Since the beginning of American politics, the underworld and “upperworld” have needed each other to exist and thrive. United by the oldest of human sins, good old-fashioned greed, men from both worlds have been unable to resist the temptation of power and fortune. Politicians have needed votes to stay in power, cops have needed money, and gangsters have needed protection for their vice rackets.

In these alarming, complex, and occasionally ingenious tales of treachery and murder, few of these men who were on the gangsters’ payroll wandered through the shadows unpunished.