Crime and Punishment #16

Lester "The Louse" Diller earned his vicious nickname through betrayal and contempt for everyone around him, rising to kingpin status during Prohibition by dealing in bootleg liquor and informing on rivals. When Lieutenant Kyle and Inspector Acken begin a determined investigation—even going undercover in Diller's own haunts—the net slowly tightens around the man the underworld hates as much as the law does. This true crime tale traces how a single piece of police intelligence finally brought the reign of one of the era's most loathsome criminals to justice.

When rookie patrolman Johnny Rand refuses to be bought by racketeer Whitey Hicks, the bitter criminal vows revenge—and sets his sights on shaking down the shipping companies that control Bankston's waterfront. When Hicks and his crew turn violent to force compliance, Johnny finds himself caught between a dangerous extortion scheme and the evidence that could bring the whole operation down. This gritty true-crime tale follows the clash between a cop who won't be corrupted and a criminal empire built on intimidation.

In January 1936 Eastown, a gang of gun-wielding criminals wearing distinctive white fedoras murders two patrolmen during a traffic stop, sparking a manhunt across the city. Police interrogate Jimmy Lamont, the reluctant driver of the getaway car, and uncover a web of connections that may lead them to the killers—but the gang's desperation and willingness to strike again keeps the investigation racing against the clock.

Edward Ingram, a bank clerk desperate to give his wife Helen the comfortable life she's demanding, devises an elaborate scheme to steal fifty thousand dollars in securities from the vault—hiding them in hollowed-out books and planning to frame a coworker named Barnes for the theft. When the auditors arrive early and throw his timeline into chaos, Ingram's carefully constructed plan begins to unravel in ways he never anticipated.