NIGHT STICK The Autobiography of Lewis J. Valentine

Hardback. With an Intro' by Fiorello H. La Guardia. Here you will find a first hand account of Murder, Inc.; of "Dutch" Schultz, the businessman racketeer; of Vinny Higgins, rum runner and powerful underworld leader, whose one decent act in life was the manner of his death; of "Legs" Diamond, the human ammunition dump; of "Two Gun" Crowley, undersized and underwitted killer, who said upon his death, "Underneath my coat you will find a weary and kind heart that wouldn't harm anything," of Vincent Coll, the gunsel, familiarly known among his intimates as "the mad dog"; of Gordon Hanby, "the courteous killer." All the names and notorious reputations are here, as Commissioner Valentine relates the story of the rise of gangsterdom in the 1920s and traces in detail the brilliant, systematic job which the New York Police Department accomplished in quelling and eventually eliminating this menace. With Index. 320pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. With previous owner's name and date insc. to fep, lightly foxed, o/w Vg+