Product Description

Gangland figures cannot function without their lawyers - their mouthpieces - who speak for them in court, obtain bail, throw doubt on the evidence and, if all that fails, try to obtain a reduced sentence. However, in the underworld, this is only half the job. Although many lawyers are honest, possibly the preferred type of lawyer for Gangland figures is dishonest - a shyster - who will act as a go-between with the police, provide false alibis, bribe and intimidate witnesses, jurors and judges and, from time to time, finance and set up robberies and burglaries. Occasionally these lawyers will kill on their own or their client's behalf, or may be killed themselves.;There are the mob lawyers: Frank Ragan, the Florida lawyer who acted for three mob leaders suspected of involvement in the killing of John F. Kennedy - Santos Trafficante, "Three Fingers" Lucchese and Carlos Marcello; Dixie Davies who watched "Dutch" Schultz kill a henchman in cold blood and Manny Fryde, adviser to the Kray twins and the cream of London's underworld - to name but a few. And from James Sawyer, the barrister and forger who was involved in the first Great Train Robbery to the American judge Joseph Peel, who h

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2976631 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 350 pages

From the Publisher
James Morton has written a number of books about Gangland - from the notorious East End to the international gangs, from the early part of the century to the modern era. In all these stories there is one consistent thread - a thread James Morton unravells here, in this examination of those who attend on the gang lords, whether it be in court, or more fundamentally in the running of their 'businesses'. So it's a joy to read as there is nothing quite so villainous as a gamekeeper turned poacher - or, as here, the lawyer who goes too far in protecting his client's interests.

And just in case you think James Morton - a solicitor for many years before becoming a bestselling writer - is being unfair to his fellow lawyers, he does talk of those who, like him, followed the Bar's 'cab rank' rule that you took the next job along, whether you liked your client or not. And the reader can make up her or his own mind as to the culpability or otherwise of the lawyer in question....

About the Author
James Morton is a solicitor and author who has worked with Frankie Fraser on his previous books, including Mad Frank's Diary, and has published several successful crime titles of his own, including Gangland International and Bent Coppers.