On August 18, 1994, shortly after noon, a heavy-set man in his mid-40s climbed into a small black Renault outside a house on Swan Grove in Ranelagh, on Dublin's south side. He was running an ordinary errand: returning a rented video, an action movie called Delta Force 3. He never reached the shop. At the … Read more
On the night of August 15, 2007, police in Duisburg, Germany, arrived at an Italian restaurant on Wesselstraße to find six men shot dead. All were Italian, all killed at close range. The youngest was 16, the oldest 39. Investigators counted more than 70 shell casings from two different weapons on the pavement. The attack … Read more
Im Mai 1945 war der Krieg in Deutschland vorbei. Das Land hatte bedingungslos kapituliert. Die Dritte Armee der Vereinigten Staaten verarbeitete zu diesem Zeitpunkt tausende SS-Gefangene. Die meisten von ihnen waren still, verdrossen und besiegt. Einer jedoch stach heraus: SS-Obersturmbannführer Hinrich Müller, ein hochrangiger Offizier und Kommandeur eines SS-Sicherheitsbataillons, das während des gesamten Krieges hinter … Read more
On January 21, 1986, a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, returned guilty verdicts on all eight counts against five of the most powerful mob figures in the American Midwest. The men at the defense table were Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa, 78, acting boss of the Chicago Outfit; Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone, 71, his underboss; … Read more
At 4:30 in the morning on April 7, 1972, Joey Gallo was sitting at a butcher block table inside Umberto's Clam House at 129 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, Manhattan. He was eating shrimp and scungilli with his wife, his 10-year-old stepdaughter Lisa, and his sister. The smell of garlic and fried clams hung in … Read more
Im Mai 1945, kurz vor dem Ende des Krieges in Europa, hatten amerikanische Truppen ein deutsches Krankenhaus in einer kleinen bayerischen Stadt befreit. Das Gebäude war intakt, die medizinische Ausrüstung funktionierte, und einige deutsche Sanitäter und Krankenschwestern waren geblieben. Die Amerikaner brauchten die Einrichtung für ihre eigenen Verwundeten. Die deutschen Kräfte wurden angewiesen, amerikanische Soldaten … Read more
At 5:30 a.m. on December 17, 1986, Richard Kuklinski sat in his car at a truck stop off the New Jersey Turnpike. He believed he was closing a deal for cyanide and a mob hit. Instead, undercover ATF agents surrounded him with guns drawn. Operation Iceman was over. The man they arrested was a suburban … Read more
Im April 1945, in den letzten Tagen des Zweiten Weltkriegs, hatte eine deutsche Stadt gerade vor der Dritten Armee der Vereinigten Staaten kapituliert. General George S. Patton war persönlich angereist, um die Übergabe formell entgegenzunehmen. Er schritt über den Marktplatz und traf sich mit dem deutschen Ortskommandanten, um die Bedingungen der Kapitulation zu besiegeln. Der … Read more
Just past midnight on October 13, 1978, Paddy Dugan was drinking Irish whiskey at the 596 Club, a basement bar at 10th Avenue and 43rd Street in Hell's Kitchen. Jimmy Coonan walked in carrying a paper grocery bag. Inside was a .38 caliber revolver. Coonan pulled the gun, stepped behind Dugan, and put two rounds … Read more
On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. sat in his Atlanta home with his wife, Coretta Scott King, watching the television reports crackle with the unthinkable: President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas. King was 34 years old. He had spent years leading the civil rights movement through … Read more