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On the warm early-fall night of September 27, 1972, on a quiet tree-lined street, one man was about to die. And two others, strangers before this evening, would become locked in a reluctant but inevitable relationship that would span more than a quarter-century and transform their lives. Though both were products of Chicago's West Side, the two men couldn't have been more different. One was cultured and charismatic, a dark and complex prince of organized crime, an assassin who enjoyed his work. The other was a modest man of modest means, an auto mechanic who wanted little more than a steady paycheck.
Twenty-five-year-old Bob Lowe was the sole witness to a brutal murder. The victim was a neighbor, blown away by the blast of a sawed-off shotgun. The killer was Harry Aleman, one of the most notorious men in mob history. And Lowe could be the person to finally put Aleman behind bars. Promised refuge as a protected witness, Lowe agreed to testify. But through a tangled web of politics and payoffs, Aleman was a acquitted, and Lowe feared retribution. Disillusioned and depressed, he spiraled into a world of alcoholism, drugs, and crime, losing his family and his self-respect. Finally, after twenty-five years, he emerged to confront Aleman, and his own personal demons, in a dramatic, history-making trial.
