Between 1933 and 1939, the FBI pursued an aggressive, highly publicized nationwide campaign against a succession of Depression era "public enemies," including John Dillinger, George "Baby Face" Nelson, Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd, George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, and the Ma Barker Gang. Bureau Director J. Edgar Hoover's successes in this crusade made him the hero of law and order in the public mind. This historical analysis reveals the agency's often illegal tactics, including torture, frame-ups, and summary executions--later expanded throughout Hoover's 48-year reign in Washington, D.C., and exposed only after his death (some say murder) in 1972.

Although the 1932 kidnapping of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s baby was a worldwide sensation, it was only one of an estimated three thousand ransom kidnappings that occurred in the United States that year. The epidemic hit America during the Great Depression and the last days of Prohibition as criminal gangs turned kidnapping into the highly lucrative “snatch racket.” Wealthy families and celebrities purchased kidnap insurance, hired armed chauffeurs and bodyguards, and carried loaded handguns. Some sent their children to school or summer camp in Europe to get them out of harm’s way. “Recent Kidnappings in America” was a regular feature in the New York Times, while Time magazine included kidnappings in its weekly list of notable births, deaths, and other milestones. The Snatch Racket is the story of a crime epidemic that so frightened families that it undermined confidence in law enforcement and government in general. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt waged a three-year War against Kidnappers with J. Edgar Hoover and his G-men (newly empowered to carry weapons and make arrests) on the front lines. This first U.S. war against terrorism revolutionized and modernized law enforcement in the United States, dramatically expanding the powers of the federal government in the fight against not only kidnapping but many new types of interstate crime. At the heart of the narrative are some of the most iconic names of the twentieth century: Rockefeller, Ford, Lindbergh, Roosevelt, Hoover, Capone, Schwarzkopf, and Hearst, all caught up in the kidnapping frenzy. The Snatch Racket is a spellbinding account of terrifying abductions of prominent citizens, gangsters invading homes with machine guns, the struggles of law enforcement, and the courage of families doing whatever it took to bring home the ransomed.

The first book ever written about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover by a member of his personal staff—his former assistant, Paul Letersky—offers unprecedented, “clear-eyed and compelling” (Mark Olshaker, coauthor of Mindhunter) insight into an American legend. The 1960s and 1970s were arguably among America’s most turbulent post-Civil War decades. While the Vietnam War continued seemingly without end, protests and riots ravaged most cities, the Kennedys and MLK were assassinated, and corruption found its way to the highest levels of politics, culminating in Watergate. In 1965, at the beginning of the chaos, twenty-two-year-old Paul Letersky was assigned to assist the legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover who’d just turned seventy and had, by then, led the Bureau for an incredible forty-one years. Hoover was a rare and complex man who walked confidently among the most powerful. His personal privacy was more tightly guarded than the secret “files” he carefully collected—and that were so feared by politicians and celebrities. Through Letersky’s close working relationship with Hoover, and the trust and confidence he gained from Hoover’s most loyal senior assistant, Helen Gandy, Paul became one of the few able to enter the Director’s secretive—and sometimes perilous—world. Since Hoover’s death half a century ago, millions of words have been written about the man and hundreds of hours of TV dramas and A-list Hollywood films produced. But until now, there has been virtually no account from someone who, for a period of years, spent hours with the Director on a daily basis. Balanced, honest, and keenly observed, this “vivid, foibles-and-all portrait of the fabled scourge of gangsters, Klansmen, and communists” (The Wall Street Journal) sheds new light on one of the most powerful law enforcement figures in American history.

This authoritative set provides a one-stop resource for understanding specific FBI controversies as well as for those looking to understand the full history, law enforcement authority, and inner workings of the nation's most famous and important federal law enforcement agency. This authoritative two-volume reference resource uses a combination of encyclopedia entries and primary sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the FBI, detailing its history, most famous leaders and agents, institutional structure and authority, law enforcement responsibilities, reporting relationships to other parts of government, and major events and controversies. Today the FBI sits squarely at the intersection of major controversies surrounding the presidential campaign and administration of Donald Trump, foreign interference in U.S. elections, and politicization of law enforcement. But the FBI has always been in the political spotlight—its history is dotted with episodes that have come under heavy scrutiny, from its surveillance of civil rights leaders during the 1960s to the methods it employs to combat domestic terrorism in the post-9/11 era. And all the while, FBI agents and offices across the country continue to investigate a wide range of lawbreaking, from organized crime (in all its facets) to white-collar crime and corruption by public officials.

This story of a 1933 kidnapping gone terribly wrong recreates the lawlessness of the era, and discusses how this case--followed breathlessly by the media and a fascinated public--became the first high-profile success of a fledgling FBI. 15 photos.

Al Brady was an armed robber and murderer in the 1930s and became the FBI's Public Enemy #1. The crime spree of Brady and his gang brought them from the south and midwest to Maine. A hardware store owner in Bangor became suspicious when Brady requested a large supply of ammunition and paid with an equally large amount of cash, and notified police. The FBI was waiting in ambush for them when they arrived to pick up the ammo. The rest is history, as on October 12, 1937, Brady and an accomplice were killed in a hail of bullets in broad daylight in downtown Bangor. This spectacular public gun-battle has become an integral part of Maine lore. Now, historian Trudy Irene Scee tells the story, including Brady's growing up in Indiana, his criminal exploits, and what brought he and his cohorts to Maine.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a national agency dedicated to investigation federal crimes. Founded as a small team of special agents on July 26, 1908, the Bureau was first charged with enforcing the growing body of federal laws covering the United States as a whole. Almost from the beginning of its 100-year history, the Bureau has been the subject of legend and controversy. It has also evolved into a vast and sophisticated national law-enforcement agency. Whether as a federal crime-fighting force or a source of investigative support of local and state police forces, the modern FBI strives to embody its ideals of fidelity, bravery, and integrity. The story of the FBI is really the story of the United States as it changed through the 20th century and into the 21st. As the nation grew, both in size and wealth, the Bureau's powers grew with it. Two world wars brought new demands on the FBI to protect Americans. From the gangster era and crime networks, through political scandals and civil rights, to cyber-crime and terrorism-this book shows how the FBI has played a role in U.S. history for 100 colorful years.

Robberies, murders, kidnappings - Minnesota has been home to several notorious crimes. Some were committed by infamous lawbreakers: the James-Younger gang, John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde and others. But not all misdeeds have been done by career criminals. Take a closer look at more than two dozen unlawful acts that rocked Minnesota and often grabbed headlines across the country.

Throughout the history of the United States, gangs have existed in one form or another, from the violent thugs of old New York to the holdup gangs of the Old West and from Prohibition-era bootleggers to modern-day street gangs. Each type of gang has posed a serious problem for law-enforcement authorities. Police have developed numerous techniques for identifying gangs, tracking their activities, breaking up illegal rackets, and addressing the social issues that contribute to the formation of gangs. Gangs and Gang Crime details the history of criminal gangs and law-enforcement efforts to fight them, from the nineteenth century to the present.a

"Throughout, Theoharis raises serious questions about the extralegal nature of the FBI's activities and its troubling implications for the rule of law in America, which threaten both civil liberties and democracy itself. Drawing deeply upon primary sources (including declassified documents), his work should help all Americans reevaluate the FBI and its proper role in our society."--BOOK JACKET.