description: "In an armored tower at First and Spring Streets in Los Angeles, there sits today the third in line of financial and political kings who have ruled Southern California for almost three quarters of a century. He is a shadow man, virtually unknown to the six million people whose government and livelihoods often are shaped by his desires..."Those are the words William G. Bonelli, prominent California state official, uses to introduce his fellow citizens to the powerful and mysterious Chandler family dynasty which, as you now read this, exercises control over an American dominion far larger and much wealthier than most of European empires of days gone by. And with those words, Bonelli opens the door into the fascinating and secret realm of raw financial and political power...relating "deals" which robbed Los Angeles citizens millions of dollars...which turned a thriving California oasis into worthless desert...which attempted to start a revolution in Mexico. This is the factual story of wealth and power and how they can be combined to destroy the democratic freedom of millions of American men, women and children. It is the story that HAD to be told!
title: Billion Dollar Blackjack: The Story of Corruption and the Los Angeles Times
titlecomplete: Billion Dollar Blackjack: The Story of Corruption and the Los Angeles Times
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Civic Research Press