Review: Fascinating True Crime Story Loses a Bit in the Telling
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2014
Joe Bruno presents a little known but highly interesting story of organized crime, murder, and mayhem in New York City in "The Wrong Man." Although the story itself is fascinating and Bruno's research in the subject is meticulously detailed, his writing style leaves something to be desired."The Wrong Man" is the story of the murder of Herman Rosenthal, a small time gangster who ran some illegal gambling operations in the early 1900s. Rosenthal ran afoul of the authorities, most notably Charles Becker, a corrupt New York police lieutenant who had at one time protected Rosenthal's operation. To save himself, Rosenthal agreed to implicate many of his former associates and he was gunned down outside a New York hotel one night in 1912. The actual killers were four small time hoods who were quickly captured, but the identity of the man or men who ordered the hit was not quite as clearcut. However, Becker was soon arrested, convicted twice (after his first conviction was overturned due to judicial misconduct), and executed. Despite the convictions, many people, including Bruno, felt Becker had been framed by the actual killers, rival gangsters whose operations would be hurt if Rosenthal had testified. Becker was the first policeman in the United States to be executed for murder.Whether or not Bruno's theory is correct, the story is bizarre and compelling. The cast of characters is a veritable who's who of New York life, from Stephen Crane and Arnold Rothstein to characters with nicknames like Gyp the Blood. Although the story is complex, Bruno does a fairly good job of organizing and telling it. I've read one of his other books which was far more disjointed. Perhaps because he's limiting himself to discussing one particular crime, this book is much more tightly focused and easier to follow.My only complaint with the book is his story telling style. The book is filled with slang expressions like "croaked" and "whacked" as synonyms for murdered. Characters "slither" out of town and dead people wind up "in a hot place with no cold-running water and no air conditioning." I don't know if Bruno writes this way naturally (he has been a sports columnist for many years) or if he's trying to adopt a Damon Runyonesque story telling style here. Whichever is the case, his slang expressions sometimes wind up distracting the reader and making the story harder to follow than it should be.Having read two of Bruno's books, I can commend him on his choice of subject material and his research. I also gave this book a better rating than the first one because of the more focused story telling and fact that it's a considerably easier read. And, his use of slang is less distracting here than in his other book. However, until he is able to wean himself of the tendency to throw in wretched street talk similes every couple of pages or so, his books won't be in the top tier of true crime tales.