birth_date: 1922-08-08 00:00:00
avg_rating: 3.65
name: Hank Messick
about: Henry “Hank” Messick was born on August 8, 1922 in Happy Valley, NC, and died on November 6, 1999 in Cocoa, FL. He received a master's degree from the University of Iowa and taught journalism at Colorado A &amp; M College, and then became a reporter for the weekly The Waynesville Mountaineer in North Carolina. Messick authored 19 books primarily about organized crime and law enforcement. His first book The Silent Syndicate was released in 1967. Messick’s investigative reporting incurred the wrath of powerful enemies, and he often was alternatively threatened and offered bribes to stop writing. In efforts to silence Messick he even was indicted on a phony charge and assaulted by a dirty cop. In later years the writer suffered from autoimmune dis Henry “Hank” Messick was born on August 8, 1922 in Happy Valley, NC, and died on November 6, 1999 in Cocoa, FL. He received a master's degree from the University of Iowa and taught journalism at Colorado A &amp; M College, and then became a reporter for the weekly The Waynesville Mountaineer in North Carolina. Messick authored 19 books primarily about organized crime and law enforcement. His first book The Silent Syndicate was released in 1967. Messick’s investigative reporting incurred the wrath of powerful enemies, and he often was alternatively threatened and offered bribes to stop writing. In efforts to silence Messick he even was indicted on a phony charge and assaulted by a dirty cop. In later years the writer suffered from autoimmune disease Sjogren's syndrome, and after losing his sight to the illness dictated from memory his last book Razzle Dazzle which was released in 1995. ...more
death_date: 1999-11-06 00:00:00