mob speak: February 2012

The following select items appeared in Strategic Media Books winter newsletter:

Book on California Death Penalty Case Chronicles Injustice

In 1985, Kevin Cooper was convicted of the brutal murders of a Chino Hills, California family and a young house guest in 1985. Now, in his explosive investigation, SCAPEGOAT, journalist J. Patrick O’Connor provides a rare direct examination of the broken justice system in the United States where homicide detectives and district attorneys all too often become blinded by their goal of winning convictions rather than searching for justice for both the victims and the wrongly accused.

J. Patrick O’Connor has been the editor and publisher of Crime Magazine since 1998. He was a reporter and bureau manager for United Press International, editor of Cincinnati Magazine, and an associate editor for TV Guide. He was editor and publisher of the Kansas City New Times, an alternative newspaper. He is the author of The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal, which was published by Lawrence Hill Books, an imprint of Chicago Review Press, in May of 2008.

Scapegoat: The Chino Hills Murders and the Framing of Kevin Cooper is available on StrategicMediaBooks.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and bookstores near you.

Queenpins Published

"Queenpins: The Lives and Times of Notorious Women Gangsters" is out and available for purchase. Written by Ron Chepesiuk, the book provides an engrossing and fresh look at life in the highest echelons of the criminal world. Some of the profiled queenpins have become well-known, thanks to Hollywood and the ubiquitous media. Others are not so well known. Many rose and fell in the world of drug trafficking. Others achieved notoriety as madams, bank robbers, bootleggers, and gamblers. Several operated in the U.S., but the stories of queenpins from China, Colombia, Mexico, Australia, Italy and even India are chronicled. Go to strategicmediabooks.com for more information. To read excerpts from the book, go to Crime Magazine and Gangsters Inc.

Queenpins: The Lives and Times of Notorious Women Gangsters is available on StrategicMediabooks.com, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and bookstores near you.

SMB Authors Speak at Law School

On January 25 at 5 p.m. Ron Chepesiuk and Ike Atkinson, along with distinguished Federal judge Sterling Johnson, appeared on a program at the North Carolina Central University Law School in Durham, North Carolina, Titled "The American Gangster: The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth," the program was open to the public and five historical black colleges in North Carolina participated by teleconference. The authors signed copies of "Sergeant Smack" and the DVD, "Ike Atkinson, Kingpin: In his Own Words".

Frank Matthews Documentary in Production

In 1974 Drug Kingpin Frank Matthews jumped bail with $15 million and beautiful woman and has never been seen again. Now, filmmakers Ron Chepesiuk and Al Profit are putting finishing touches on a documentary that investigates Matthews fascinating career and disappearance. It is scheduled for release in late February. Click here to view the trailer. To visit the website, go to frankmatthewsmovie.com.

SMB Author to Participate in Starz Television Production

This spring Starz premiers its new original series, Magic City, which is set in 1950s Miami. Leading up to the premiere, Starz is producing several interstitials featuring interviews with celebrities, trendsetters and experts on 1950s Miami. Through the blending of present and past, of the modern with the archival, the Magic City project will present a unique combination of information about the era and its relevance today. SMB writer Ron Chepesiuk, the author of Gangsters of Miami, will be interviewed for the project. Click the link for more information about Magic City.

Crime Beat Radio Show, One Year Later

It’s hard to believe but the SMB sponsored radio show Crime Beat has been on the air for one year. Four million listeners turned into the first 50 broadcasts of the show. Crime Beat guests have included Henry Hill, John Gotti’s Adopted Son, Tim Donaghy, Louis Ferrante and others. To celebrate, Crime Beat invited its first guest, Jack Garcia, back for its anniversary show. For a promo of the show click this link.

Book of Prison Writings to be published this Coming April

Seth Ferranti has been in prison for two decades during which time he has established a leading reputation as a true crime writer and the creator of the Gorilla Convict web site and a popular blog that chronicles prison life and the history of the urban gangster. SMB will publish a collection of Seth Ferranti’s best blog writings. SMB writer Ron Chepesiuk will edit the collection.