In this episode of Gangland Wire, host Gary Jenkins sits down with author Daniel Zimmerman, whose investigative works dive deep into the dark corners of Boston's organized crime world. Zimmerman has written two gripping true crime books that reveal the raw and often tragic realities of life on the fringe of the Mafia. He recounts his research for his book, Shots in the Dark, which led him to an informal meeting with former New England boss Peter Limone. His first book, Shots in the Dark, tells the harrowing tale of Rocco Anthony Balliro, a Boston mob associate whose desperate and poorly planned rescue mission turned into a deadly shootout. Believing he was storming into danger to help a friend, Rocco unknowingly walked into an ambush set by Boston police. When the smoke cleared, the cost was unimaginable—his girlfriend and her young son lay dead. Zimmerman takes us behind the headlines, exposing the chaos, confusion, and heartbreak of that fateful night. Zimmerman’s second book, Chasson’s Run: The Prison Break That Captivated America and the Love Story That Fueled It, shifts focus to one of Boston’s most violent and manipulative criminals. This is the story of a man so dangerous, yet so persuasive, that he convinced a woman to help him escape from the infamous Walpole State Prison. It’s a tale of charm, obsession, and reckless loyalty—set against the backdrop of one of the most dramatic prison breaks in U.S. history. Join us as Daniel Zimmerman unpacks these explosive stories and reflects on the twisted loyalties, romantic delusions, and violent consequences that define Boston's mob lore. Click here to see Dan's books on Amazon. Subscribe to get gangster stories weekly. Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee" To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here.  To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos. transcript [0:00] Hey, welcome all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I have today Daniel Zimmerman, a little bit different sort of a story. Now, he has another book a lot of you guys might be a little more interested in. We're going to talk about that just a little bit. But the main book we're going to look at is Chasson's Run. I think I pronounced that right, Daniel. It's actually Chasson. Chasson's Run. Chasing somebody, which kind of fits the picture here. I think it's a story that, well, Daniel Zimmerman, welcome. I really appreciate you coming on. Well, thank you. I appreciate you having me for this talk. Yeah. Now, Daniel, tell the guys a little bit about yourself. So tell the guys a little bit about your story. Well, oddly enough, I am a newspaper writer, but not the type you would think. I've been writing for over 25 years now, actually, a column or columns for local newspapers. And I cover, of all things, high school sports. I go out to area high schools. I watch the games. I take notes, take interviews, grab comments from players [1:00] and coaches, go home and write it. And a couple of days later, it's in the newspaper. Is that in the Boston area? Yes. Great Boston area. 25 years I've been doing it. You know, it's funny you say that because I did a library presentation for my first book. And one of the questions in the audience from a woman was, how do I translate writing high school sports into writing mob books? Yeah. And I told her, you know, there's two aspects of both. You have to, number one, be able to research, find out information. [1:29] Keep track of information, and be able to do an interview with your subjects. And in this case, it would be athletes and coaches. On the book writing side,

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Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer use @ganglandwire
Click here to "buy me a cup of coffee"


To go to the store or make a donation click here.  
To rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here
To rent Brothers against Brothers, click here.
To rent Gangland Wire, click here.