Allan May

Allan May has been interested in organized crime since he saw his first episode of the old "Untouchables" television series. An admirer of Eliot Ness for years, in 1997, May initiated the movement which resulted in the spreading of Ness's ashes, along with his third wife's and adopted son's, at a memorial service in Cleveland's historic Lake View Cemetery.

May's organized crime writing first appeared as "Big Al's Corner," in Jerry Capeci's internet Gang Land column. He now works with author Rick Porrello writing a weekly column for AmericanMafia.com. May's personal library on organized crime contains over 450 volumes. He is currently working on a book about the history of organized crime in Cleveland and his columns will be the basis of a second book.

In addition, May teaches classes on the history of organized crime for Cuyahoga Community College and Lakewood Adult Education.

May is also the historian at Lake View Cemetery and on the speaker's bureau. He wrote the "Who's Who of Lake View Cemetery" which includes biographies on over 250 noted personalities buried there. In the past he has written a monthly historical column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine.
The First Shooting of Frank Nitti
Oct 14, 2009
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Frank "The Enforcer" NittiThe true story of how this infamous gangster was almost murdered by a Chicago detective. by Allan May Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti was a survivor. He survived the bullets of Robert Stack in the television series "The Untouchables," where the only...
The Tortured Soul of Ann Coppola
Oct 14, 2009
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Mike CoppolaMob informant Joey Cantalupo once stated in a video documentary that organized crime members "like to keep their wives at home, barefoot and pregnant." Mike Coppola handled things quite differently. He liked his wives to be bloodied and beaten and, if a threat to...
Philip Kastel: Perfecting the Number Two Spot
Oct 14, 2009
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"Dandy" Phil Kastel"Dandy" Phil Kastel was a little-known partner of organized crime heavyweights such as Frank Costello and Arnold Rothstein.  Allan May illuminates Kastel in a way that gives you a feel for the ever-changing face of organized crime. by Allan May Phillip...
Yasha, "The Wandering Jew"
Oct 14, 2009
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Jacob "Yasha" Katzenberga/k/a Jacob "Yasha" Katzenberg played a minor role in the history of organized crime, yet he helped bring down some major mobsters and then disappeared forever. by Allan May Jacob "Yasha" Katzenberg played a minor role in the history of organized crime....
The Last Hours of Mr. Big
Oct 14, 2009
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Arnold RothsteinArnold Rothstein is one of those legends that hang on the tip of the tongue -- "Don't tell me, don't tell me, I know who he is."   In "The Last Hours of Mr. Big,"  Allan May tells us not only who Rothstein was, but why the Big Guy finally shot...
"Undying Loyalty"
Oct 14, 2009
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Thomas A. Aurelio In August 1943, Thomas A. Aurelio stood at the threshold of a dream. After nine years as an assistant prosecutor and 12 as a judge in New York City, he was about to be elected to a seat on the Supreme Court for the State of New York. Then Aurelio, in a...
The History of the Race Wire Service
Oct 14, 2009
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Mont Tennes and the Birth of the Race Wire. Virtually everyone who has ever been to a race track has used the Daily Racing Form, a newspaper that provides comprehensive information on horse races at tracks around the country.  In this first of a three-part series, Allan...
The History of the Race Wire Service Part II
Oct 14, 2009
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The rise of the Annenbergs. The great Annenberg publishing dynasty that controlled the Daily Racing Form, The Philadelphia Inquirer and TV Guide for decades produced the fortune that allowed Walter Annenberg to establish and endow the prestigious M. L. Annenberg Schools of...
The History of the Race Wire Service Part Three
Oct 14, 2009
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The conclusion of Allan May's three part series on the rise and fall of the notorious race wire service.by Allan May Part Three: Ragen and McBride and the End of the Race Wire U. S. Sen. Estes Kefauver once called the Continental Press the nation’s Public Enemy Number One. "In...
The Raid in Teaneck
Apr 30, 2009
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October 14, 2007 The Raid in Teaneck is the prologue from Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez's book, Superfly: The True Untold Story of Frank Lucas, American Gangster. (A major movie about Lucas entitled American Gangster and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe will...

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