They Call Me Korney

Book excerpt: Set during Prohibition this is one of Buffalo, New York's most blood-soaked crime tales. This is the story of the bloody reign of Polish gangster John "Korney" Kwiatkowski, which ended with one of his friends in the electric chair. Before the end came, Korney masterminded robberies all over the city, leading a gang of violent thugs, dubbed the Korney Gang, while he maintained a facade of gentility. With names like Ziggy, Bolly, and Smithy, these bootleggers, murderers, and robbers introduced Buffalo to violent crime with the introduction of the machine gun. No one was safe, including law enforcement, as the Korney Gang blasted their way out of every incident. Through careful research of newspapers, court transcripts, and genealogy, the story of this gang slowly emerges.