As we said in the last post, the website for our book THIEF! The Gutsy, True Story of an Ex-Con Artist by William "Slick" Hanner and (yours truly) Cherie Rohn will be trunk music on March 1, 2015. After that, MOB SPEAK will take up any slack. So look for more THIEF! postings right here. In case you didn't know, THIEF! is the true tale of a 1930's Chicago kid who gets into hot water with the mob, prostitutes and gambling figures. The book chronicles Slick's roller coaster life as a con-artist and mob associate from the 1930s through the early 1990s.
Those in the know say it best. One-time Nevada whorehouse madam, Lora Shaner, alleged that Slick "conned for kicks, gambled with gusto, stole for sustenance and womanized for fun in every hotspot in the country." We're talking about Chicago, Miami, Havana, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and anywhere that greedy suckers yearn to make an easy buck.
On one occasion, Slick's plan to increase his take as a limo driver for the Chicken Ranch bordello in Pahrump, Nevada, goes up in smoke. Let's just say that as Jerry Lewis's bodyguard, Slick wasn't supposed to be moonlighting. Taking calls on his cell phone from guys itching for a lay during Jerry's TV rehearsals leads to some hilarious highjinks.
Coming up: What does a casino dealers school, a poker cheat and a curious white chick with a dubious past have in common?
