Crime Author To Present New Crime Radio Show

[Gangsters Inc.]

On January 27 at 9 p.m., the Artist First Worldwide Radio Network will launch CRIME BEAT: ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES, AND PERSONALITIES FROM THE DARKSIDE, a weekly hour-long radio program.

Every Thursday from 9 and 10 EST, CRIME BEAT will present a fascinating topic that brings listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. The guests will include ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, entertainers, informants, prisoners, drug dealers, victim advocates, politicians, crusading reformers and others who can provide insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime. Listeners can access the program by going to www.artistfirst.com and click on the “Live Weekly Show Schedule” for Thursday, 9 p.m. See also http://www.artistfirst.com/crimebeat.htm.

CRIME BEAT is hosted by award-winning crime writer Ron Chepesiuk (right) (www.ronchepesiuk.com) and broadcast journalist and freelance writer Willie Hryb. Chepesiuk is the author of several true crime books, including Sergeant Smack: the Legendary Lives and Times of Ike Atkinson, Kingpin, and his Band of Brothers, and Drug Lords, the Rise and Fall of the Cali Cartel. Ron has been interviewed about crime-related subjects by such media outlets as NPR, the Biography Channel, the New York Times, the Discovery Channel and Black Entertainment Television. He is also a consultant to the History Channel's Gangland documentary series and a contributing writer to the New Criminologist, Gangsters Inc. and Americanmafia.com websites. He is also a two-time Fulbright Scholar in journalism and the publisher of Strategic Media Books (www.strategticmediabooks.com). Hryb is currently in the shipping business where he is a contributing writer to several trade publications. This year he will be publishing a book about the famous Gunilda shipwreck on Lake Superior.

“We are excited about hosting Crime Beat,” Chepesiuk said. “Each week we plan to entertain and inform listeners about crime topics both historical and topical.”

The initial program features Jack Garcia, former FBI agent and best selling co-author of Making Jack Falcone, the story of how Garcia took down a Mob family. Other guests include Andrew DiDonato, ex-mobster and co-author of Surviving the Mob: A Street Soldier’s Life in the Gambino Crime Family; Lou Diaz, co-author of Dancing With the Devil and the undercover DEA agent instrumental in taking down drug lord Nicky Barnes, the so-called “Mr. Untouchable”; and Rick Porrello, author of To Kill an Irishman, the basis for the Hollywood movie of the same name that will premiere this March 11; Tim Donaghy, former NBA refer and author of Personal Foul: A Personal Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA; and Seth Ferranti and Wahidi Clark, a con and ex-con who will talk about prison life and becoming writers behind bars.

“We plan to give listeners a front row seat into the events and developments of the criminal underworld and the personalities who shape it,” Hryb revealed. “What can be more fascinating?”

For more information, go to the Artist First Worldwide Radio Network at www.artistfirst.com. To contact the Crime Beat radio program, e-mail [e-mail].