Richmonder Selden Richardson, author of "Built by Blacks: African American Architecture and Neighborhoods in Richmond," will discuss his newly released book, "The Tri-State Gang in Richmond: Murder and Robbery in the Great Depression," on Wednesday, June 20 at 3 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room (room 250) on the second floor of James Branch Cabell Library. Following the talk will be a reception in Special Collections and Archives on the fourth floor. Books will be on sale at the reception, and Mr. Richardson will be signing books.Leading the infamous Tri-State Gang were Robert Mais and Walter Legenza, the "Dillingers of the East." In 1935, their ring of organized crime came to an end in Richmond. Mais and Legenza's sensational story made a powerful impact on the nation, and for decades after it would be used as the basis for crime fiction, comic books and numerous movie and television crime dramas, including "The Untouchables."
Selden Richardson holds master's degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond, and he is a former archivist for Architectural Records at the Library of Virginia. For a review of his book "Built by Blacks" by VCU Libraries Archives Coordinator Ray Bonis, click here.
