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Mobs And Murderers: 'A Brotherhood Betrayed'

Megathon Charlie/Flickr

The details sound like the plot of a mob movie: professional hitman turns against his employers, prepares to take the stand, and ends up dead. But it was real life, not a movie.

Abe Reles had an appointment to testify about the activities of a coast-to-coast mob network in the fall of 1941, an appointment he did not keep. Instead, his broken body was found on a rooftop near his hotel room.

Did he fall while running away? Was he pushed? Longtime journalist Michael Cannell takes up these and other questions in his book A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc.

The author shares details of his research into the long-ago events.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily talk show focused on news and interests across our region of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.