Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America’s First War Against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists

The director of the forerunner to the FBI strides right off the pages in dogged pursuit of wily counterfeiters, German spies, America’s first Mafia families, and ruthless anarchist bombers in this lively account. Historian Simon (America’s Forgotten Terrorists) tracks William J. Flynn (1867–1928) through his most important cases. As head of the eastern division of the Secret Service, Flynn worked closely with New York City police chief Teddy Roosevelt to marshal an all-Italian team of investigators to hunt Mafia criminals. As chief of the Secret Service in the years leading up to WWI, Flynn oversaw counterespionage against German saboteurs. When anarchists dispatched package bombs to high-value targets across the country in June 1919, Flynn was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation and headed that year’s notorious Red Scare arrests of thousands of purported leftists. The disappointing denouement of Flynn’s government career was the noontime Wall Street bombing on Sept. 16, 1920, that left 38 dead, and which remains unsolved. Later in life, Flynn launched a private detective agency (clients included a racehorse and a Hollywood movie star) and a mystery and true crime magazine that published an early Agatha Christie detective story. Simon covers a great deal of ground in his brisk and vivid narrative. Cloak-and-dagger enthusiasts will find much to savor. (Jan.)