Enemy Almanac] manages to squeeze the stories of six hundred gangsters into three hundred pages. Lucky Luciano and Dutch Schultz are here, naturally enough, but the focus is on their contemporaries -- Lefty, Whitey, Waxey, Maxey, Mickey, Monkey, Hoppy, Happy, Fatty, Frenchy, Pretty, Pinchey, Dinny, Dopey, Sonny, Smokey, and so on, many resurrected from sidewalk deaths.
The book features scenes from a speakeasy, "Murder, Inc.'s Greatest Hits," double-crosses, rubouts, trigger work, and the like, and best of all, the words of the men themselves. Some gems:
"I deal in pigeons." -- Monk Eastman, under oath
"There ain't no God, there's only electricity." -- "Wild" Bill Lovett
"Get away. Don't bother me. I know I'm dying, but you get nothing from me." -- John Saricelli, to the police, on the occasion of his murder
"Newspapers create a character for you, and if you don't live up to it, the public thinks you're no good. They want to see horns actually sprouting out of my head. They want me to talk tough. I never said 'Yiz' or 'Youse' in my life." -- "Legs" Diamond
Residents of New York will be delighted to find a neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to the addresses of infamous crime scenes mentioned in this book, where many of these men were "put on the spot."
For more gangster popcorn, see these websites:
Publisher's website for The Complete Public Enemy Almanac
Website and link collection of author Rick Mattix
Website for Rick Mattix's quarterly On The Spot Journal, with genre news, author plugs, and rants
Website for author Bill Helmer (in the works), Gangsters and Outlaws
Website for author Patrick Downey
Patrick Downey's Historic Gangster Hit of the Day
About that alleged Rocco Perri testimony -- are you sure it wasn't actually delivered by Chico Marx? Didn't the transcript end "Why a duck?"?
Posted by: Joseph T Major | April 18, 2007 at 06:56 PM