October 2, 2021
Los Angeles, California
On Thursday, September 30th, I attended a public talk at the Los Angeles Adventurer’s Club in downtown LA on North Broadway.
The talk, entitled, “The Crime In Your Backyard: Early Organized Crime Activity In & Around the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles” was given by historian, Dr. J. Michael Niotta based on his just-published book, Images of America: Los Angeles Underworld. (co-author, Avi Bash)
An excellent and informative talk by Dr. Niotta and I highly recommend his new book. It is the only pictorial that I am aware of that contains photographs of “all the main players” in Los Angeles’s early crime history.
Dr. Niotta in addition to being an expert on Los Angeles’ early gangsterism is also the grandson of Jack Dragna, who became boss of the Los Angeles crime family in 1931.
Author Niotta’s grandfather 1946
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Jack Dragna
Click HERE for a full video presentation of the talk on YouTube
Steve Hodel congratulates Historian Dr. J.Michael Niotta on talk and publication of his new book, Images of America: Los Angeles Underworld
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Authored by J. Michael Niotta and Avi Bash
Early LA Gangsters known as, “The Spring Street Combination”
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