Money for Nothing

Chicago. Taylor Street. 1986. Accomplished burglar Ralph "Beans" Trombino surrounds himself with the fringe elements that frequent the neighborhood social clubs. Outfit guys, dirty cops, thieves, bookies, and gamblers.
 
With his photographic memory and almost supernatural instincts, Beans has developed a reputation among his kind as an exceptional planner of heists. He and his lifelong friends, Cosh and Izzy, consider themselves honorable thieves. No stickups. No killing for money. No stealing from people who don't have it coming. But when they take on the score of a lifetime-a plane carrying freshly minted cash to the Chicago Federal Reserve-the lines begin to blur.
 
Their man on the inside turns out to be much less than honorable. In fact, he's a sadistic serial killer terrorizing the city. When he pulls a double-cross and tries to kill Beans's sister Debbie, the plan becomes something more than just a daring fifteen-million-dollar heist.
 
Grab your Member's Only jacket. Hop in the '84 Olds Ninety-Eight. Pop in your favorite cassette and drive. This is Money for Nothing.

Aaron Palmer is a retired sociologist living in Phoenix, Arizona. He lived in the Taylor Street/Little Italy neighborhood of Chicago for twenty-five years, from 1972 to 1997. During that time, he conducted more than four hundred in-depth and confidential interviews with the neighborhood people, as well as interviews with Chicago Police officers and FBI agents. The knowledge and insights gleaned from these interviews became the basis for his fictional stories.