About the Authors

J.A. Schwartzman is a copywriter and author whose work has appeared in publications including Mademoiselle Magazine, Barbara Probst Solomon’s “The Reading Room”, the New York Press, and others. Her writing and editing has included non-fiction books, articles for trade and commercial publications, and a screenplay.

J.A. has written several other books, some published, some not. You can see them here [coming soon]. Notably, as a follow-up to Wiseguys, Rabbis, and the FBI, she has written a book about another crime figure, a Mafia driver called "Loves to Rob, Hates the Mob" which will be released within the year. Want to know when it's published? Join our mailing list. 

Mel Cooper was born in Brooklyn, New York. His career has taken him through several industries including New York's commercial trash collection business, international telecom, and finance. He rose through the business world until he veered into making “special loans,” where he caught the attention of the FBI. After paying the price for his wrong turns, Mel retired to Brooklyn.

Until his retirement, for decade after decade, Mel  Cooper somehow managed to be at the center of any number trends both productive and destructive. In the 1970s he found himself a supplier of steel containers to New York city's trash collection industry – a  Mafia-dominated domain. Likewise, his RICO prosecution involved some of the country's most high-profile lawyers, like Gerald Shargel, Mark Pomerantz, David Breitbart among others. And when he came out of prison, he dove into what would be one of the defining fields of the 1990s: telecom.