THE PURVEYOR

by John Starr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 1961

Through the life story of ""Angelo Pavane"" (not a real name but a real person) the operations of bootlegging are set forth-and the many types of law breaking it encompasses. From his boyhood in New York City, when he worked for his Mafia uncle, to the one time he was in jail (reform school), to the development of the empire that worked out of New Jersey during prohibition, Angelo tells of the men who controlled the rackets, the violence that snowballed, the formation of the ""Syndicate"" and the fix upon fix that protected them. He tells too of his marriage to Maria who would not stand for his criminal life, abandoned him with their baby daughter; of the drifting years in Florida after he went broke; of his attempts to turn a legitimate buck by running a restaurant and of the way in which he was back in underworld activities. All the way through are real characters -- Luciano, Gordon, Yale, Lanza, Costello, Little Augie, etc., etc., and the working of organized crime takes its pattern. Facts footnote the story, and criminal records have been checked with official files, so that this case history of ""The Business"" (which costs the government as much as $1,500,000,000 in lost tax revenue) is an indictment of its disgraceful power.

Pub Date: May 8, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION