February 2024 MBR The Criminology Shelf

The Criminology Shelf

Mafia Dreams
Frank Hayde
Book Baby Publishers
www.bookbaby.com
9781667899756, $23.99, PB, 228pp

https://www.amazon.com/Mafia-Dreams-Crime-Young-Kansas/dp/1667899759

Synopsis: The ruthless and powerful crime family that reigned in Kansas Cit=
y appeared to be on its last legs in the 1990's. But the Mafia life still c=
alled to a cadre of young men with gangster ambitions, and the FBI was stil=
l aggressively pursuing the organization that would stubbornly survive into=
 the next millennium.

Agents in KC were also hot on the trail of a massive insurance fraud enterp=
rise run by the Riley family, a criminal organization unto themselves whose=
 youngest member, Joseph Riley, had his own dreams of gangster glory.

Big-time white-collar crime would soon collide with the gritty underworld o=
f a Mafia town in a deadly drug sting that attracted nationwide attention a=
nd tested the limits of a controversial legal doctrine.

Through copious research and interviews with principal participants, with t=
he publication of "Mafia Dreams: A True Crime Saga of Young Men at the End =
of an Era in Kansas City", author Frank R. Hayde pieces together an epic tr=
ue crime tale with surprising connections and startling events.

Critique: The stuff of which block buster movies are made, "Mafia Dreams: A=
 True Crime Saga of Young Men at the End of an Era in Kansas City" by Frank=
 Hayde is richly detailed and impressively written. Particularly well docum=
ented and an inherently informative and fascinating read from start to fini=
sh, "Mafia Dreams" is a 'must' for anyone with an interest in organized cri=
me in general, and the Kansas City Mafia in particular. While especially an=
d unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Tru=
e Crime collections and supplemental Organized Crime curriculum studies lis=
ts, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Mafia Dreams" is al=
so readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99) as well.

Editorial Note: Frank R. Hayde is a career law enforcement officer and the =
author of four previous books including The Mafia and the Machine: The Stor=
y of the Kansas City Mob; Stan Levy: Jazz Heavyweight; Zion National Park: =
The Story Behind the Scenery; and Italian Gardens: A History of Kansas City=
 Through its Favorite Restaurant. Descended from Irish-American bricklayers=
 and machine politicians, Hayde's roots in Kansas City stretch back to the =
19th Century, and he enjoys the local honor of being the last man to be off=
icially inducted into the Sabenadica Club. (https://store.bookbaby.com/prof=
ile/FrankRHayde)

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