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Full Description
Between 1930 and 1933, a group of vigilantes known as the Secret Six rose to prominence amid the turmoil of gang-heavy Chicago. They were instrumental in launching Eliot Ness's Untouchables, solving major cases, and adopting cutting-edge crime-fighting technologies. Testifying before Congress, their efforts even earned them praise from Al Capone himself for bringing him down.
Supported by a powerful Chicago business organization and with virtually unlimited funding, the Secret Six gained immense popularity and inspired others to replicate their approach across the nation. However, in The Secret Six, author Kevin E. Meredith explores for the first time the grim undercurrents of this initially heroic-seeming tale. Unfettered by due process, legal boundaries, or basic decency, the Secret Six made grievous mistakes, wrongfully arresting individuals, striking dubious agreements, and making baseless corruption accusations. They even turned against one of their own founders in a frenzy reminiscent of Frankenstein and his monstrous creation. Their record was marred by a pattern of deceit, as they lied about both significant and trivial matters, tortured suspects while boasting about it, and resorted to bombings in vain attempts to nab an extorter—all while facing humiliation from the very rogue detectives they employed.
The Secret Six explores the chaos that can ensue when good men are granted unchecked power and excess resources and so serves as a crucial read not only for fans of the gangster era but also for anyone interested in crime, punishment, and the complexities of human nature.
Contents
Introduction
Part I: Damsel in a Burning City
1. The Case of the Extorted Debutante
2. A City on Fire
3. The Tenth Man
4. A Burning City Sparks a Nation's Hope
Part II: First Cases of the Secret Six
5. Early Impact (and a Little Lying)
6. The Truth of the Secret Sex
7. Shooting in the Dark
8. The Case of the Extorted Congressman
9. The New Top Cop, and The Case of the Pinochle Shootout
10. The Case of the Queer Actor
11. The Passion of William Speer Kuhn, Jr.
12. Nolle Prossed
Part III: The Secret Six Vs. Al Capone
13. Al Capone Comes Home
14. Al Capone Goes South
15. Al Capone, Miami, and the 'Chicago Plan'
16. Col. Randolph Meets the Kingpin
Part IV: The War Continues
17. The Best Cases of 1931
18. The Best Cases of 1932
19. The Secret Six Conjures a National Kidnapping Monopoly
20. The Secret Six vs. the Kidnappers
Part V: Lord of the Vigilantes
21. A Brief History of Vigilantism
22. A Modest Proposal
23. The Secret Six Were Neither
Part VI: The Secret Six and the Cases of Infamy
24. The Case of the Deal with the Devil
25. The Case of the Crooked Cops
26. The Secret Six vs. Swanson
27. The Secret Six on Trial
28. The Case of the Two Bombs
29. The End of the Secret Six
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
