В Батавии вышла книга о мафиозной расправе, потрясшей город в 1937 году

A Batavia and Western New York story that just won't die is back in the spotlight, thanks to a new book by author David Kinney. "Mobbed Up Batavia" the story of how a series of killings "shattered a small American town," made its debut this month on Amazon. It is Kinney's third book. "It's the 89th anniversary of the key murder that everybody talks about - Alfred Panepinto is the key," he told The Batavian this week. He will be part of the Local Author Book Fair from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross St., Batavia. "Mobbed Up Batavia" is about a series of killings, though - not just Panepinto's. The Panepinto killing happened on Aug. 15, 1937 - 89 years ago Saturday - in LoTiempo's Poolroom at Ellicott and Liberty streets. "The funny thing about this is that, once you start exploring one thing, it raises a million questions," he said. "The more answers you get, the more questions you get." Kinney, retired and living on Horseshoe Lake in Stafford, said he began writing this book about a year and a half ago, thanks to the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out). The ROMEOs meet each Thursday morning at Sport of Kings restaurant in Batavia. "I got invited to that a couple of years ago and I'm the youngest one there," Kinney said. "All of these guys, they grew up in Batavia. They knew each other since they were kids. They've got stories coming out of their ears." One of the stories that comes up often enough, Kinney said, is the story of how Alfred Panepinto was gunned down. "They told it enough times that I finally said, 'That's a great story. I'm going to look into it,'" Kinney said. "It turned out that it didn't happen the way the lore presented itself. They heard that somebody burst into the room with a Tommy gun (Thompson repeater) and opened up, filled the place with hot lead, and then made their escape. That's not how it happened at all. It was far more calculated, far more cold, far more complex than they thought." Even in the news, the Panepinto killing was presented as a one-time incident. "People remember it as a one-off. It was the last killing in a series of killings," Kinney said. "I've been researching it for over a year. It was just a great story. The more I got into it, the bigger it got. It exploded into this huge Mafia vendetta story." The coolest thing about the 1920s and 1930s locally was how amazing life was in Batavia, the author said. "People in Batavia, they benefitted from the Roaring '20s, they suffered through the '30s as much or more than anybody," Kinney said. "The richness of the area here and the culture in Batavia is fascinating. It really takes a hold of you." The book delves into how the Mafia got here, Kinney said. "The Mafia was really run out of Buffalo and Niagara Falls," he said. "By the time this happened, it was really run out of Niagara Falls. Stefano Magaddino, one of the original members of the commission, was in charge of the organized crime in all of Western New York and parts of Canada, and parts of Ohio." While working on "Mobbed Up Batavia," Kinney talked to Genesee County Historian Dr. Michael Eula and Holland Land Office Museum Executive Director Ryan Duffy. The county History Department is fantastic, Kinney said. "It's well-organized for what it is and there's just a wealth of information there. It's amazing," he said. While writing, Kinney said, he worked with Duffy and staff at the Holland Land Office Museum all the time. "This has a lot to do with the Holland Land Purchase," he said. "Whenever I have a question about something local, I always go to Ryan." Kinney said he finished the final draft of the book in late June. It's been self-published through Amazon. Kinney's son, Phillip Kinney, did the cover design and graphics, and Jennifer Meller. "He works in the movie business down there in Raleigh, N.C., in the Raleigh-Durham area. He took on this project for me. It came out great," David Kinney said. "Jennifer, she's someone I hired online ... She's very talented, very knowledgeable. She did the interior formatting - where you see a picture and the margins ... and all the subtitles and the fonts." The book has available for purchase, through Amazon, for a little over a week. "I've had some friends say they bought it. Some have come to me and bought it from me. It's $20. Amazon is $19.60," he said. "I've had some friends give me some feedback, saying they're loving it. They're halfway through, 'I'm on page 120 and I'm really liking it.'" "Mobbed Up Batavia" is a local history book. "It has a certain amount of appeal locally. Hopefully, it's got some broader appeal, but nobody's getting rich writing local history books," Kinney said. "This is a great story. That's what I'm into."