{"title":"Wheeler, Huff \u0026 Yadon LLC","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-jai-alai-murders-a-story-of-the-doj-the-fbi-and-their-mob-hitmen-1","title":"The Jai-Alai Murders: A Story of the DOJ, the FBI, and their Mob Hitmen - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn May 27, 1981, Roger M. Wheeler, Sr., was assassinated by professional hitmen at Tulsa's exclusive Southern Hills Country Club. Police responded in force, as Wheeler was one of the city's top business leaders who employed thousands. Wheeler was CEO of Telex Corporation, which competed with IBM; owner of American Magnesium, which competed with Dow Chemical; owner of Wheeler Oil; and owner of Miami-based World Jai-Alai (WJA), his first and only investment in legalized gambling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTulsa's police, who had never experienced such a brazen organized crime murder, feared that they wouldn't be able to solve this crime. Still, they were professional. Police cars fanned out across the city to try and spot the getaway vehicle; they kept news reporters from witnesses—some of whom were children; they photographed the crime scene from every reasonable perspective; and they found a puzzle—four unspent bullets left next to the victim's car. Were the unspent bullets the killer's trademark? Were they a warning to Wheeler's four male children? Police would debate that for years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven that WJA's business was gambling, the normal reaction is to assume Wheeler was just another mobster. But every normal assumption quickly falls apart. Roger Wheeler had recently bought WJA for two reasons: it was highly profitable, and a team of ex-FBI agents led by H. Paul Rico kept the mob out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRico had been \"one of the FBI's finest special agents.\" He was famous for developing critical informants. Under Rico's guidance, hitman Joseph Barboza gave testimony in federal court that led to the conviction and imprisonment of New England's Mafia boss. Then, Barboza testified in state court, which resulted in six men being convicted for the mob murder of \"Teddy\" Deegan. Barboza became the inaugural member of the Witness Protection Program.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, for nearly a year, Wheeler's son David had been programming a new computer at WJA's headquarters in Miami. WJA's chief accountant had befriended and taught David about Rico, WJA president Dick Donovan, and the possible influence of organized crime at WJA. David wasn't sure if these stories were true.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe day of the murder, when the hitman was preparing the attack, Rico came upstairs to the accounting department to ostensibly attend a retirement party for a bookkeeper. Instead of having some cake and visiting with the staff, Rico just stood and stared at David, the only member of the Wheeler family to ever work at WJA. A very few minutes after the party ended and Rico left, David received a phone call telling him that his father had been shot in the head. David took the next flight back to Tulsa to help support his mother.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt turned out that David couldn't even bury his father without one of the co-conspirators coming up behind him to try and convince him that Donovan and Rico were innocent. Meanwhile, Donovan was watching the action from across the street.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor years, Wheeler's murder received national attention. Detective Mike Huff led the investigation, with David offering any help he could. The FBI spied on and tailed the police; they lied to the police and family survivors; they arranged the murder of informants; and committed other crimes as well. An FBI agent even stole a newly discovered list of officials receiving bribes and made this critical evidence disappear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMike eventually turned to our nation's public for help, which led us to appear on the pilot of \u003ci\u003eUnsolved Mysteries\u003c\/i\u003e and an episode of \u003ci\u003e60 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e. For over 20 years, and with few exceptions, the underlying theme was battling horrific Federal corruption. Yet Mike solved this case.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor accuracy, this memoir is supported by over 1,200 references.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wheeler, Huff \u0026 Yadon LLC","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":52936282505533,"sku":"9798999517425","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798999517425ita_85119917-de07-4042-b5b4-03bec8645f6b.jpg?v=1787846633"},{"product_id":"the-jai-alai-murders-a-story-of-the-doj-the-fbi-and-their-mob-hitmen-2","title":"The Jai-Alai Murders: A Story of the DOJ, the FBI, and their Mob Hitmen - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYou never know where a murder investigation will lead.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter Roger Wheeler's assassination, his son David and Tulsa homicide detective Mike Huff followed evidence toward the very federal agencies they had been taught since childhood to trust.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn May 27, 1981, a professional hitman shot Roger M. Wheeler, Sr., at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A prominent businessman and CEO of Telex Corporation, Wheeler also owned Miami-based World Jai-Alai (WJA)—his first investment in legalized gambling. His confidence in the former FBI agents running WJA had helped persuade him to buy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of those men was H. Paul Rico, a retired agent celebrated for developing informants against organized crime. For Wheeler, that reputation offered reassurance. For David, working on financial reporting software at WJA's Miami headquarters, conversations with the company's controller had begun to raise disturbing questions about Rico, WJA president Dick Donovan, and the business his father had purchased.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid recalls that, as the hitman prepared to kill his father in Tulsa, Rico appeared at a retirement party in WJA's accounting department. Instead of joining the celebration, he stood staring at David. Minutes after the party ended, David received the call: his father had been shot in the head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhere could David and Mike turn for protection if federal law enforcement officials were involved in the killing?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking together, they pursued evidence connecting the killers in Boston's Winter Hill Gang to WJA's management, financial and legal relationships, and federal law enforcement. Finding the gunman was only part of their decades-long struggle for justice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Jai-Alai Murders\u003c\/i\u003e is David Wheeler's account of that struggle. He recounts federal surveillance of investigators, concealment of evidence, murder of informants, and other efforts to obstruct his father's murder investigation. He also describes how, when a congressional committee investigated wrongdoing within the FBI and Department of Justice, the Attorney General and the President sought to withhold critical documents from the inquiry. He examines the role of retired agent Rico and argues that his father's murder exposed an alliance between federal officials and criminals driven by profit, with corruption reaching far beyond the misconduct of one or two agents.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Huff sought help beyond official channels, the case reached a national audience through the pilot of \u003ci\u003eUnsolved Mysteries\u003c\/i\u003e and an episode of \u003ci\u003e60 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e. Mike brought his experience as a homicide detective; David brought his knowledge of WJA and his determination to learn who was responsible for his father's murder. David recounts the persistence that enabled Huff to solve the case, the dangers they faced, and the questions of federal accountability that remain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSupported by more than 1,200 references, this memoir grew out of David Wheeler and Mike Huff's partnership—both in the pursuit of justice and in writing this book.\u003c\/b\u003e Huff's guidance and the extensive investigative case file he provided enabled David to bring the investigation back to life on the page. Together they uncovered the truth about Roger Wheeler's murder—and exposed lawlessness and obstruction within the federal justice system.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wheeler, Huff \u0026 Yadon LLC","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":53071043559741,"sku":"9798999517418","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0477\/8731\/1254\/files\/9798999517418ita_cb1393d5-aaf6-4047-82f7-04cef752efbc.jpg?v=1789404352"}],"url":"https:\/\/itascabooks.com\/collections\/wheeler-huff-yadon-llc.oembed","provider":"Itasca Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}