When good men do nothing : the assassination of Albert Patterson / Alan Grady.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grady, Alan, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Patterson, Albert, 1891-1954--Assassination.

Patterson, Albert.

Patterson, Albert, 1891-1954.

Assassination--Investigation--Alabama--Phenix.

Assassination.

Organized crime--Alabama--Phenix City--History--20th century.

Organized crime.

History.

Assassination--Investigation.

Phenix City (Ala.)--History--20th century.

Phenix City (Ala.).

Alabama--Phenix City.

Alabama.

Physical Description:

ix, 296 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, [2003]

Summary:

On June 18, 1954, former state senator Albert Patterson, the Democratic Party's nominee for state attorney general, was shot to death as he left his law office in Phenix City, Alabama, infamous for its prostitution, gambling, bootlegging, and political corruption. Patterson had made cleanup of Phenix City his primary campaign promise. With millions of dollars in illegal income and hundreds of political and professional careers at stake, the question surrounding Patterson's murder was not why the trigger was pulled, but who pulled it. When Good Men Do Nothing is the definitive study of the Albert Patterson murder case. Alan Grady has mined the state's original murder case files; the papers of John Patterson, Albert's son; records from the Office of the Alabama Attorney General (who directed the murder investigation); case files of the Alabama Department of Toxicology and Criminal Investigation; National Guard reports; and more than 30 interviews with eyewitnesses and interested parties. Grady takes a complex story of multiple dimensions--a large cast of judicial, criminal, and political players; a web of alliances and allegiances; and a knotted sequence of investigative revelations and dead ends--and transforms it into a readable, incisive analysis of the powers and loyalties that governed, and corrupted to the core, the body politic of the state. Readers will be enthralled and educated by this authoritative account of the most compelling crime drama in Alabama during the 20th century.

Contents:

Albert Patterson and Phenix City

The 1954 primary and runoff

June 18, 1954, Part 1

June 18, 1954, Part 2

The initial investigation

Sykes takes over

Three suspects

Putting the pieces together

Against the peace and dignity of Alabama

Watermelon party

Courageous and honest men

Legacy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [281]-284) and index.

ISBN:

0817311416

OCLC:

50959015