Showing results by author "Bill Ciccotti" in All Categories

New Orleans bar fights with the wrong guys. Louisiana penal chain gang blues. Key West misfits. How can doing something right go so tragically wrong? Falsely accused, railroaded and thrown into the swamps of Louisiana on a life sentence of malaria misery. Yeah, we escaped. But that was just the start of our chain of fools adventure.

Growing up wild and carefree in the 60s, every year was a great time in our lives. But before we saw the reality of everything and start to worry, life was pure laughter. We were so much freer back then. Best time in those years: sixth to eighth grade. The summers of those years to be exact. Best friends you would ever have. Last time you would be totally care free and truly happy. Last time you would act and not think. You would make memories of the littlest things, and those memories would stick with you forever. But only if you were lucky, and boy were we lucky.

The horror of it all. Strange things disturb the darkness. Things do go bump in the night. Evil things bump the loudest. Then you must pay heed for true danger approaches. You better run before it is too late. We all run eventually. But alas it’s never fast enough for any of us to truly escape our intended doom. The following is a story regarding a man who was unable to escape his dreams, his nightmares, his twisted fate. Jake was formerly a humorous, happy go lucky man. Someone who, believed he was living the American dream. And he actually lived it quite well for fifty-seven great years.

This is the story of four GIs in one tank, cut off behind German lines during WWII. They fight to stay alive and remain human during the carnage of war.

Twenty years ago, an east coast mobster killed a connected hood. He took off with the mobster’s wife and the dead guy’s stash. The mob has been searching for him for years. And they came to the bad lands of Montana with an ax to grind.

Evil is strong and damn cruel. A lawman is often all that stands between the innocent and certain death. But who among us is truly innocent? Fast horses, six-guns, and Sioux warriors. A cowboy’s life is never dull, even in the twenty-first century. Saddle up for a wild western rodeo of adventure. It’s a hard but beautiful land out here in Montana. One worth fighting to hold on to. Easy? No. Scary? Hell yes. But courage is loading up to do the right thing even when you’re frightened to death.

Madcap mobsters intertwined in several underworld confrontations. Bad guys, dangerous dames, and bumbling local vagabonds all attempt to make it through one more day in the Florida Keys.

This is the story of cowboys in Arizona who, after the Civil War, discovered dinosaurs and fought to save their ranches. It is a tale of dinosaur hunters with Winchesters and Henry rifles. You never learned about things like this in grade school, because the teacher was too scared to tell you about it.

The warming sun’s reflection danced on the bushes mirrored in the pool water. Most never notice it. Fewer still ever appreciate it. Me, I love to watch it. And then I saw her.

Springtime in Montana. Cold, snowy, and chock full of danger. Depraved bandits ride into town during a snowsquall and hold several people hostage in a bank robbery suddenly gong terribly wrong. Cowboys and Indians attempt to help a tired Marshal free those terrified hostages. And hopefully keep them alive in a world of molten chaos.

Death at the Rodeo. There's a serial killer on the loose. He's hacking up Rodeo Cowboys with a vengeance. Cowboys and Indians, escape convicts, bar fights galore. Hell, there's even a kidnapped Indian girl thrown into the mix. Death stalks the rodeo and only a wild west Marshal can stop it. Saddle up for a hell of a ride, partners. Hold on tight, the action is about to commence. Everything in life will kill you. Choose something fun.

A speckled box tortoise finished its labored crossing of a rutted and shabby highway. A thin jackrabbit watched the reptile while rubbing its nose with a wrinkled forepaw. In the shadows, a rattlesnake watched both while deciding what it wanted to have for breakfast. And, the car rolled along. The sun drifted sluggishly over tall spiny cactus and haphazardly strung boulders. Blue skies. No problems? That relentless, molten sun beat down upon the weathered and cracked blacktop.

Tina, Biker’s Coffee, whatever you call it, it’s just as deadly. Crystal Meth. The heartbreaker, life taker, home wrecker - it was hitting the Jersey Shore. Tina had come to town with her kiss of death. The Don wanted us to stop them. We had to finish this. The Don was sending his top man, Johnny Koman, down. But we needed one more guy on this hell ride. A tough bulldog bastard. We needed Sal Bandino. Wise Guys versus Biker Madmen. Hell was coming to the Jersey Shore, and it was up to us to stop it. Two to the back of the head and all.

The desert can kill you in many ways. And all of them, are permeant. The Sahara Desert, desolate, inhospitable, and deadly. In Morocco, the Sultan holds nominal power. The real power resided in the arms of the French army. The Foreign Legion. But not everyone was happy. A bandit warlord wanted the French out and massacred in whole. There were many evil brigands who sought chaos for their own depraved reasons. Yet, in that turbulent area, the magnificent French Foreign Legion shone brightly.

Death is the inevitable end to all of us. Or is it? Perhaps, not everyone dies. Some come back from the dead. Over. And over. And over again. Just ask Juan Baltasar de Cristóbal la Roja. For he, like Gaius Longinus, the Roman Centurion, walks the Earth eternal. But Juan dances at the Reapers fickle demand. He has been cursed into becoming a plaything for El Muerto. These are the stories of a tortured man who the Reaper has decided to pay with before feasting on him. A came of eternal chess if you will. Ebb and flow of conflict and chaos. No rules, no goals, no victory.

A casual trip to Puerto Rico. Fun, sun, and hot senoritas. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. A Spanish Don gets whacked. We get blamed for it. The cops, the mob, and even the cigar lady over on Esmeralda Avenue are out to kill us. We barely escape from the El Conquistador hotel with the cloths on our back. Wet bathing suits, no less. We’re not alter boys. I mean, we’ve left a few bloodstains on the wall. But we had no part in this tropical execution. But come hell or high water, we were going to even the score.

Dangerous men tread the pathways of the underworld. Tough men. Wise guys. Killers and guys like us. The law is black and white. The boys, well, we live in the grey. Night was beginning to fall along the Florida Keys. A classic cobalt black El Dorado glided smoothly along those grey twilight roads. On that tranquil, pleasant evening, danger was stalking Shangri-La.

Presented for your approval is a collection of mob stories with a touch of lime. Florida crime tales of muscle, mayhem, and misadventure....

A mob hit gone perfectly. Except for that one witness. Now, the killers have to track down and eliminate that witness before their elaborate plans fall all apart. But this witness has connections of his one. Old ones, but nonetheless, dangerous ones. Connections of the most dangerous kind who are never to be trifled with. For you see, this witness has a knack of surviving in the dangers of the shadow world. He didn't get to be 68 by luck alone.

What if the King never died? Imagine the stress and pressure of being Elvis Presley. Suppose he faked his death to get away from the rat race and just chill out the remainder of his star-studded life. Where would he go to hide away? What would he do with all that new free time? That new freedom of doing anything he wanted. Walking down any street and nobody jumping all over him. Picture a man, a living legend if you will, who everyone thought was dead. Where would he go? Key West, baby. What would a great singer who had a voice from heaven do? He would impersonate himself.