Th’ newspaper does ivrything f’r us. It runs th’ polis foorce an’ th’ banks, commands th’ milishy, controls th’ ligislachure, baptizes th’ young, marries th’ foolish, comforts th’ afflicted, afflicts th’ comfortable, buries th’ dead an’ roasts thim aftherward.”

Pulp magazines got their moniker from the wood-pulp paper they were printed on. The paper yellows quickly and becomes very brittle, but the stories they hold are indelible.

Poverty, organized crime and urban violence drove the plots of many Hollywood films. Unfortunately, the movies are a far cry from the sordid reality behind the gunmen, killers, arsonists and other idiots on Flattery’s watch.

The crimes committed and foiled provided plenty of fodder for crime writers. Flattery’s footwork influenced generations of crime, legal and political authors, from Damon Runyon to Richard Condon.