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About me:
My interest in the True Crime genre in general and vintage gangsters in particular stems from one source: a simultaneous love of history and mystery. That double-faceted fascination has resulted in three books to date: Guns and Roses, the Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot Before Al Capone; The Man Who Got Away, the Bugs Moran Story and most recently The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case, and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster, which is both a biography of Manhattan crime lord Big Jack Zelig and an examination of his mysterious role in the Becker-Rosenthal case of 1912. My latest release:
The Starker introduces new evidence in the Becker-Rosenthal affair of 1912, which author Henry Klein proclaimed to be a "gross miscarriage of justice." The foremost scholars on the case- Henry Klein (Sacrificed), Andy Logan (Against the Evidence) and Mike Dash (Satan's Circus) all argue that Lieutenant Charles Becker had nothing to do with the July 16, 1912 assassination of gambler Herman Rosenthal. The Starker joins the 'Becker was framed' chorus, using Jack Zelig's posthumous testimony as the main platform. Up until now, there's only been speculation as to what Zelig would have said in court had he not been killed two days before Becker's trial was scheduled to commence. Now, ninety-five years after his murder on a Second Avenue streetcar, thanks to interviews with his relatives, Big Jack Zelig finally takes the stand. In the words of author Rick Mattix: "He speaks from the grave, and his testimony is damning." Current projects: 2010 has turned out to be a busy year for me. I'm collaborating with actor and producer Seth F. Abrams on a soon to be released webisode series about Monk Eastman. I'm also researching two additional projects: the biographies of pioneer labor racketeer Dopey Benny Fein and nativist gangster boss 'Butcher Bill' Poole. Follow me on Twitter or read my Author Blog for news and updates about these and any other projects I take on. Sample reviews: "Keefe limns the New York gangster who represents a major link between Monk Eastman’s seminal Jewish gang and Arnold Rothstein’s criminal enterprise that would eventually spawn, under Meyer Lansky, the Jewish contingent of Lucky Luciano’s crime cabal that dominated America’s underworld for decades. As such, the book is a valuable resource. It is also excellent reading that brings organized crime in the early twentieth century alive in detail and with a bit of humor. Jack Zelig was a gang leader only relatively briefly before he was assassinated to keep him from testifying against bookmaker Herman Rosenthal’s killers. Oh, really? Keefe argues that, rather than a straight gangland-witness killing, the hit was political, motivated by adversaries displeased by Zelig’s clout. Reviewing the case, Keefe exposes the seeming contradictions in the official version of Zelig’s demise and, for that matter, in Zelig’s life, since the gang leader had grown up in comfortable circumstances rather than grinding urban poverty like his peers in the rackets. As true-crime tome and organized crime history, this one’s a keeper." — Mike Tribby, reviewing The Starker for Booklist Online, October 2008
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