NOTES

Every World is a Corner, and Every Corner is a World...

The sixteen pieces collected in WHITEY'S PAYBACK represent my interest in crime as a vast ecosystem, a parallel universe to the social and economic system we observe in the upperworld on a daily basis.

In America, business, politics and crime are frequently intertwined; one can scarcely exist without the other. What is happening below the surface shapes the world as we know it. What is presented to the public is occasionally wrapped in bullshit and lies.

The pieces in this anthology are all basically about one thing: the pursuit of the American Dream. To the reader, the question is posed: How far would you go to achieve power and prosperity for you and your own? Some people, out of free will, dire circumstances, or temporary insanity make choices that take them to the wrong side of the law. Chronicling the path of misguided souls and devious minds has become a big part of my calling as a writer.

WHITEY'S PAYBACK is likely as close as I will ever come to writing a memoir. The subtitle could have been: What I Have Done With the Last 22 Years of My Life. The book is a statement, or manifesto, about doing this kind of work – crime reporting – using the articles as a means to illustrate the central thesis.

Throughout twenty-two years of crime reporting, one thing remains unchanged: the narrative is open-ended. Being a crime journalist is the gift that keeps on giving. As long as people continue to use the pursuit of the American Dream as a license to commit crimes, I will cover this beat.

Meanwhile, check out WHITEY'S PAYBACK. It will take you places you never even knew existed.

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WHITEY'S PAYBACK:

And Other True Stories of Gangsterism, Murder, Corruption, and Revenge

PAPERBACK: 244 pages
PUBLISHER: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (2013)
LANGUAGE: English
ISBN-10: 1480411752
ISBN-13: 978-1480411753
ONLINE PURCHASE: TBA

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Synopsis

Sixteen stories of true crime from America’s foremost authority on the underworld

James "Whitey" Bulger is the last of the old-fashioned gangsters. As a polished, sophisticated psychopath — who also happened to be a secret FBI informant — his reign of power in Boston lasted for more than twenty years. When he went on the lam in 1995, the kingpin's legend grew to rival that of Al Capone. Captured after sixteen years in hiding, he now sits in a maximum security prison awaiting trial on racketeering charges and nineteen counts of murder.

T. J. English has been writing about men like Bulger for more than two decades. And this collection, culled from his career in journalism and supported by new material, shows English at his best. In addition to the numerous pieces about Whitey, he reports stories about gangsters and organized crime from New York City to Jamaica to Hong Kong and Mexico. Be they about old school mobsters, corrupt federal agents, or modern-day narcotraficantes wreaking havoc on the US-Mexico border, English tells these stories with depth and insight. Combining first-rate reporting and the storytelling technique of a novelist, English takes his readers on a bloody but fascinating journey to the dark side of the American Dream.

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