Return to Guntown : Classic Trials of the Outlaws and Rogues of Faulkner Country

A federal prosecutor in Mississippi for over thirty years, John Hailman routinely worked with federal agents, lawyers, judges, and criminals of every type imaginable. Encouraged by the acclaim for his earlier book, __From Midnight to Guntown__, he has opened even more of the astonishing cases within the over thirty-five boxes full of trial stories he carried into retirement. Hailman gathers colorful exploits of eccentric modern criminals from William Faulkner's Mississippi, where savvy victims often outwit their criminal perpetrators. Characters range from rich but incompetent drug lords and nationwide gun-runners to bumbling Dixie Mafia kidnappers. The book ends with "Fancy Frauds" in which ingenious con men (and women) offer hilarious but surprisingly sophisticated "special deals" on tax-free gold mines in Mexico and bargain (but bogus) Viagra. Chapters include "Guns, Bombs, and Moonshine Whiskey," "Drug Kingpins Have Troubles Too," "Crime Victims Fight Back," "Mere Theft," and "Fancy Frauds." Written to entertain and enlighten, these stories will delight any fan of the true crime genre and anyone who enjoys good writing and the skill of a master storyteller. Cover 1 Contents 10 Preface 14 Prologue: The Making of a Career Prosecutor 16 Some Useful Law Enforcement Acronyms 50 1. Guns, Bombs, and Moonshine Whiskey 56 Introduction 56 Slick Jamison and the Dixie Mafia 59 An Infernal Machine 68 Poison Moonshine and Love among the Jurors 70 Bluebeard, or Murder with a Balpeen Hammer 74 My First Time in the Fifth Circus 78 “Not without My Daughter’s Teeth” 87 A Modern-Day Train Robbery Is Averted 95 Batesville Boys in a Cajun Bomb Conspiracy 98 Running Guns to Chicago 105 Memphis Medical Examiner O. C. Smith, Crucified 107 A Japanese Prosecutor Comes to Oxford 112 2. Drug Lords Have Troubles Too 120 Introduction 120 From Law Enforcement Major to Cocaine Kingpin: Charlie Cook of Oxford 126 Mexican Air Smuggling: A Stolen Jet, a Ton of Weed, and a Dead Tarantula 142 Lt. Shirlene Anderson Saves the Life of Agent Elbert Craig 154 “Stepper” Dotson Loses His Girlfriend—and His Rolls Royce 159 College-Educated Drug Kingpins Go Corporate, Still Get Caught 169 Two Dinners in the Big Easy in One Night? With a Mormon Bishop? 175 3. Crime Victims Fight Back 180 Introduction 180 A Creepy Extortionist: Letters from the Rat 183 Pistol Packin’ Sisters of Yalobusha County 186 “I Fought the Law and the Law Won” 188 Wild Justice: A Drunken Dove Hunt Turns Violent 193 Arson in the Delta: The Near-sighted Mr. Magoo as Eyewitness 204 Only the Lonely 214 Secret Agent Man: “We’re Givin’ You a Number and Takin’ Away Your Name” 219 The Snakeman: “Satanist Pimp Seeks Fair Trial in Mississippi” 225 “You Can’t Rape Your Wife, Can You?” 232 A Victim Stays Strong 235 A Victim Stays Smart 238 Zulu Justice in Old New Orleans 241 Project Safe Neighborhoods: A Victim City Fights Back against Violent Street Gangs 244 4. “Mere Theft” 252 Introduction 252 Cyber Crime: “Circling Our Cyber Wagons” to Become “Paradigm Busters” 258 A California FBI Agent Discovers Conway Twitty’s Lounge at Moon Lake 259 Dooksie and the Hot Cadillacs 260 The World’s Sorriest Thief Steals from Hurricane Katrina Victims 264 The Royal Saudi Chicken Caper: “Young Chickens, Easily Grilled or Broiled” 266 The Lady from Red Fox Defeats a Municipal Bond Scam 269 Federal Judges or “Wine-Sippin’ Servants of Satan”? 272 Bank Robbers: A Breed of Thieves Slightly Apart 276 A Piece of Cake or Police Entrapment? 277 An Unusual Sentencing 280 Just Like in the Movies: The “Maggot” Family 282 5. Fancy Frauds 286 Introduction 286 In Geneva, Penetrating Swiss Bank Secrecy 290 A Pious Fraud: “Only the Lord Knows the Depth of Your Pocketbook” 297 A Classic Nigerian Scam: “We Have a Secret Process” 302 “Staggering, Slobbering, Delirium, and Death”: The Largest Cattle-Poisoning in US History Is Narrowly Averted 305 Welcome to Libya 309 “I’m a Surgeon for the CIA” 312 The Chicago Mob Comes to Grenada, Meets Prosecutor Jim Letten 315 And Sexual Enhancement for All: “Bustin’ Loose” Brings Gender Equity to Telemarketing Fraud 317 The Health Care Fraud Follies: Chiropractors Ahoy 320 Really Extreme Couponing 325 The Sweet Life (for a While) of a Big-Time Bookie 326 Guntown Corners the Market with Over $20 Million in Contraband Cigarettes 338 Notes 344 Bibliography of Related Readings 348 Acknowledgments 352 Index 354 A 354 B 354 C 355 D 356 E 356 F 357 G 357 H 358 I 358 J 359 K 359 L 359 M 360 N 361 O 361 P 361 Q 362 R 362 S 362 T 363 U 364 V 364 W 364 Y 364 A federal prosecutor in Mississippi for over thirty years, John Hailman routinely worked with federal agents, lawyers, judges, and criminals of every type imaginable. Encouraged by the acclaim for his earlier book, From Midnight to Guntown: True Crime Stories from a Federal Prosecutor in Mississippi, he has opened even more of the astonishing cases from the thirty-five boxes full of trial stories he carried into retirement. Hailman gathers colorful exploits of eccentric modern criminals from William Faulkner's Mississippi, where savvy victims often outwit their criminal predators. Characters range from rich but incompetent drug lords and nationwide gun-runners to bumbling Dixie Mafia kidnappers. The book ends with "Fancy Frauds" in which ingenious con men (and women) offer hilarious but surprisingly sophisticated "special deals" on tax-free gold minds in Mexico and bargain (but bogus) Viagra. Chapters include "Guns, Bombs, and Moonshine Whiskey," "Drug Kingpins Have Troubles Too," "Crime Victims Fight Back," "Mere Theft," and "Fancy Frauds." Written to entertain and enlighten, these stories will delight any fan of the true crime genre and anyone who enjoys good writing and the skill of a master storyteller