The Foggy Bottom Gang - by Leo Warring (Paperback)

About the Book

"Before Prohibition, Leo, Emmitt, and Charles 'Rags' Warring worked as laborers in their father's barrel shop. When the (illegal) booze started flowing, all three quickly got caught up in the wild and sometimes violent underworld of Washington, D.C. Their exploits--including a lucrative numbers racket, gangland shootings, and high-profile courtroom trials--created sensational headlines and thrust them into an unwanted spotlight. However, their continual efforts to stay one step ahead of local police, the federal government, and the U.S. Congress took a toll on their personal lives. [This] is a true crime gangster tale about an overlooked chapter in the history of America's capital city"--Publisher marketing.

Book Synopsis

In the town of lawmaking, three brothers thrived in lawbreaking

Before Prohibition, Leo, Emmitt, and Charles "Rags" Warring worked as laborers in their father's barrel shop. When the (illegal) booze started flowing, all three quickly got caught up in the wild and sometimes violent underworld of Washington, D.C. Their exploits-including a lucrative numbers racket, gangland shootings, and high-profile courtroom trials-created sensational headlines and thrust them into an unwanted spotlight. However, their continual efforts to stay one step ahead of local police, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Congress took a toll on their personal lives. The Foggy Bottom Gang is a true crime gangster tale about an overlooked chapter in the history of America's capital city.

"Leo Warring's account of his family's escapades in the world of bookmaking and bootlegging is an amazing compilation. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that the author was present for these court hearings or exchanges at bars and after-hours clubs. For a fun read, a page-turner, an insight into the 'victimless crimes' of the D.C. underworld, you need to read this book."

-William Brown, President of the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia (1999-2018)

Review Quotes

"To the FBI, Charles 'Rags' Warring was a bootlegger and a numbers runner. To the IRS, he was a tax cheat who had the audacity to claim as deductions the bribes he paid to District cops. To The Washington Post, he was the 'genial triggerman' of a Washington gang.

To Leo Warring, he was Dad. Of course, you can't choose your parents. And you definitely can't influence the lives they led before you were born. But you can tell their stories, which is what Leo has done with his book." -John Kelly, The Washington Post

"Leo Warring has written . . . a companion piece to the hundreds of newspaper clippings now digitally available about his father and uncles. Written with research from archival materials, interviews, and his own memory, The Foggy Bottom Gang is full of characters with names like 'Ryebread' Schulman and cinematic anecdotes, like an escape from a hospital room with the help of a hay-filled truck parked beneath a window." -Rachel Kurzius, NPR