Gord Steinke: Crossing the Line

The prohibition laws of the U.S. in the 1920s led to lucrative dealings between business-savvy Canadians and their mobster connections below the 49th parallel. The stories in this collection are the stuff of legends, with brutal slayings and Keystone Cop adventures in every chapter. Witness a historic meeting between Al Capone and Diamond Jim Grady, his Canadian connection, in the tunnels beneath Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Read about the rumrunners of the Prairies, B.C., Central Canada and the Maritimes, who used elaborate ruses to sneak booze past the long arm of the law on both sides of the border. You'll meet a rogue's gallery of such colourful characters as Rocco Perri, the Purple Gang and Dutch Schulz in Mobsters and Rumrunners of Canada.