I want to thank Keith Wallman for giving me the opportunity to write this book, and Erin Turner and Cindi Pietrzyk for their editorial insight and guidance.
Special thanks to Janice Page, my managing editor at the Globe ; to Chris Chinlund for letting me dig through old Spotlight Team files that were destined for the dumpster; to Lisa Tuite, Rosemarie McDonald, Wanda Rollins, and Jeremiah Manion in the Globe library for working so hard to protect the vast knowledge and archives of the newspaper I love so much; to Mike Swidwinski for letting me into his world and providing me with so many surveillance photos from his time on the job; to Marc Messina for sharing his grandfather’s story and family photographs with me; to Joanne Bario for taking the time to talk to me about her late husband, Sandy; to Bob Cullum, who once again so graciously allowed me to use his grandfather’s photographs; and Howie Carr for helping me track down mugshots I couldn’t find anywhere else.
Thank you to Bill Brett and George Rizer for always being so helpful. And to Ted Gartland and Matt Lee for always being there to lend an ear. I also owe many thanks to Stanley Forman, and I highly recommend everyone check out his blog at www.stanleyformanphotos.com—it’s well written and filled with action-packed adventures that only he can tell.
I am forever grateful to Dave Morrow, Robin Robinson, and Richard Lodge for their guidance and mentorship at the earliest stages of my journalism career.
I truly appreciate everyone who helped me find photos for this book. Thank you to Courtney T. Burns and Bert Cunningham for helping me get photos of the 69th Regiment Armory; Will Garrison at the Berkshire County Historical Society for the postcard of Berkshire Downs; Joanne Riley at the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston; Marnix Brendel for letting me use images from his personal collection and excellent website, www.headsofthefamily.com; Mike Graff and RR Auction; Heather Taylor at Historic Hotels of America; JG Autographs of Peabody; John Binder; the Massachusetts State Police; the Brookline Police Department; the US Attorney’s Office; Marta Crilly at the Boston City Archives; and Tom Blake, Danielle Pucci, and Monica Shin at the Boston Public Library.
Thanks to everyone who shared knowledge and insight with me, especially Carolyn Sebring at Sebring Stables; professor Wing-kai To at Bridgewater University; Robyn Conroy of the Worcester Historical Museum; and Garrison Nelson at the University of Vermont; and to all the people who assisted me with my research, including Richard Warner for telling me about the Mary Ferrell Foundation and its treasure trove of government documents, which proved to be an invaluable resource; Robert Anthony, for helping me decipher police abbreviations and lingo from almost a century ago; David Traub for suggesting that I get in touch with George G. Burke, who was wonderful to speak with; and Thomas Hunt for being so helpful and for all the hard work he puts into publishing the Informer, a well-researched online periodical that delves deep into the history of crime.
I’m also grateful to all the journalists who came before me and covered these crimes as they happened, and to those who’ve undertaken the task of writing books about organized crime, including Kevin Cullen, Shelley Murphy, Dick Lehr, Gerard O’Neill, Casey Sherman, Howie Carr, T. J. English, Stephanie Schorow, and Bev Ford.
I want to give a shout-out to all my friends and coworkers at the Globe, including Leslie Anderson, Kim Tan, Marcia Dick, Tom Sheehan, David Dahl, and Danny McDonald; my fellow colleagues in Living/Arts (long live Living/Arts!): Cheryl Holland, Hayley Kaufman, Rebecca Ostriker, Hans Schulz, Chris Morris, Paul Makishima, Devra First, Don Aucoin, Mark Shanahan, Meredith Goldstein, Sebastian Smee, Cristela Guerra, Mark Feeney, Ty Burr, James Matte, Bill Herzog, Tim Flynn, and Paul Colton; and to all my cubicle mates at Morrissey Boulevard, including Christopher Muther, Malcolm Gay, Dugan Arnett, Matthew Gilbert, Heather Ciras, Jeremy Fox, John Hilliard, Beth Teitell, Linda Matchan, Bella English, David Filipov, and Katheleen Conti.
I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family. I owe big hugs to Jeannie Sweeney-Rock; Ed Rock; Charlie, Caroline, and Eamon Sweeney; Bob Sweeney and Barbara; and the rest of the Sweeney and Skibbs clan, as well as Joe and Dale Cataldo, and Brady, Ryan, Maddie, and especially Katie, for putting up with me while I finished yet another book.