"The Ghost" by Maureen Boyle
Saxonbourg, Pennsylvania Police Chief Greg Adams stopped a vehicle on the cold afternoon of December 4, 1980. It would be the last stop of his life. Adams was gunned down by Donald Webb, a low-level mobster who spent the next 36 1/2 years in hiding after the murder.
After Adams is shot, a tense ambulance ride to the hospital follows, but it is too late as the police chief is declared dead. A manhunt follows as the Saxonbourg Police Department tries to close in on the killer. Webb is able to escape their efforts, and it won't be the last time he proves to be elusive.
What happened during the next three-plus decades after Chief Adams' murder was an international manhunt that comprised of the Saxonbourg Police Department, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts State Police Departments, and the F.B.I. Maureen Boyle's "The Ghost" traces the work of different people from the Northeast who passed the baton and paperwork to younger ranks as mandatory retirement ages kicked in, but the Pennsylvania retirees made sure their friend and colleague wasn't forgotten or that his killer would escape justice. Boyle's book follows the many trails that resulted from the aliases of the mobster who operated in Fall River, MA, and over the state line in Rhode Island, who was reputed as a big tipper, and the changes in technology the different law enforcement agencies used in the 1980's and how much easier it is for officers to access the information today.
Clues appear to lead to a woman in Dartmouth, Massachusetts named Lillian. She knows Donald. She was married to him until he left her without any word or explanation, causing her to file for divorce on grounds of "desertion". Authorities feel she can lead them to Donald, but she won't talk, no matter what tactics the police try. As years turn to decades, the team that works to bring Webb to justice must start to consider the possibility of the fugitive aging and maybe even dying. Previous searches have turned up a cane. Is this the necessity of an aging man, or was it used after injuries inflicted during a scuffle with police? With nothing concrete to prove he died, police act under the assumption that Webb may very well be alive. Covering over 30 years, Boyle's book is a must-read for any true-crime reader. Learning the truth about Donald Webb will leave every reader wanting more.
Comments
Post a Comment