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Crime, corruption and a mafia hit all woven into the true crime story contained in Murder in McHenry, and yet there is still no one held accountable or responsible for the 1981 double murder in a local pub 40 miles from Chicago in the sleepy little town of Lakemore, IL. Justice is the the operative word and the looming question for two families devastated by the murders.
Paul Scharff was 11 years old when his father, Ron Scharff, and employee, Patricia Freeman, were gunned down, gangland execution style, in sleepy McHenry County, just outside of Chicago. 27 years later, Paul learned the truth about the murders. A simple Mafia hit, and information involving a foot soldier turned government informant, the truth was revealed in another author’s book!
In 2007 true crime author, Dennis Griffin, completed and released a new book, CULOTTA: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness, a non-biased look at the life of mobster turned government witness, Frank Cullota. Within the Culotta interviews which Griffin wrote about were the details of the murders in McHenry County, Illinois, including naming the gunman, Larry Neumann.
Paul Scharff was contacted by an old friend and babysitter, turning him to the book to see for himself. One can only imagine the shock and disbelief that he must have felt reading the words about his own father’s death, details which he never knew.
Seeking not revenge, but justice, for the murder of his father, Scharff’s book exposes, not only the Chicago Outfit, but the corruption of McHenry County, Illinois, and still there are too many questions left unanswered.
Murder in McHenry is available through Amazon or directly from the publisher, Houdini Publishing
For all the latest updates, refer to the website for Murder in McHenry
Paul Scharff and Frank Culotta
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