American Indian Mafia: An FBI Agent's True Story about Wounded Knee, Leonard Peltier, and the American Indian Movement (Aim) - Softcover

Trimbach, Joseph H; Trimbach, John M

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0979585503 ISBN 13: 9780979585500

Publisher: Outskirts Press, 2007

Synopsis

The book the AIM leadership does not want you to read!

For the first time, the true history of AIM is revealed through the eyes of an FBI Agent who was there. And for the first time, the AIM leadership's dirty little secrets are exposed, unlike in any other history book. In fact, this book exposes the history books. It is time to set the record straight for the benefit of all Native Americans.

"Although much has been written about the tragic events at Wounded Knee and Pine Ridge, Joe Trimbach's book appears to be the first definitive report of the courageous efforts of federal law enforcement (FBI, U.S. Marshals and BIA), often at great personal risk, to restore order to the Native Americans living in the midst of violence and intimidation. Mafia is well documented and presents an important contribution to our understanding of what actually happened."

-Judge William H. Webster, former Director, FBI,

former Director, CIA

"As a longtime journalist, author, and Oglala Lakota born, raised and educated on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, I have been appalled at the many books, movies, and documentaries about Wounded Knee II and about Leonard Peltier that are so filled with myths, misconceptions and outright lies. Trimbach takes apart Matthiessen's In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, movies like Thunderheart, Lakota Woman, and A Tattoo on My Heart - The Warriors of Wounded Knee 1973, and exposes them for the frauds that they are. It is refreshing to finally hear the other side of the story."

-Tim Giago, former editor and publisher of Indian Country Today,

author and nationally syndicated columnist

"A gripping, no-holds barred account of what really happened at Wounded Knee-one of the bloodiest and most controversial chapters in the long proud history of the FBI. Joe Trimbach is a myth-breaker; his carefully compiled chronology is a must-read for all Americans who seek truth behind the headlines."

-Oliver North, Lt Col USMC (Ret.)

"It's an ugly dark feeling realizing you were lied to. For many years I supported clemency for Leonard Peltier, and towed the line for leadership of the American Indian Movement. The facts, the anger, and the blame Mafia puts on AIM, on its sympathizers, and even on the institution Trimbach once worked for, is from a law-enforcement perspective, and is revealing. See clearly through the foggy AIM alibis, the false cry of civil rights. From a tiny element of Native America we once looked up to, the people's Movement was hijacked by false warriors, murderers, and liars. Whether you support the FBI or thought of it as your enemy, Mafia is a must-read for understanding the other side of the DMZ, established at Wounded Knee '73."

-Paul DeMain (Oneida-Ojibwe), Editor,

News From Indian Country

About this title

About the Author

Joseph H. Trimbach graduated from Canisius College in New York before receiving an MBA degree from the University of Buffalo. He served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps before becoming an FBI Special Agent in 1956. His investigative work included kidnappings, bank robberies, and the famed undercover operation that exposed police corruption in Jacksonville, Florida, in the 1960s. This case won him accolades from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Agent Trimbach served an overseas tour on the Bureau's inspection staff before being appointed SAC - Minneapolis in 1973. Throughout a career that led him to six Field Offices, Trimbach earned numerous cash awards and letters of commendation from three Directors and personal letters of thanks from the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Interior. Joe and his wife of 56 years, the former Kathleen Rahill, live in Florida, but they enjoy traveling to visit their seven children and 20 grandchildren.

John M. Trimbach graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1980 with a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering. The following year, he earned an MS degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. In 1981, he entered pilot training with the U.S. Air Force where he served as a military pilot for eight years. John worked with his father as a background investigator for the U.S. State Department and on other projects before collaborating on American Indian Mafia. John flies as captain on a Boeing 737 and resides with his wife and four children near Atlanta, Georgia.

From the Back Cover

"The Peltier myth of innocence was a wormy ship, until Joe Trimbach came along and blew it out of the water... a powerful, powerful reporting of history."
--Bill Janklow, former Attorney General and Governor of South Dakota

"Mafia is the most authentic, on-site factual reporting of the events at Wounded Knee to date... supported by citations, evidence, and references of no dispute... an extraordinary effort... yet it will never be known how many innocent lives were saved by the men and women of the FBI."
--Frank E. Denholm, attorney and former U.S. Congressman, South Dakota (D)

"Finally, an excellent factual rendition of what actually happened at Wounded Knee, the Wounded Knee trials, and the aftermath."
--David Gienapp, former federal prosecutor and past President, South Dakota Bar Association

"Virtually every point Peltier's supporters cite in his favor has already been submitted to the courts and specifically rejected in each of the many published opinions analyzing his claims... These facts are expertly woven together by Joe Trimbach and should be sufficient to convince even the staunchest of Peltier's defenders that they bet on the wrong horse."
--Lynn Crooks, former Assistant U.S Attorney, District of North Dakota

"Using documents and materials that haven't been touched by reporters and writers in three decades, Joe Trimbach's first-person account devastates all the popular myths surrounding AIM's history. The gloss is gone, the legacy exposed for what it really is."
--Ed Woods, Founder, No Parole Peltier Association

"Mafia should be placed on library shelves across the country... a fine example of works of historic merit."
--Robert J. Heibel, Executive Director, Mercyhurst College, Institute for Intelligence Studies

Edition details

• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0979585503
• ISBN 13: 9780979585500
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 631