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