In August 1956, Marilyn Monroe received news that would upend her carefully constructed world. She was pregnant. The father was not Arthur Miller, the man she was preparing to marry, but Elia Kazan, one of Hollywood's most powerful directors. Kazan was married at the time. The affair had been conducted in strict secrecy, known only … Read more
In April 1945, as General George S. Patton's column moved through a small German town, a woman appeared at a checkpoint on the main road. She was not a refugee and she was not asking for passage. She had walked from a building three streets away, an orphanage that had stood on the same site … Read more
The story of Vessie Sagatto is a complex one, involving betrayal, bungled murder plots, and a decades-long feud inside the Mexican Mafia. It is a story that Rene Enriquez, a former member of the organization, has thought about for a long time because of the many moving pieces involved. Vessie Sagatto, whose real name was … Read more
On August 27, 1979, at Chino State Prison in California, Robert "Robot" Salas was walking the yard with a cup of instant coffee when three men came up behind him. There were no words and no warning. The first shank went into his kidney, the second hit a lung, and the third punctured the side … Read more
On November 22, 1963, Fidel Castro was having lunch at his modest summer residence in Cuba. Across from him sat French journalist Jean Daniel, who had been sent by John F. Kennedy on a secret peace mission. For the tenth time, Daniel questioned Castro about the Cuban Missile Crisis, negotiations with the Soviet Union, and … Read more
In April 1945, in southern Germany, General George S. Patton was riding back to headquarters after inspecting forward positions. His route took him past a field hospital that had been set up in a converted German schoolhouse. It was late evening, roughly twenty minutes after sunset, and the light was fading. Patton noticed something on … Read more
Few names from the American frontier carry the fearsome reputation of John Wesley Hardin. He was remembered as one of the most dangerous outlaws of the Old West, a man whose name spread terror along the Texas border through robberies, murders, and shootings. Hardin was born in 1853 near Bonham, Texas. His father, James Gibson … Read more
In March 1961, a CIA operative placed an envelope on a table at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. Inside were poison pills and 10,000 dollars in cash. Across the table sat three of the most dangerous men in America: Sam Giancana, boss of the Chicago Outfit; Santo Trafficante Jr., Florida's most powerful mobster; and … Read more
In January 1979, a young man in Queens dressed in his best suit, combed his hair, and climbed into a car he believed was taking him to the most important night of his life. He had been told he was finally getting made, earning full membership in the Lucchese crime family. He never arrived. His … Read more
On July 30, 1975, at 2:30 in the afternoon, Jimmy Hoffa stood by a payphone outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. He wore a blue golf shirt and was sweating through the Detroit summer. He had called his wife twenty minutes earlier and said the words that would haunt the FBI … Read more