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Dennis Griffin, best known for his mob-related true crime books, started his “after retirement” writing career writing mystery/thriller novels, one of the most popular, THE MORGUE. The novel is based on his work as an investigator looking into the operations of the medical examiners office. What he found was unbelievable and the fictionalized account tells the story of out of control coroner, perversion, cover up, and the politics behind it.

A medical examiner is a government official who:

• Investigates human organs like the stomach, liver, brain
• Determines cause of death
• Issues death certificates
• Maintains death records
• Responds to deaths in mass disasters
• Identifies unknown dead
• Other functions depending on local law

What many don’t know is the difference between a medical examiner and a coroner and what specific duties they are qualified to perform: A medical examiner by definition is a physician … In most cases, they are trained to be forensic pathologists… and are appointed to their positions. To be a coroner, you just have to be able to be elected to the job. (How Stuff Works)

Griffin authored several more novels and made his way into the Las Vegas Mob scene with his first true crime book, The Battle for Las Vegas – The Law vs the Mob, the history behind the characters and their crimes from the popular movie, Casino. The contacts he made while doing research for the book opened many other doors into the Las Vegas mob scene, its history, and the actual former mobsters. They proved to be a springboard for his success in subsequent mob related tales.

Shattered Lives Radio will be talking to Griffin about his “other life” as a New York state investigator before his 1995 retirement, specifically the medical examiner investigations as relayed in THE MORGUE.

Dennis Griffin served as co-host of the popular radio show Crime Wire with the late Susan Murphy-Milano and Vito Colucci for several years. During those years the team presented several cases from listeners who experienced similar malfeasance of medical examiners and coroners in cases of their deceased loved ones. Crime Wire podcasts can be heard on Inside Lenz Network as well as iTunes.

Griffin currently is the speaker co-ordinator for the annual Mob-Con conference in Las Vegas.

THE MORGUE Book Details:

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: 1st Book Library (December 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585000345
• ISBN-13: 978-1585000340

For more details and a listing of books by Dennis N. Griffin, refer to the website: DennisNGriffin.Biz

Shattered Lives: Dennis Griffin and THE MORGUE