Crime Does Not Pay #46

The true story of Two-Gun Crowley traces the rise of a hardened criminal from his troubled childhood in an orphanage through his years of escalating violence in 1930s New York—petty theft and gang leadership giving way to armed robbery, shootings, and murder. As Crowley's reign of terror spreads across the city, the police close in, determined to capture a cop-hater whose reckless ambition and itchy trigger finger have made him one of the most wanted men in the state. This is the ruthless chronicle of how a small-time hood became a killer.

During Prohibition, gangster Joe Masseria eliminates a rival and narrowly escapes Umberto Valenti's deadly revenge campaign, leading him to broker what appears to be a peace between them. Masseria then retreats into the shadows, positioning himself as the secret kingpin of New York's underworld while his lieutenants handle the dirty work. Eight years of careful distance from direct violence seem to have made him untouchable—until November 1930 brings new trouble to his door.

When Frank Egan befriends widow Mrs. Hughes and helps her secure a fourteen-thousand-dollar insurance policy, his true intentions emerge—he recruits two hired killers to murder her and make it look like a hit-and-run accident. But Inspector Bradley's sharp detective work and forensic evidence begin closing in on the conspirators, and Egan's desperate attempt to cover his tracks only tightens the noose around his neck.