196
UNION SQUARE PRESS
“Brooklyn didn’t shed any tears when they buried Reles. We lifted a toast.” —Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine
Praise for Edmund Elmaleh: “[a] riveting treatment of one of the most remarkable stories in the annals of American crime and politics. A great read!” —Kevin Baker, author of Dreamland
“Elmaleh has brought fresh energy, a fresh point of view, and a flair for original research to this story, tracing its conspiracies in the best tradition of life mimicking film noir. This blank spot in New York’s underworld history deserves to be filled, and Elmaleh fills it.” —Kenneth D. Ackerman, author
April 2009
The Canary Sang but Couldn’t Fly The Fatal Fall of Abe Reles, the Mobster Who Shattered Murder, Inc.’s Code of Silence by Edmund Elmaleh It remains one of the most enduring mysteries in gangland lore: in 1941, while Abe Reles and three other key informants were under round-the-clock NYPD protection, the ruthless and powerful thug took a deadly plunge from the window of a Coney Island hotel. The first criminal of his stature to break the underworld’s code of silence, he had begun “singing” for the courts—giving devastating testimony that implicated former cronies—with more to come. With cops around him day and night, how could Reles have gone out the window? Did he try to escape? Did a hit man break in? Or did someone in the “squealer’s suite” murder him? Here’s the gripping story, packed with political machinations, legal sleight-of-hand, mob violence—and, finally, a proposed answer to the question: How did Abe Reles really die?
Murder mysteries: ✧ Why didn’t police investigate the mysterious sounds they heard on the night that Reles died? ✧ What do previously classified FBI documents reveal about Brooklyn D.A. William O’Dwyer, who had plans to run for mayor of New York? ✧ Why was the note “Withhold information by order of D.A.” scribbled on Reles’s autopsy report? ✧ Why was Abe’s widow so bitterly opposed to reopening the case? • This is the first full-length account of Mob informer Abe Reles’s mysterious death in 1941, and it is largely based on primary sources, including the papers of the Brooklyn District Attorney and previously classified FBI documents
$22.95 (CANADA $24.95) HARD 978-1-4027-6113-3 240 PAGES (B/W ILLUS. THROUGHOUT) 5 1/2 X 8 1/4 TRUE CRIME/ ORGANIZED CRIME CARTON QUANTITY: 44 UNION SQUARE PRESS RIGHTS: WENG AUTHOR’S HOME: CHICAGO, IL
Marketing • Local New York City publicity—print, radio, and online • Features and reviews in true crime and general interest magazines • Author interviews out of Chicago, IL ALSO AVAILABLE:
• A fascinating portrait of the era’s colorful criminal landscape, with its power plays, contract hits, and inroads into both legitimate business and organized labor ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EDMUND ELMALEH was born in New York City and currently works for the Chicago Board of Trade. He is affiliated with the International Association of Crime Writers and the Organization of American Historians. This is his first book. COVERT 978-1-4027-5443-2 $19.95 (CAN $19.95) W