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One of crime's most colourful and idiosyncratic leaders is examined in crime writer Nate Hendley's fast-paced book. A treat for fans of true-crime and bizarre mob stories. Nate Hendley brings to the lexicon of gangster profiles a meticulously researched, very human examination of this legendary figure.

On the evening of June 27, 1918, the Llandovery Castle—an unarmed, clearly marked hospital ship used by the Canadian military—was torpedoed off the Irish Coast by U-Boat 86, a German submarine. Sinking hospital ships violated international law. To conceal his actions, the U-86 commander had the submarine deck guns fire on survivors. One lifeboat escaped with witnesses to the atrocity. Global outrage over the attack ensued.

Imagine being a 14-year-old boy who takes a classmate on a bike ride one spring evening. In the days to follow, the classmate is found dead, and you stand accused of rape and murder. There's no direct physical evidence tying you to the crime, but that doesn't matter. In a lightning-fast trial, you are convicted and sentenced to death. As far as the press and public are concerned, you are guilty and deserve to die. Such was the fate of Steven Truscott, living with his family on an army base in small-town Ontario in 1959.

Ron Moffatt was 14 years old in 1956 when he was accused of murdering a child on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto. During a tough police interrogation, Ron falsely confessed and was convicted at trial.

On July 24, 1964, 24-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario. The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.

Crime writer Nate Hendley examines the life and crimes of Al Capone, the world's most famous gangster, during his brief reign over corrupt Prohibition-era Chicago.