Additional information
by Andrea Nolen (Author)
A captivating tale of corruption and crime
In need of cash to finance the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln turned to the nation's leading counterfeiters, including a band of enterprising criminals based in Monroe, Wisconsin. Operating under the nose of Allan Pinkerton, the Bonelatta Gang worked alongside the Kentucky Colony, who formed Chicago's corrupt Democratic Machine and nurtured the Levee Lords all the way down to Al Capone. Even Salmon P. Chase helped this ring of Monroe crooks, but this did not stop the Secret Service from throwing them under the bus when Republican scandals became too hot for President Grant to handle.
Historian and Monroe native Andrea Nolen reveals this fascinating and little-known story of an obscure gang in rural Wisconsin that helped birth not only the Chicago mob but also the Ziegfeld Follies and the New Age movement.
Author Biography
Andrea Nolen is a historian from Monroe, Wisconsin. Prior to her counterfeiting research, she was a China analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City and a financial intelligence analyst for a London hedge fund.
