NEMESIS by William Bernhardt - SIGNED FIRST EDITION BOOK
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William Bernhardt delves into the life of the famous true-life crimefighter of the "Untouchables", Eliot Ness, popularly known as a vice-battling paragon of integrity - the man who put Al Capone out of business.
Once he's jailed Al Capone, what does the nation's foremost gangbuster
do for an encore? His rollicking, racket-smashing days in Chicago behind
him, Eliot Ness, treasury agent extraordinaire, languishes in
Cleveland, restless and underchallenged. When the city fathers suggest
that he quit Uncle Sam and sign on as their safety director, he's more
than ready. The task? Clean up the police force, clean up the gangs and
put a shine on Cleveland's reputation as one of the worst-run cities in
the United States.
At first, things go well. Ness wastes no time
reclaiming some 200 badges from crooked and/or gold-bricking cops. He
deals serious blows to big-time gambling. He basks in the return of the
glory that was his in Chicago. The press loves him. Kids ask for his
autograph, and Ness does little to hide how highly he rates himself as
a hero: "Right up there with Charles Lindbergh."
But the adulation and
self-praise are stopped by the entrance of Andrew W. Andrassy, or
rather his dismembered corpse, followed by a succession of dismembered
corpses. Suddenly Ness is dodging brickbats. A terrified city demands
that its heralded safety director keep it safe. Ness protests that he's
not a homicide detective. Too late: Hubris is hubris.
