The Extortionist — Sy Cook

Steve Block, a retired New York City police detective was surprised when he was summoned to meet with the head of the Family. Years earlier, to avoid conflicts that were certain to arise, he had established a set of operating ground rules with his best friend, Joe Monetti, a ranking member of the Mafia. Those rules defined their relationship in the event of confrontations between the Family and the police. He was caught off guard, therefore, to find that the purpose of his meeting was to help the Mafia find the killer of one of their members, Sal Vitorio.

The New York City Police Department had made a cursory investigation of the murder and had met with no success in finding the killer. Although the murdered man was ostensibly a legitimate businessman, the police knew that the victim was a front for the Mafia, with prior involvement in both drugs and prostitution. They did not intend to undertake a costly investigation to find the killer of a Mafia member. City budgets would not allow it.

The Extortionist is the story of how Steve Block learns how to deal with the Family in tracking down the extortionist and killer. And it describes how Steve Block, when he finally identifies Stoddard Blakeslee as the extortionist and murderer, discovers he has the wrong person.