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

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.