The ruthless and powerful crime family that reigned in Kansas City appeared to be on its last legs in the 1990's. But the Mafia life still called to a cadre of young men with gangster ambitions, and the FBI was still aggressively pursuing the organization that would stubbornly survive into the next millennium. Agents in KC were also hot on the trail of a massive insurance fraud enterprise run by the Riley family, a criminal organization unto themselves whose youngest member, Joseph Riley, had his own dreams of gangster glory. Big-time white-collar crime would soon collide with the gritty underworld of a Mafia town in a deadly drug sting that attracted nationwide attention and tested the limits of a controversial legal doctrine. Through copious research and interviews with principal participants, author Frank R. Hayde pieces together an epic true crime tale with surprising connections and startling events.

Frank R. Hayde is a career law enforcement officer and the author of four previous books including The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob; Stan Levy: Jazz Heavyweight; Zion National Park: The Story Behind the Scenery; and Italian Gardens: A History of Kansas City Through its Favorite Restaurant. Descended from Irish-American bricklayers and machine politicians, Hayde's roots in Kansas City stretch back to the 19th Century, and he enjoys the local honor of being the last man to be officially inducted into the Sabenadica Club.