Crime Does Not Pay #77

Mac Royce, a bootlegger posing as a humble storekeeper, runs a thriving criminal operation from his grocery store and an underground warehouse—until his own paranoia and the law's tightening noose begin closing in. As his mob fractures under the pressure of rival gang wars and police investigation, Mac's violent unpredictability proves to be his greatest liability. Based on actual events, this is the rise and fall of a prohibition-era gangster who learns too late that no fortress, bullet-proof car, or hired gun can protect a man from his own downfall.

When three short-statured hoodlums attempt to rob the Dacton Packing Company in Page City, they brutalize the elderly night watchman Pop Harvey—but the intimidated watchman's descriptions put Sheriff Marty Shaw on their trail. A second robbery attempt nearly claims the life of a young man, and when one of the bandits is killed, a single pack of matches and a few cigarettes become the unlikely clues that unravel the criminals' identities and lead the Sheriff toward justice. Based on true events, this is a story of how a small detail—and a lawman's sharp eye—can crack a case wide open.

When two big-city killers fleeing a Grand City gambling racket bust hijack a rural sheriff's car, Ted Benton finds himself their captive—forced at gunpoint toward an uncertain fate. As the desperados make their escape toward the coast, Benton must outthink two ruthless gunmen who've already proven they'll kill to stay free, while a storm closes in and the Santons' boat becomes their next desperate move. It's a battle of wits and nerve between a small-town lawman and cornered city thugs with nothing left to lose.