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The Canary Sang but Couldn't Fly: The Fatal Fall of Abe Reles, the Mobster Who Shattered Murder, Inc.'s Code of Silence Kindle Edition

by Edmund Elmaleh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings
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A detailed re-examination of the mysterious 1941 death of a mafia informant.

It remains one of the most enduring mysteries in gangland lore: in 1941, while Abe Reles and three other key informants were under round-the-clock NYPD protection, the ruthless and powerful thug took a deadly plunge from the window of a Coney Island hotel. The first criminal of his stature to break the underworld’s code of silence, he had begun “singing” for the courts—giving devastating testimony that implicated former cronies—with more to come. With cops around him day and night, how could Abe have gone out the window? Did he try to escape? Did a hit man break in? Or did someone in the “squealer’s suite” murder him?

Here’s the gripping story, packed with political machinations, legal sleight-of-hand, mob violence—and, finally, a proposed answer to the question: How did Abe Reles really die?

“Elmaleh’s The Canary Sang but Couldn’t Fly is a riveting treatment of one of the most remarkable stories in the annals of American crime and politics. A great read!”—Kevin Baker, author of Dreamland, Paradise Alley, and Strivers Row

 

“Elmaleh has brought fresh energy, a fresh point of view, and a flair for original research to this story, tracing its conspiracies in the best tradition of life mimicking film noir. This blank spot in New York’s underworld history deserves to be filled, and Elmaleh fills it.” —Kenneth D. Ackerman, author of Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield; Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York; and Young J. Edgar: Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties

“Mob history buffs will be pleased with Elmaleh’s attention to detail and hefty collection of transcripts.” —Publishers Weekly
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  1. Print length
    266 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Union Square & Co.
  5. Publication date
    February 7, 2012
  6. File size
    3437 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

True crime conspiracy buffs have debated for years the 1941 death of Abe Reles, the mafia squeal who fell out a hotel window while in police custody. Years of shoddy investigation and cover-ups have made it impossible to determine exactly what happened to the "most effective mafia informer" law enforcement ever held, but it was clear that every mobster in America wanted him dead. In his only book, recently deceased crime writer Elmaleh (1959-2008) collects evidence from multiple investigations to piece together the events of November 12, 1941. The result is an exhaustive report heavy on detail, but light on excitement. Offering no revelations or climactic discoveries, Elmaleh instead sifts through conjecture and hypotheses that only serve to disprove the theory that Reles killed himself-an explanation none but the most naive accepted in the first place. Still, mob history buffs will be pleased with Elmaleh's attention to detail and hefty collection of transcripts. Unfortunately, it's beyond Elmaleh to satisfy casual true crime readers, if only because the Reles case remains far from solved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Elmaleh re-examines the case of Mob torpedo Abe “Kid Twist” Reles’ fatal 1941 fall from a window in the hotel in which he was under 24-hour police guard to ensure his testimony in the prosecution of New York mobsters. Several ludicrous theories regarding how Reles came to his splattery end were advanced, but several investigations yielded little proof, let alone plausibility. Elmaleh also explores the Kid’s career. Growing up in Brooklyn’s tough Brownsville neighborhood, Reles was a hardened killer by early adulthood. Able to murder without regret, he and other young toughs constituted the labor contingent of Murder, Inc., the fancifully named service overseen by Albert Anastasia and others. By the time Reles turned state’s evidence, he was uniquely qualified to tell not only where the bodies were buried—having personally buried a significant number of them—but also who had ordered the hits in the first place. That being the case, he was safer in custody than on the street. Did he die trying to escape? Elmaleh has thoughts and evidence anent that question. --Mike Tribby

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0751FR8TD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Union Square & Co. (February 7, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 7, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3437 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

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Edmund Elmaleh

Edmund Elmaleh

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
25 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

BONES
5.0 out of 5 stars Like the book says "He could sing but couldn't fly"
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
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Excellent book couldn't put it down always felt that Abe Reales didn't go out the window on his own accord.Big tough guy he wasn't.Turns out he was just another coward instead of facing judgment on his own he turned rat. Naw I hardly believe it. He was tossed out but couldn't fly. Like the song said" bye bye birdie"kind of funny his next testimony was against Albert Anastasia thats a NO NO definitely a conspiracy involving DA O'Dwyer Captain Bals and the police officers somebody was in on it.
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Domingo Vazquez
4.0 out of 5 stars Canary Sang, But Couldn't Fly
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2013
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I highly recommend this book since I found it very entertaining. The book provided a lot of information that I was unaware of even though I had read other books and seen a movie about this case. I definitely enjoyed reading this suspense triller.
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Timothy O. Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2011
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From the enticing first sentence this books grabs your attention. With energetic language and brilliant control of his material, Elmaleh builds from that opening to a conclusion that draws on his research and analysis. The Reles story is full of unanswerable puzzles, and the author builds a convincing theory based on the raised questions.

Edmund Elmaleh has achieved a rare feat: a compulsively readable narrative with momentum and carefully arranged details. His book is gangland-atmospheric with turns of phrase that harken back to the era. It's rare to find a book so steeped in research yet so immediately gripping. I'd recommend this book to anyone from mob scholars to Ann Rule fans. But truly it is in a class of its own.

Give yourself over to several hours of good reading.
One person found this helpful
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Roberto Falcon
5.0 out of 5 stars Murder Inc top killer RATS on fellow killers!
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2020
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Excellent read for any mob book enthusiast
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Bob Banta
5.0 out of 5 stars Brings back memories of the life and times in New ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2015
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Brings back memories of the life and times in New York back in the 1950's. I found it very interesting.
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Brian E. Myers
4.0 out of 5 stars the canary sang
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2013
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i enjoyed this book very much due to it not being too embellished as are other mobster books. highly recommended to mob book enthusiasts.
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JLM Reads Books
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016
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Excellent research and writing on the subject.
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MBT
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but nothing new.
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2012
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I must concur with many of the earlier reviews. First, the writing is somewhat weak, although still quite readable. Second, the book is very detailed and interesting, but the research is quite uneven. For example, the author states that Albert Tannenbaum's "fate" is unknown. On the contrary, Albert's story is well known and easily accessible. Burton Turkus, in Murder, Inc., states exactly what happened to "Tick-tock." Interestingly enough, Albert went straight and moved to Atlanta, where he worked with a brother selling lamps. The mob was fully aware of his whereabouts, but never made any attempt to kill him. In 1956, the Atlanta newspapers discovered who he was and published an article about his colorful past. Still, no reaction from the mob. Albert retired in 1970 and passed in 1976. I met him in 1972 (he's a cousin), but at the time I had no idea of his background. When I found out (much later), I became interested in his life.

David H. Jacobs covers this material in detail in his book The Mafia's Greatest Hits, which predates Elmaleh's book. Obviously, Elmaleh didn't come across Jacobs' book (perhaps he died before he had the opportunity). Jacobs concludes that the mob let Albert off the hook in exchange for doing them a favor, killing Reles. So Elmaleh's conclusion is hardly original.

In spite of its problems, The Canary is a good read, just not the exhaustive and complete study it claims to be. I would recommend Rich Cohen's Tough Jews as perhaps the best book on the subject, although I can't claim to be an authority. I'm just reading out of curiousity and trying to learn more about my cousin.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

E. Granter
4.0 out of 5 stars The Author Could Write but he Couldn't be Sure
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2014
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For those unnacquainted with mob lore, Reles was one of the best known 'rats' in US mob history. It's no spoiler to say that he ended up taking a 8.6 dive from his supposedly protected hotel room.

As another reviewer says this is easy to read and that is because it is crisply and carefully written. The research is excellent and though you won't grieve for Abe Reles after this, you'll feel you know more about him and his enigmatic last moments. They do remain enigmatic because no-one will ever know what really happened.

It's a shame that Mr. Elmaleh didn't live to see this book published because it is a solid addition to the canon on organized crime and in particular the Jewish mob in New York.
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notanexpertbut...
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 20, 2011
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A nice easy read. As with the official story the auther can't come up with what really happened to Abe Reles, but at the end of the book does put some interesting stories forword. One thing is for sure after reading this the conclusion is "Reles never went out of the window because he wanted too" Worth a read if you are interested in "Murder Inc"
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