Murder Near the Crosses - Hardcover

Peter Sandman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0976995832 ISBN 13: 9780976995838

Publisher: Barbed Wire Publishing, 2006

Synopsis

In 1949 a young woman was killed in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ovida (Cricket) Coogler became a household name in the small agricultural town just north of the U.S./Mexico border that was celebrating its first 100 years. Her death became national news when Time magazine ran a story about it. The investigation of her murder soon involved not only the local police, but also the New Mexico State Police and the FBI. Even J. Edgar Hoover took a personal interest in the search for her killer. It wasn't just Cricket's death that interested these government agencies. Organized crime was testing whether New Mexico could soon become the gambling capital of the west. Bugsy Siegel was seen in Santa Fe. The Cleveland Mob was operating illegal casinos in the state. Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz, and Butts Lowenstein were making their presence known. The governor, lieutenant governor, and other state officials were enjoying the attention accorded people who could make things happen. In the midst of these act

About this title

About the Author:

Peter R. Sandman was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is a longtime historian and former newspaper reporter now based in northern Michigan. He was a two-time award winning sports columnist when he attended Central Michigan University and has written articles for the Detroit News, Grand Rapids Press, and Soaring magazine. He has written numerous historical books. Sandman was curator of the National Soaring Hall of Fame in the early 1970s and has written a book, "Soaring and Gliding in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area" published in June 2006. He is married to the former Cynthia Stiles, whose father also was a law enforcement officer. They have two children, Jennifer and Jeffrey.

Review:

Listening to recent New Mexico political ads and blogosphere chatter...one might think we're living in the sleaziest era of corruption in the history of the state. Not even close. A recently published book about a murder near Las Cruces 57 years ago is a sobering reminder that political corruption is nothing new here. In fact, this state has a rich tradition of official corruption and chicanery. --Steve Terrell, Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 24, 2006.

About this edition

• Publisher: Barbed Wire Publishing
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0976995832
• ISBN 13: 9780976995838
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 153
• Editor: Peg Tremper