The Crime of the Century in Clare, Michigan, comes alive in this vivid account of events and people behind a spectacular 1938 murder in the Doherty Hotel. Meet Isaiah Leebove--brilliant lawyer, artful dodger, friend and mouthpiece to gangsters, oil speculator, and inveterate gamble--as he interacts with famous gangsters like Arnold Rothstein, the 'fixer' of the 1919 World Series, 'Dapper Dan' Collins in New York City, and the Purple Gang out of Detroit. Happily married to a beautiful showgirl, loyal to his extensive family, sympathetic to the downtrodden, his private life is at odds with his work as a mouthpiece and money launderer for the mob. Leebove is a mysterious figure living and dying in the boundary between respectability and the underworld.Leebove's murderer, Jack Livingston, consumed by an almost deranged love of showmanship and unbalanced by alcoholism, teeters between genius as an oil speculator and irrational acts of self-deception and destruction. Was the slaying merely revenge for a perceived slight, or did the mob put him up to getting rid of Leebove?Mystery Man draws on a wide range of unpublished material, as well as newspaper reports and personal interviews to present this exciting tale gangsters, oil, and murder in Michigan.

Mystery Man. Gangsters, Oil, and Murder in Michigan

Robert Knapp

Cliophile Press

Sam Garfield lived fifty years in the small town of Clare, Michigan. He and his much loved wife, Ruby, were solid citizens who participated in civic affairs, were appreciated business people, and formed many friendships. Beyond Clare, however, Sam was closely allied with major gangsters such as members of the Purple Gang, Moe Dalitz’ Cleveland Syndicate and, most of all, meg-mobster Meyer Lansky. On his own, Sam ran major gambling and securities schemes. But his most important role was as an agent for these criminals as they laundered their ill-gotten gains into gambling establishments and, most of all, investments in oil discovery and exploitation, Sam’s specialty. As a minion to the mob, Sam played an important but little recognized role in making some of America’s biggest hoodlums into successful entrepreneurial gangsters.

Small-Town Citizen, Minion of the Mob: Sam Garfield's Two Lives Purple Gangsters, Meyer Lansky, and Life in Clare, Michigan

Biographies & Memoirs

Knapp, Robert

True Crime

DESIRE A SIGNED COPY? This exciting book from Cliophile Press can be sent with author signature BUT YOU MUST ORDER FROM CLIOBOOKS. Contact cliolibri@gmail.com with a request when you order.

Gangsters Up North Mobsters, Mafia, and Racketeers in Michigan's Vacationlands

The Laboratory School provided generations of teachers, students, and parents an outstanding education on the campus of Central Michigan University. Many changes occurred during the 75 years of the school's existence. Buildings came and went, personnel and programs evolved, but throughout, a philosophy of "we learn by doing" brought out the best in instructors and kids alike. This book tells the story in fact and reminiscences of a truly exceptional Community of Learning.

Community of Learning: History and Memories. The Laboratory School Central Michigan University 1895-1970

History

Americas

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Books by Cliophile Press

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Cliophile Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Mystery Man. Gangsters, Oil, and Murder in Michigan

Small-Town Citizen, Minion of the Mob: Sam Garfield's Two Lives Purple Gangsters, Meyer Lansky, and Life in Clare, Michigan

Gangsters Up North Mobsters, Mafia, and Racketeers in Michigan's Vacationlands

Community of Learning: History and Memories. The Laboratory School Central Michigan University 1895-1970