Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada's Most Notorious Bootlegger

by Antonio Nicaso

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Book cover for Rocco Perri

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Rocco Perri came to Canada almost a century ago from Calabria, Italy. Even today his name is well known to historians, police and organized crime - and especially to the people of the city he called home - Hamilton, Ontario. A poor immigrant, Perri along with his common-law wife, Bessie Starkman, built an unequalled crime empire for the time. During the Prohibition years, Perri provided alcohol to a thirsty clientele in Canada and the United States - a business that was very illegal and highly lucrative. Al Capone and Joseph Kennedy were among Perri's customers. The Perris also ran gambling, loan-sharking, extortion and prostitution rackets."Rocco Perri: King of the Bootleggers" is more than the biography of a man and his empire; it is a riveting portrait of a time when corruption was rampant, murder a business necessity, and discrimination against newcomers forced many to turn to crime as a means of survival. This book also solves a half-century-long mystery about the fate of Rocco Perri.
  • ISBN10 0470835265
  • ISBN13 9780470835265
  • Publish Date 26 August 2005
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 26 November 2010
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • Imprint John Wiley & Sons Ltd
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 264
  • Language English